Thomas F. Egan, Chair
SUNY Board of Trustees
State University Plaza
Albany, NY 12246

12 November 1997

Dear Thomas Egan,

I am writing to endorse President Roger W. Bowen's support of the recent women's studies conference, "Revolting Behavior: The Challenges of Women's Sexual Freedom," and the subsequent conference sponsored by the School of Fine and Performing Arts, "Subject to Desire: Refiguring the Body," both of which were recently held at SUNY-New Paltz and both of which have been disparaged by Governor Patakai and by Trustee Candace de Russy.

It's crucial to the public discourse of the state that our university system be encouraged to foster dialogue about controversial topics with the presumption of full academic freedom. Despite the gains of the feminist movement over the last 20-odd years, women's sexuality remains under-addressed in public academic venues. Sexual freedom is certainly an important topic, one that merits the rigorous investigation--of the sort for which the SUNY system is held in high esteem--that it no doubt received at the New Paltz conference.

Condeming a conference on the basis of the title of two of its panels reveals intellectual superficiality and irresponsibility, at best. Worse, such condemnation participates in the demonizing of women and sexual minorities and stifles free and informed speech. I would hope that Governor Pataki and the SUNY Board of Trustees would encourage freedom of debate from various academic perspective, rather than closing off discussion out of misplaced fear or one-sided political investments.

Likewise, the performing arts conference should not be rejected out of hand because it addresses sexual content. Such a silencing would align the SUNY Board with the most politically conservative forces in American culture, those who are determined that sexual minorities have no place in public view. Angels in America is an award-winning play by one of our country's most eloquent spokespeople for the right of artistic and sexual expression. Presenting the play in the context of this conference will no doubt inspire a rich and complex dialogue about history, sexuality, and the future of this country's overlapping minority communities.

I would hope that the secular, public values of the SUNY system will distinguish it from an institution such as Catholic University, which recently drove a production of Angels in America off of its campus, and was resoundingly chastized and ridiculed in the national press for doing so. I would hope that SUNY can retain more enlightened values in the face of a narrow, partisan assault on what Govenor Pataki demeans as "this kind of activity."

President Bowen has taken a principled stand in support of both of these imporant conferences. I strongly encourage the SUNY Board of Trustees to value his integrity and his ethics, and to stand by him as he rejects the abrogation of academic freedom and freedom of speech on the SUNY-New Paltz campus.

Sincerely,