A Conference and Discussion on the U.S. Constitution in the War on Terror

It is often said that September 11th changed everything. Does this mean the U.S. Constitution,
too? There's a Constitutional debate raging right now and it is over how much power the
government has in its War on Terror. Are secret arrests permissible? Torture? Surveillance?
Restrictions on speech and protest? Lying by police and government officials? Is the Constitution
even relevant in this new kind of warfare? Or is it quaint and outmoded? Many people have
argued that Americans now face the greatest Constitutional crisis of our history.

On September 17, 1787 the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for a last time in
Independence Hall to sign the just completed Constitution, thus creating the first modern
constitutional republic built on the twin principles of limited government powers and protection
of the rights of people. September 17th has been set aside by the U.S. Congress as Constitution
Day, a time to reflect on what the Constitution means to us today.

Maryland Institute College of Art and Women for Mutual Security have gathered a group of legal
experts and civil libertarians on Constitution Day - the 218th anniversary of the Constitution - to
discuss the burning questions of the Constitution in these times of Terror.

Friday, September 16, 2005
10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Falvey Hall, Brown Center
Maryland Institute College of Art
1301 W. Mount Royal Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21217

Art Exhibit - "Ghosts of Liberty"
Book Tables by Red Emmas and AK Press
Constitutions will be distributed free to all conference attendees

Conference Program
10:30-10:45 Welcoming Remarks - Robert Merrill, Professor, Literature and Humanities, MICA
10:45-12:00 Keynote Address - David Cole, Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University
12:00-1:00 Lunch - On your own. Café Doris, Meyerhoff Dining Hall, restaurants on Charles Street
1:00-3:00 Panel 1 - In the Balance Between War and Constitutional/Human Rights
Sherrilyn Ifill, Moderator, Professor of Law, University of Maryland School of Law
Elaine Cassel, Professor of Law and author of The War on Civil Liberties
Farhana Khery, Executive Director, National Association of Muslim Lawyers
Naheed Qureshi, Civil rights attorney, American Civil Liberties Union
John Bonifaz, Author of Warrior King: The Case for Impeaching George W. Bush
3:00-3:15 Coffee Break
3:15-5:15 Panel 2 - Vanishing People, Vanishing Rights
Ambrose I. Lane, Moderator. "We Ourselves," WPFW; Board Member Pacifica Foundation
Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Asa Gordon, President, The Douglass Institute of Government
Alisha Mohammed, Human Rights lawyer
5:15 Parting Comment - Lenora Foerstel, American Coordinator, Women for Mutual Security

For additional information, please contact:
MICA's Office of Communications 410-225-2300; pr-AT-mica.edu
Robert Merrill, e-mail rmerrill-AT-mica.edu; phone 240-422-2680
Lenora Foerstel, e-mail foerstel-AT-aol.com; phone 410-730-7483
Alan Orr, email daorr-AT-yahoo.com; phone 410-225-2350

The Conference is free and open to the public. Pre-Registration is encouraged but not required. To
pre-register, send your name, address, phone, and email to Robert Merrill, Literature Department,
Maryland Institute College of Art, 1300 Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217. By fax, send to 301
277 2467. By email, send to rmerrill-AT-mica.edu.
Directions: Mount Royal/Univ. of Baltimore Light Rail. 3 blocks from Baltimore's Penn Station.