How's this for a profile in courage! Patrick Bosold

A quote from below:

Indeed I have long stood against
the folly of planting 100 million acres with transgenic crops each year,
without knowing even the simplest consequences of such a massive
intervention in the biosphere.

> 1. BAN-GEF: DR CHAPELA BEGINS PROTEST TODAY
> (06/26/03 ....It has been suggested that the extraordinary delay in
> reaching a decision on my tenure case without ostensible reason may be
> the result of, even retribution for, my advising our campus, academe,
> the government and the public against dangerous liaisons with the
> biotechnology industry, as well as my concerns regarding the  problems
> with biotechnology itself... Ignacio H. Chapela Assistant Professor
> (Microbial  Ecology) Department of Environmental Science, Policy and
> Management  [log in to unmask])
>
>
> Subject: Dr. Chapela begins protest today
>
> Berkeley, California, 26 June 2003
>
> We asked the captain what course of action he proposed to take toward a
> beast so large, terrifying, and unpredictable.  He hesitated to answer,
> and then said judiciously: "I think I shall praise it."
>
> Robert Hass
>
>
> Dear friends, dear colleagues,
>
> Beginning at 6 o'clock this morning, as I  enter the final days of my
> contract as a faculty member at the University of California at
> Berkeley, I intend to mark and celebrate them, by doing what I believe a
> professor in a public university must do: to further reason and
> understanding.  For the brief time that remains of my terminal contract
> at Berkeley, I shall sit holding office hours, day and night, outside
> the doors of California Hall.  This is the building housing the Budget
> Committee of the Academic Senate, and the office of the Chancellor, the
> two arms of our university governance in charge of my file.
>
> I am saddened by the failure of the administration and the Academic
> Senate to resolve in a timely fashion whether to grant me tenure at
> Berkeley.  I believe that I have contributed to the mission of the
> university and my heart and intellect are also vested in its health and
> growth.  All but one of the colleagues who witness my everyday teaching
> and research in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and
> Management have repeatedly stated their support for my tenure, and so
> have a set of external expert reviewers and the leadership of my
> College.  To the extent that reason can assess, I do not know of any
> other academic information on the case that might suggest that a
> negative decision should be reached.  Yet as of tonight, well over a
> year into the part of the process conducted in secret in California
> Hall, no decision has  been made, as far as I am aware.  I must
> therefore conclude that there is another set of criteria that
> counterweigh the strength of the case, but that such information cannot
> be publically shared.   In the face of such lack of transparency and
> accountability, I choose to hold office hours in public, in the open,
> and in the midst of our beautiful campus.  I do so in celebration of my
> vocation and my time at Berkeley, and not in the expectation that such
> an action will change the course of the decision process, whatever that
> might be.
>
> It has been suggested that the extraordinary delay in reaching a
> decision on my tenure case without ostensible reason may be the result
> of, even retribution for, my advising our campus, academe, the
> government and the public against dangerous liaisons with the
> biotechnology industry, as well as my concerns regarding the  problems
> with biotechnology itself.  Without doubt, the uncertainty and reproach
> implicit in the silence on campus surrounding my case has had grave
> consequences for my professional, public and personal life.  But such
> are the wages of doing work that has significance for the world, and it
> will be up to those sifting through the files of this case to discern
> the twists and turns that brought us to this moment, and to pass the
> judgment of history on the motives and actions of those involved, within
> and beyond our community.  It is difficult to blame otherwise principled
> individuals for not voicing their best understanding.  Fear is justified
> when even the president of the country equates with criminal acts any
> questioning of the wisdom of deploying transgenic crops. Against the
> desire of some to banish critical thinking from the birthplace of the
> Free Speech Movement, I choose to sit, openly available for discourse,
> in the heart of our campus.
>
> At least one person has said that I should be banned from the academic
> system, implying that my work harms the public role of the university as
> a  hothouse for the agbiotech industry. Indeed I have long stood against
> the folly of planting 100 million acres with transgenic crops each year,
> without knowing even the simplest consequences of such a massive
> intervention in the biosphere.  An increasing number of scientists seem
> to be reaching the same position.  It seems also true that research in
> my laboratory has prompted serious public concerns that the industry
> would rather not address.  An industry on the crutches of public subsidy
> for a quarter of a century, an industry that trembles in the face of the
> simplest token of precautionary research, is hardly an industry that
> deserves to carry the public trust, much less  our best hope for
> recovery in a flagging economy.  It would seem rational that our
> university - and the public - should strive to  keep an independent
> source of advice on the wisdom of supporting such an industry.
> Rationality, however, must take a back seat when the university becomes
> grafted to a specific industry. Such has increasingly been the case at
> Berkeley and at other universities.
>
> At a time of rampant obscurantism and irrationality, I am proud of the
> privilege vested in me by the public as a professor at Berkeley.  In
> fulfillment of the duty attached to that privilege, I intend to share
> the light of rationality during office hours over the next five days,
> together with those who might wish to join me.
>
> Fiat lux.
>
> Ignacio H. Chapela Assistant Professor (Microbial Ecology) Department of
> Environmental Science, Policy and Management
>
>
> ** Logistical details and contacts:
>
> I will sit in an "office" without walls.  This means that I will most
> likely not have direct access to an AC electric wall outlet.
> Nevertheless, I will have a battery-operated cell phone (USA-510-207
> 7331). My cell phone will need to be recharged occasionally; if you do
> not get an answer, please leave a message and I will call back.
>
> My email address is [log in to unmask] In case of server
> breakdown, please use [log in to unmask] - email responses may be
> delayed for some hours.
>
> I will foreseeably be in my "office" 24 hours a day (except for short
> unavoidable breaks) from Thursday to Monday midnight,  circumstances
> allowing.  Three chairs will accommodate myself and two others in this
> transparent office. Bring your own portable chair if you need to.  I
> hope to be able to offer tea and biscuits, but that is not a promise.
> These last days have been on the hot side, but with any luck the natural
> "breathing cycle" of the Bay Area will bring fog relief for at least
> some of the mornings between Thursday and Monday.  At meal times, I will
> have space for company, although the seating may be less than royal, and
> the menus are still being planned.
>
> Despite President Bush's emphatic demands this week, the House has yet
> to pass the BioShield legislation, and there may be further delays in
> the Senate.  Nevertheless,  I am making efforts to comply with the
> current spirit on our campus and across the nation by surrounding my
> office with protective, gray, duct tape, for added security.  Visitors
> from Toronto and elsewhere in the world, please note that I will also
> have protective face masks and rubber gloves at hand.
>
> After midnight on Monday, I will be travelling to the Gen-ecology
> laboratory in Norway until 22 July.  I will be underway for a week,
> subsequently available via my alternate email account:
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Please feel free to forward this email as you see fit.  I hereby decline
> all copyright.
>
> - ---
> [This E-mail scanned for viruses at mail.fiam.net]
>
>

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