For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, BUSINESS AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–January 15 , 2007–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
On January 21, Serbia will hold its first general election since becoming an independent state in June 2006. Albanians from southern Serbia will participate in elections for the first time since 1993. Will radicals from the late former president Slobodan Milosevic's party gain or lose power? What are the implications for the future status of Kosovo and for Serbia's eventual admission to the European Union? Chicago-Kent professor Henry H. Perritt, Jr., has visited the region several times a year since 1998 to work on free and fair elections, privatization and economic development, and improved education there. Professor Perritt is a co-author of a recent report on combating public corruption in Kosovo and the author of a forthcoming book on the Kosovo Liberation Army. He is available to analyze the results of Sunday's Serbian elections.
The Bush administration has abandoned its controversial warrantless surveillance program. The program, which was governed by the National Security Agency, will be replaced by a new initiative that will be overseen by a secret court that administers the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Opponents of both programs cite privacy concerns. Chicago-Kent dean Harold J. Krent, who was part of the IIT team that examined the FBI's e-mail surveillance program (formerly known as Carnivore) for privacy implications, is available for interviews.
"Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies," a controversial exhibit developed by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, opened at the Museum of Science and Industry this week. Experts are available to discuss the exhibit which will be the topic of a panel discussion hosted by Chicago-Kent next week. (See below.)
Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali turned 65 this week. Ali, who was selected as Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the [20th] Century," won the title three times. Adjunct professor and sports law expert Eldon L. Ham is the author of The 100 Greatest Sports Blunders of All Time. Professor Ham is available to discuss Ali's 1967 refusal to be inducted into the military and the subsequent stripping of his title by the boxing establishment.
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Muhammad Ali's conviction for refusing to be inducted into the military. In 1964, Ali had failed the written portion of the Selective Services examination. Two years later the test was revised and he was reclassified 1-A. But Ali, who had converted to Islam shortly after his first fight with Sonny Liston, refused to serve on religious grounds. The draft board rejected his conscientious objector application. His conviction was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 (with Justice Thurgood Marshall abstaining) in Ali's favor. Constitutional scholar and distinguished professor Sheldon H. Nahmod is available for interviews about Clay, aka Ali v. United States. Military law expert and professor Michael I. Spak is available for interviews about conscientious objector status during the Vietnam era. Professor Spak served on active duty with the U.S. Army in the Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1963 to 1969 and has remained in the U.S. Army Reserve. As Colonel Spak, he is currently liaison officer of the Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Muhammad Ali brand. The former champion is lending his name to a new snack food aimed at Echo Boomers, aged 18-24. This is the such first venture for Ali, who sold 80 percent of the marketing rights to his name and likeness for a reported $50 million in April 2006. Stuart School of Business Joel Goldhar is an expert on branding issues.
Jury selection has begun in the federal trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who served as an adviser to President Bush and as chief of staff to Vice President Cheney. Libby has been charged with two counts of making false statements to FBI officers, two counts of perjury before a grand jury and one count of obstructing justice in connection with the investigation of how CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity was released to the media. If convicted, Libby could receive up to 30 years in prison. Experts are available for interviews.
Chicago-Kent students Joel Roberson and Susan Clark spent their winter break working as volunteers in the Gulf Coast region providing assistance to residents impacted by Hurricane Katrina. During their 2006 spring break, Joel and Susan worked on housing issues at the Mississippi Center for Justice. This time, they worked in New Orleans as part of the Student Hurricane Network, a coalition of students from Illinois law schools formed "to provide one-on-one advocacy support and community rebuilding services" to displaced residents. The students are available for interviews.
Upturns in the market that occur at the start of the year are influenced by the "January effect." As a result, stocks generally rebound from year-end selling to post some of their strongest gains. Professor Keith Black of Stuart School of Business' Center for Financial Markets says the January effect may be minimized this year because small stocks have consistently beaten large stocks over the last year. Professor Black is available for interviews about this phenomenon.
Downtown Campus Events
January 24, 2007: "Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies," a controversial exhibit developed by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, will be on display at the Museum of Science and Industry from January 17 to April 29, 2007. The work has been hailed by some as an achievement in anatomical science while being criticized by others as denigrating the deceased. Yet others raise concerns about the "commodification" of the human body and issues related to how the corpses on display were obtained. IIT's Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future (IBHF) will host a panel discussion, "Humanism in the Age of 'Enhancement': A Critical Response to 'Body Worlds,'" to foster debate about the exhibit, the effects of art and science on the human form, the use and acquisition of human bodies and biological materials, and the implications of von Hagens' project on human dignity. Panelists include: Liz Lerman of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, University of Illinois at Chicago art history professor Hannah Higgins, Lindsey Thieman of the International Museum of Surgical Science, and IBHF-affiliated scholars Christina Bieber Lake and Katrina Sifferd. The program, which will begin in the Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium at 5:30 p.m., is co-sponsored by Three Walls, a Chicago-based not-for-profit art and art education organization. Nigel M. de S. Cameron, IBHF president and research professor of bioethics at Chicago-Kent, will moderate. The program is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested. For more information, visit the Web site: www.thehumanfuture.org, or to RSVP, please contact: RSVP@thehumanfuture.org.
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