The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) exists to preserve and protect the liberties and privileges guaranteed to each individual by the Bill of Rights. These liberties include freedom of speech and expression, equal protection under the law, due process of law, and the right to personal privacy. The purpose of the New York Law School student chapter of the ACLU will be to promote awareness and education of civil liberties to students at New York Law School and to residents of New York. The group’s functions will include organizing rallies, debates, discussions, speakers, lobbying efforts, and public speak-outs about major issues of civil liberties that currently impact the New York Law School student body and the United States as a whole. This group is a committee affiliated with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and will seek to assist the NYCLU in any function, project or activity that it needs our help with.

Activities

This will be a promising year for the ACLU/NYLS! Last year was the group’s inaugural year and the group finished it off with a successful panel on wiretapping and privacy issues. The panel, “Curious George Taps Phones: Lives, Liberty and the Law five years after 9/11” was co-sponsored by the Federalist Society, the Republican Club and the Democrat Club. The event featured four prominent attorneys/scholars debating the constitutionality of the NSA wiretapping program. Roughly 80 students attended the evening event. The ACLU/NYLS will be featuring a similar panel discussion in both the fall and spring semesters. More information regarding dates and speakers will be forthcoming.

For more information about the ACLU, visit www.aclu.org or www.nyclu.org.