vol. 48, no. 3

aclu news

Volume XLVIil

Draft Non-Registrants

Schools Warned Not to Deny Student Ait

In a March 18 letter, the ACLU-NC

advised all college and university presi-

dents in northern California that, be-

cause of a recent federal court ruling,

they must not deny financial aid to

draft-age male students simply because

, they have not registered for the draft.

The ACLU also urged school officials

to inform their students of the court

order which enjoined implementation

of the controversial Solomon Amend-

ment.

The March 9 federal court ruling

-came in response to an ACLU lawsuit, |

Doe v. Selective Service System, which

was filed to challenge the 1982 Solo-

mon Amendment to the Defense

Authorization Act, under which

federal aid to students in higher edu-

cational institutions must be denied un-

less the student demonstrates com-

pliance with draft registration require-

ments. Although the order came from

the U.S. District Court in Minnesota,

the injunction applies to colleges and

universities all over the country, in-

cluding northern California, the

ACLU stated.

ACLU-NC

staff counsel Alan

April 1983

Schlosser wrote college and university

presidents, ``All colleges and univer-

sities in the country, including your

institution, are bound by the terms of

the order and enjoined from enforcing

or implementing the statutory require-

ments of the Solomon Amendment."'

The letter states that the court order

prohibits the dissemination of any fi-

nancial aid forms which seek informa-

tion concerning compliance with draft

registration requirements.

Inform Students

``Until further order of the court,"'

Schlosser wrote, ``we also believe that

students are not legally obligated to

provide any information pursuant to

the Solomon Amendment. To clarify

the situation, we would suggest that a

statement be issued by your institution

informing students of the court ruling

and assuring them that there will be no

enforcement of this law until a final

determination is made in this case.''

The preliminary injunction, ordered

by U.S. District Court Judge Donald

Alsop, found that the Solomon

Allende Widow Barred

WHY CAN YOU NOT HEAR THIS WOMAN SPEAK? Mrs. Hortensta Bussi

8 World

de Allende, widow of former Chilean president Salvador Allende who was assas-

sinated in the 1973 coup which overthrew his elected government, was denied a

visa to enter the U.S. just one day before she was to arrive in the Bay Area for a

9-day speaking tour. Claiming that her visit would be ``prejudicial to U.S. in-

terests,'' the State Department invoked the 1952 Immigration and Nationality

Act, passed at the height of the Cold War to bar Mrs. Allende from speaking to

`U.S. audiences.

The Northern California Ecumenical Council, (NCEC), one of the original

sponsors of the speaking tour, has reinvited Mrs. Allende to the Bay Area. Should

the State Department again deny her an entry visa, the ACLU-NC is preparing to

represent the NCEC in a First Amendment lawsuit challenging the ban.

The NCEC and ACLU protests of the visa denial have been echoed in many

quarters - including Congress and the national media. Northern California

Represeatatives Burton, Dellums and Stark all condemned the visa ban and the

Washington Post thundered, ``This is incredible: Mrs. Augusto Pinochet, wife of

the general who led the coup against the government of Chile in 1973 and who has

run a tight and nasty military dictatorship since, is received for tea in the Reagan

White House. Mrs. Salvador Allende, widow of the elected president who was

deposed and killed in that coup, is now refused a visa to the United States to give

a speech."'

~ punish nonregistrants.

Amendment violated the U.S. Consti-

tution in two ways. First, because it

makes a wholesale determination of

the guilt of and inflicts punishment on

an identifiable group without the pro-

tections of a judicial trial. [Legally this

is known as a bill of attainder, which is

prohibited by the Constitution as a

general safeguard against legislative

exercise Of the judicial function.]

Second, the statute violates the Fifth

-Amendment's privilege against self-in-

crimination, in that it compels students

to furnish possibly incriminating in- -

formation about their registration

status by imposing the penalty of

denial of financial aid to those who

choose not to provide such informa-

tions =

In reaching its conclusion, the court

noted that the debate in Congress sur-

rounding the passage of the Solomon

Amendment clearly indicated that the

obvious intent of the statute was to

`*Even the

addition of .an-intent to encourage

compliance with registration cannot |

save this law: deterrence of future

wrongdoing is a traditional punitive

aim,'' Judge Alsop wrote.

The preliminary injunction issued by

the federal court prevents not only

Selective Service System Major-Gener-

al Thomas Turnage, the U.S. Depart-

ment of Education and D.O.E. Secre-

tary Terence Bell and their employees

and representatives from enforcing the

Solomon Amendment, but also ``all

persons acting by, through, for or in

concert with them,"''

and university officials.

`*This important court ruling sends a

strong message to government officials

who would use illegal mechanisms to

force compliance with the unpopular

draft registration requirements,' said

including college |

ACLU-NC executive directc

Ehrlich. ``Although we eurocenteuro

government to appeal, we a

that this decision will put an

use of the denial of financial aid as a

weapon against nonregistrants,'' she

added.

Board Elections

All ACLU-NC members are re-

minded that the Nominating Com-

mittee is seeking suggestions from the

membership for candidates to fill the

at-large position on the Board of the

ACLU-NC. The elections will take

place by mail through the June issue of

the ACLU News. ACLU members may

participate in the nominating process

in two ways:

1. You may send suggestions for the

Nominating Committee's considera-

tion before April 15, 1983. Address

suggestions to Nominating Committee,

ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission St., S.F.

94103. Include your suggested

nominee's qualifications and how the

nominee may be reached.

2. You may submit a petition with

the signatures. of 15 current ACLU

members. Petitions for nominations,

which should also include qualifica-

tions, must be submitted to the Board

of Directors by May 23, 1983 (20 days

after the May Board meeting.)

Current members are those who

have renewed their membership during

the last twelve months. Only members

are eligible to submit nominations, sign

nominating petitions, and vote.

ACLU members will elect Board

members from the slate of candidates

nominated by petition and by the

Nominating Committee. The ballot

will appear in the June issue of the

ACLU News.

IRS Aims at Mother Jones

Is the Internal Revenue Service trying

to-put Mother Jones out of business be-

cause of the magazine's vigorous anti-

corporate and anti-government

muckraking?

Publisher Robin Wolaner thinks so

and is charging the IRS with political

harassment. The charge results from a

recent IRS decision that the magazine is

not an educational publication and is

"`unrelated'' to the goals~of its tax-

exempt parent organization The Foun-

dation for National Progress.

Wolaner points out that scores of

magazines are set up precisely as

Mother Jones is, including Smith-

sonian, National Geographic, Harper's,

and Commentary. ``We are being

singled out for political harassment,''

she maintains, ``It's a very insidious at-

tack on our First Amendment right to

publish."'

Mother Jones' editor Deirdre English

adds, ``The most dangerous twist to this

situation is that the government could

silence us by simply running us finan-

cially ragged - fighting the IRS is

pushing us over the financial edge."'

ACLU-NC Executive Director Doro-

thy Ehrlich, in a letter to Representative

Doug Barnard, chair of the House

Commerce, Consumer and Monetary

Affairs Subcommittee, said, ``The

ACLU is gravely concerned that such a

powerful government agency as the IRS

may be used as a weapon to silence

-Mother Jones, a magazine known for

its stinging and substantial criticism of

government abuse of power.

"`Mother Jones is a sucessful publica-

tion - with over half a million readers.

But it is not a profitmaking operation,

in fact it has lost a great deal of adver-

continued on p. 3

aclu news

april 1983

2

New Cop Bills in Sacramento

by Daphne Macklin

ACLU Legislative Advocate

Believing that a good offense is the

best defense, the ACLU is sponsoring a

number of bills in the state Assembly

to protect and promote civil liberties

concerns. The issues addressed in the

ACLU legislative package involve con-

troversial police practices that demand

serious public attention. The measures

stem from court decisions, pending

cases and procedural reforms resulting

from unwarranted strip searches; unre-

stricted use of chokeholds which have

resulted in death; and public access and

input into police administrative prac-

tices

AB 270, one of several measures

sponsored by Assemblywoman Maxine

Waters, would regulate strip searches.

The bill follows recent court decisions

which require police to have some rea-

sonable cause to believe that an ar-

~ restee may have weapons or drugs hid-

den within his or her clothing or on

their person. In both northern and

_ southern California, lawsuits have

been filed by women who were strip

searched after being detained for fail-

ing to pay fines for misdeameanor or

infraction offenses. Nationally, other

lawsuits have successfully challenged

blanket strip search policies that al-

lowed intimate body searches of elderly

and pregnant women, pre-teen girls

and others. Often little regard was

shown for the personal dignity of a

woman when she was forced to disrobe

in a public or unsecured area. In some

instances male officers participated in

or observed the procedure.

Strong judicial disapproval of these

policies has led to injunctions and

sizable awards of civil damages to vic-

tims of strip search abuse.

Chokeholds

Sixteen deaths have been attributed

to the use of chokeholds by the Los

Angeles Police Department. A large

civil damage award to a black doctor

who was a chokehold victim and a

number of other pending claims

against the Los Angeles Police Depart-

ment have resulted from the unre-

stricted use of chokeholds.

AB 1530, sponsored by Assembly-

woman Gwen Moore, would define the

use of these physical restraint tactics by

police officers as ``deadly force.'' The

use of one hold, the trachea or bar-arm

hold, would be expressly prohibited;

the use of the carotid artery or v-hold

would be restricted to conditions simi-

lar to those in which the use of firearms

is permitted.

The measure also requires medical

treatment or surveillance for any per-

son subdued through the use of the

carotid hold. The carotid hold has been

adapted from the martial arts, and is

used to block the flow of blood

through the arteries on both sides of

the neck - with severe medical con-

sequences. AB 1530 would allow local

governments to ban the use of this

technique.

Citizen Complaints

AB 1540, also sponsored by Waters,

is intended to help implement San

Francisco's Proposition A which cre-

ated the Office of Citizen Complaints

to review charges made against the San

Francisco police force. AB 1540 would

grant the civilian review board and its

investigators the power to review confi-

dential reports and files that relate to

matters brought before the board.

Without such authority the review

- board would be limited in its ability to

fully investigate and make informed

recommendations about allegations of

: police abuse.

Other ACLU sponsored fecislation

includes AB 264 which would make

complaints about an officer's conduct

exempt from confidentiality restric-

tions; AB 265 which would require the

disclosure in open court of certain mat-

ters contained in confidential police

personnel files as well as a judge's rea-

sons for not releasing an entire file;

and AB 266 which would require that

all misdeameanor and felony arrestees

be provided with a copy of their arrest

`reports.

These measures are seheduled for

committee hearings in April.

Help Wanted

COMPLAINT DESK COUN-

SELORS. Every week the ACLU gets

hundreds of calls from people whose

rights have been abused. Some of these

calls become lawsuits, some require

other action by the ACLU, some are

referred to other agencies - some just

need a sympathetic ear.

All of the callers are received by

ACLU Complaint Desk counselors

who volunteer one or more days per

week for the frontlines in the battle for

civil liberties.

If you can devote one day a week

from 10 to 4 to work on the ACLU

Complaint Desk, please call Pat Jame-

son at the ACLU, 415/621-2493. You

will be given a complete orientation to

the ACLU-NC and trained by an ex-

perienced counselor.

3 @ 8 @

MEMBERSHIP VOLUNTEERS. In-

dividual members are the single most

important element in keeping the

ACLU strong and effective.

The ACLU-NC needs volunteer help

maintaining the sophisticated, com-

puterized membership system which

updates records, produces lists for all

types of mailings, analyzes sources of

income, and responds to individual

problems for 20,000 northern Cali-

fornia members. .

If you are good at detail work, con-

cerned about ACLU's effectiveness,

want potentially marketable ex-

perience, and have five or more day-

time hours a week to give to the

ACLU,

Jean Hom, 415/621-2493.

(c) @cent @

SACRAMENTO OFFICE: The

ACLU Legislative Office in Sacra-

mento is seeking a volunteer to work

on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

afternoons. Duties include typing,

filing, running errands in the Capi-

tol - and other tasks vital to the ef-

fectiveness of the ACLU legislative

program.

This is a real opportunity to learn

the nitty-gritty of what it takes to

lobby for civil liberties legislation.

If you can help, call ACLU Legis-

lative Assistant Sally Smith at

916/442-1036.

contact Membership Clerk

FBI Powers Widen

The new FBI Domestic Security

Guidelines issued by Attorney General

William French Smith ``substantially

threaten First Amendment rights of

free speech and free association,'' ac-

cording to the ACLU National Legisla-

tive Office. The guidelines, which went

into effect on March 21 - only two

weeks after being issued by the At-

torney General - considerably weaken

- those drafted in 1976 by BND

General Edward Levi.

Jerry Berman, ACLU Legislative

Counsel, pointed out several problem ~

of law abiding groups for intelligence

purposes would have a chilling effect

on free speech and association.

ACLU-NC Right to Dissent Sub-

committee member Richard Criley,

who has been a subject of extensive

FBI surveillance (``I have personally

studied over 30,000 pages of docu-

ments relating to civil liberties organi-

zations with which I am associated''),

points out that not long ago FBI Direc-

tor William Webster testified that the

Levi guidelines did not unduly restrict

the FBI's work.

REAGAN'S BUDGET CUTS CAN'T HELP )

BUT GET THE GOVERNMENT OFF OUR

BACKS LIKE H

PROMISED

rN

CLLE O

a, Fy

areas in the new guidelines:

Investigations based on advocacy: The

new guidelines authorize the FBI to

open a ``domestic security'' investiga-

tion of a person or group based solely

on ``advocacy of criminal activity."

This allows for the FBI to monitor

those who merely engage in heated de-

bate (around draft resistance, for ex-

ample) or advocate unpopular

ideologies. The past history of FBI

investigations of ``subversives'' is a

history of investigations detrimental to

free speech.

Use of informants and _ infiltration

without a standard: The new guidelines

permit the FBI to use informants and

infiltration of organizations in ``pre-

liminary investigations'' where the FBI

may be acting on unsubstantiated

allegations or without reasonable sus-

picion.

Collection of public information' A

new authority allows the FBI to collect

"`publicly available information''

about anyone, including persons not

formally under investigation and infor-

mation relating to exercise of First

Amendment rights, such as attendance

at public meetings, speeches and poli-

tical activities. Clearly, FBI monitoring

`ture of political repression.

Why then are the First Amendment

and privacy protections now being

removed with the new guidelines?

Criley sees the answer in a larger pic-

"It is no

secret that the Reagan Administration

is frustrated by growing opposition to

its nuclear arms build-up, its inter-

ventions in Central America, and its

battles with environmentalists and

other organized opponents of govern-

ment policy - or that influential right-

wing Reagan supporters have been call-

ing for the `unleashing' of the FBI,"'

Criley explained.

"One can forecast some obvious

targets for FBI infiltration under the

new permissive standards, as a first

step in using the awesome power of the

federal government for purposes of re-

pression and dissent,'' he added.

Echoing the national ACLU's call

for congressional hearings on the

potential violations of constitutional

rights under the new guidelines, Criley

said, ``Public accountability of the FBI

should be assured by statute - not by

regulations which can be changed at

the whim of an administration. Our

democracy is too precious to be left to

`chance.''

aclu news

8 issues a year, monthly except bi-monthly in January-February, June-July,

August-September and November-December

Second Class Mail privileges authorized at San Francisco, California

Published by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California

Davis Riemer, Chairperson Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director

Marcia Gallo,

ACLU NEWS (USPS 018-040)

- 1663 Mission St., 4th floor, San Francisco, California 94103. (415) 621-2488

Membership $20 and up, of which 50 cents is for a subscription to the aclu news

and SO cents is for the national ACLU-bi-monthly publication, Civil Liberties.

Elaine Elinson, Editor

Chapter Page if

Hawkins Joins Legal Staff

Cati Hawkins, who joined the

ACLU-NC staff in February as a Legal

Assistant, has a life full of community

service, music, children and hard work

- and that's just how she likes it.

A native San Franciscan (she was

born a stone's throw from Candlestick

Park), Hawkins has been working

since the age of nine. She was intro-

duced to public service law in 1973

when she was hired as a secretary for

the drug program at the Bayview-

Hunters Point Community Defenders

Office (a legal defense project funded

by the Mayor's Office of Community

Development.). She was quickly pro-

moted to trainee legal assistant and

there developed the skills which have

already made her a great asset to

ACLU's Legal Department.

`Hawkins had become the supervisor

of the legal support staff at the Com-

munity Defender's Office when she left -

in 1980, but, as she puts it, she ``never

quite left that agency - her heart and

her spare time are dedicated to helping

the Community Defender carry - its

vital work."'

``The community desperately needs

the service provided by the Community

Defender - it's a personalized service

and people in Bayview-Hunters. Point

really count on it,'' Hawkins explains.

- "With Reagan's budget cuts, the

program is endangered. The agency

must do independent fundraising to

survive,'' she says. Hawkins developed

benefits and direct mail fundraisers for

the Community Defenders Office while

she was there and still participates in

their fundraising efforts as a volunteer.

The new legal assistant also worked

as a bookkeeper for Jones United

Methodist Church (``another way to be

involved in my community.'' she

notes) and as a personal assistant to at-

torney and investigative reporter Brian

McTigue, now with NBC News.

Cati Hawkins

Hawkins also honed her fundraising

and publicity skills as part of the pub-

licity team for the Black Filmmakers

Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Oak-

land Museum Association.

Hawkins says she is ``just thrilled''

to be working at the ACLU because it

combines her interest in law and com-

munity service. ``ACLU's involvement

in the Richmond march case last Sep-

tember really caught my attention,"'

Hawkins told the ACLU News (The

ACLU went to federal court to get a

permit for. an NAACP-sponsored

march against racism and police abuse

after the permit was denied by the

Richmond police. Ed.)

"I know a lot about the community

problems in Richmond and when I saw

that the ACLU was doing some there, I

thought to myself, `That sounds like

my kind of place!' '' Hawkins added.

The mother of three children

(``raised by me and me alone with

God's help,'' she adds _ proudly),

Hawkins practices yoga and is an avid

A Will to Give to the ACLU

As with a number of ACLU mem-

. bers, Dick Browning's support for the

ACLU was long-term and quiet. And

the ACLU was not his only concern.

In 1968, Browning included the

ACLU as a "`residual beneficiary'' in

his will. Following his death in 1981

Browning's generosity resulted in a

$7,601 gift to the ACLU Foundation

of Northern California, which we re-

ceived in February of this year.

Like most other ACLU supporters,

Browning shared a deep concern for a

number of causes. In addition to the

ACLU, his will named five other or-

ganizations including St. Anthony's

Dining Room and the Southern Chris-

~ tian Leadership Conference.

According to ACLU-NC Associate

Director Michael Miller, most ACLU

supporters also give generously to

other organizations, both during their (c)

lifetime and in their wills.

Another example, noted Miller, is

the anticipated distribution of the be-

quest of Virginia Hanna Kellogg who :

died last year. She named the ACLU,

along with another 20 other groups, as

a beneficiary of her estate.

In 1982, the ACLU Foundation of

Northern California received $19,000

from 5 separate bequests.

Many Californians do not have any

form of will. In order to help rectify

this, the State Legislature recently ap-

proved the creation of a ``Statutory

Will'', a form which is now being dis-

tributed by the California State Bar

Association (copies are available for

$1.00)

Unfortunately, this fill-in-the-blanks

will was designed primarily for married

people who wish to leave their estate to

a spouse or children. Establishing a

trust with the will is also possible.

Single persons need to attach a

``codicil'', an amendment, to the

Statutory Will in order to make it

valid.

Charitable deductions in the Statu-

tory Will are limited to a cash gift to

one organization only: no property can

be left to a charity and no more than

one organization can be named.

_ The Statutory Wills are available for -

$1.00 each. Send check or money order

and a self-addressed, stamped envelope

to Wills Forms, State Bar of Cali-

fornia, P.O. Box 441, San Francisco

94101. (Specify with or without pro-

visions for a trust.)

Persons who wish to include the

ACLU in their wills should specifically

name the ACLU Foundation of Nor-

thern California.

For more information on making be-

quests or other tax-deductible dona-

tions to the ACLU Foundation, con-

tact Michael P. Miller at 415/621-2493.

music listener. She's a performer too,

and founder of Hawkins Gospel-

Gram, a singing telegram service that

delivers a personal message with a

gospel song.

Hawkins is working as the legal

assistant to staff attorneys Margaret

Crosby and Alan Schlosser.

With a rich, throaty laugh Hawkins

says, ``I'm ecstatic here at the ACLU. I

guess I'm really not satisfied until I

`have a big pile of work on my desk."'

Then, looking around at the stacks of

briefs she was preparing to be filed, she

laughed again and added, ``So I think,

I'm going to be very happy here.''

Mother Jones continued from p.

tising revenue because of its exposes of

corporate crime and _ irresponsibility.

Yet the local IRS has the discretion to

determine. that because of the

magazine's `success' at reaching readers

that it is a commercial, as opposed to an

educational non-profit, operation,"'

Ehrlich wrote.

Ehrlich urged the Subcommittee to

continue the investigation initiated by

the late Representative Benjamin

Rosenthal into IRS procedures for

granting or denying tax exempt status to

organizations which publish magazines,

and in particular, to determine whether

the IRS attack on Mother Jones is .

motivated by political reasons.

"*In the face of serious First Amend-

ment violations, we must never become

aclu news

april 1983

pip Tor Film

Traveling Hopefully, the documen-

tary film about Roger Baldwin and the

ACLU made by John Avildsen, has

been nominated for an Academy

Award as best documentary short sub-

ject. It is one of five nominees.

ACLU-NC members had a chance to

see a ``working print'? of Traveling

Hopefully at the 1980 Bill of Rights

Day Celebration honoring Roger

Baldwin on the 60th anniversary of the

ACLU.

1

cautious or complacent,'' Ehrlich said.

The labeling of the Canadian Film

Board movies as `propaganda' by the

Justice Department, the claim that the

Nuclear Freeze movement is the work

of Soviet agents by President Reagan,

and this battle against Mother Jones by

the IRS may all look like single potshots

- but each of them carries enormous

weight, and, taken together, they con-

stitute a full frontal assault on our First

Amendment rights.''

The ACLU is urging members to join

the protest by writing to Representative

Doug Barnard, Chair, House Subcom-

mittee on Commerce, Consumer, and

Monetary Affairs, Rayburn House Of-

fice Building, Room B-377, ase

ton, D-C. 20515.

The Justice Department does not want us

to tell you to

Save the Date

Tuesda

ACID RAIN: REQUIEM OR RECOVERY |

, May 24

IF YOU LOVE THIS PLANET

ACID FROM HEAVEN

These three films, produced by the Canadian Film Board, have been

branded "political propaganda" by the Internal Security Section of the

U.S. Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. This

means that these films, which deal with the consequences of nuclear war

and environmental danger, must carry a disclaimer when shown to U.S.

audiences and that the names of organizations seeing the films, and

theaters or TV stations showing them, be reported.

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging this labelling which smacks

of censorship and in defiance of the law the films have been screened on

Capitol Hill without the disclaimer. Now you have a chance to show the

Justice Department what you think of their attempt to stigmatize

these films.

The films will be shown as a cbenehit for the ACLU-NC and Mother

Jones. For information and tickets call Marcia Gallo at 415/621-2494.

wha

4 aclu news

april 1983

Action Alert!

Take a minute to take some action to

defend your civil liberties -

SB 34 (Presley, R-Riverside) - makes

filing a ``knowingly false complaint''

about a police officer's excessive use of

force, assault or battery a _ mis-

demeanor. SB 34 has already passed

the state Senate and will be heard by

the Assembly Committee on Criminal (c)

Law and Public Safety in April.

Action - Contact your Assembly rep-

resentative to say that this bill would

keep persons from filing complaints

about police misconduct for fear of

reprisal.

FBI Domestic Security Guidelines -

contain new authority for FBI investi-

gation and surveillance of political

dissidents (see story p. 2),

Action - Write to Attorney General

William French Smith, Department of

Justice, Constitution Ave. and 10th St.

NW, Washington, D.C. 20530, urging

him to revise the Guidelines to disallow

intrusive techniques when less than

`reasonable suspicion' of a crime is

present and when investigation of a

person or group is based solely on ad-

vocacy of illegal conduct. Also write to

your Congressional representative and

Representative Don Edwards (D-Ala-

meda, Santa Clara), chair of the House

BeAeReK

BOARD MEETING: (Fourth

Thursday each month.) Thursday,

April 28. Contact Joe Dorst,

415/654-4163 for time and place.

EARL WARREN

GUEST SPEAKER: BERTRAM

GROSS, author of Friendly Fas-

cism, will speak on Government |

Secrecy and the Public's Right to

Know, Wednesday, April 20, at 7:30

p-m., Sumitomo Bank (20th and

Franklin Streets) in Oakland. Con-

tact Barbara Littwin, 415/452-4726

(days).

BOARD MEETING: Wednesday,

May 18, 7:30 p.m., Sumitomo

Bank, Oakland.

FRESNO

BOARD MEETING: (Third Wed-

nes day each month.) Wednesday,

April 20; Wednesday, May 18. 5:30

p.m., Legal Services Office, 906 N

Street, Fresno. Contact Scott Wil-

liams, 209/441-1611 (days).

LEGAL COMMITTEE MEET-

ING: (First Wednesday each

month.) Wednesday, April 6; Wed-

nesday, May 4. 5:30 p.m., Legal

Services Office, address above.

GAY RIGHTS

BOARD MEETING: Tuesday, May

3, 7p.m.; ACLU Office, 1663 Mis-

sion St., San Francisco. Note:

Board meetings have been changed

to the first Tuesday of the month

(instead of the last.) Contact Doug

Warner, 415/621-2493.

MARIN.

BOARD MEETING: (Third Mon-

Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and

Constitutional Rights, and urge them

to question the Attorney General close-

ly on the new Guidelines when he ap-

pears before the four congressional

committees reviewing them. Insist that

the new Guidelines be changed to pro-

tect First Amendment rights of free

speech and association.

Action Alert! is a new feature of the

ACLU News prepared by the Field

Committee to organize membership ac-

tion around urgent measures on a

local, state and national level. For fur-

ther information on these or other

measures being tracked by the Field

Committee, please call Marcia Gallo at

the ACLU-NC, 415/621-2493.

day each month.) Monday, April

18; Monday, May 16. 8:00 p.m., Fi-

delity Savings, Mill Valley. Contact

Alan Cilman, 415/864-8882 (days).

MID-PENINSULA

BOARD MEETING: (Last Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, April

28, 8:00 p.m., in Palo Alto. Contact

Harry Anisgard, 415/856-9186.

MONTEREY

PUBLIC FORUM/BOARD

MEETING: (Fourth Tuesday each

month, alternating between forums

and board. meetings.) Tuesday,

April 26: Public Forum on The Pros

and Cons of the new FBI Guidelines

(speakers to be announced). Con-

firm topic by contacting Richard

Criley, 408/624-7562.

MT. DIABLO ~

BOARD MEETING: (Third Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, April

21; Thursday, May 19. Contact Eve

Gilmartin, 415/935-0257, for time

and place. -

NORTH PEN

SEMINAR ON IMMIGRATION:

Issues Relating to San Mateo Coun-

ty Residents. Monday, April 11,

8:00 p.m., Allstate Savings and

Loan Community Room, Concar

Drive and Grant Street, San Mateo.

- Guest speakers include David Pas-

ternak, immigration attorney,

Angie Corder, with the Fair Oaks

Community Center, and others.

Contact Richard Keys,

415/367-8800 (days).

MEET SAN MATEO'S NEW DIS-

TRICT ATTORNEY: Special guest

FOIA Campaign Media Blitz

The 1983 Freedom of Information

Campaign comes at a time of rising

public dissent and increasing govern-

ment secrecy, say members of. the

ACLU Right to Dissent Subcommittee

which is spearheading the Campaign.

The Reagan Administration's Execu-

tive Orders restricting access to govern-

ment files coupled with the new guide-

lines expanding the power of the FBI

(see story p. 2) make protecting the

Freedom of Information Act an ever

more crucial task.

``In order to focus attention on the

increase in government secrecy we are

offering the media a wide range of

speakers - political activists, journal-

- ists, lawyers - and the response has

been very good,"' said J.R. ``Jake''

Rubin, chair of the Subcommittee and

one of the Campaign speakers. Rubin"

commended Media Alliance's Sally

Harms, a member of the Subcom-

mittee, for her efforts in organizing

this year's Campaign.

The Campaign was launched on

March 16 and will continue through

April. In addition to Rubin, campaign

speakers include Mother Jones' Mark

Dowie, Angus Mckenzie of the Center

for Investigative Reporting, Stanford

professor Charles Marson, author Ber-

tram Gross, Michael Castleman, Bill

Wick and Suzanne Donovan of Media

Alliance and Dick Criley, Julius

Young, Doug Berg, and Harvey Din-

nerstein of the ACLU. |

Reproductive

Rights

Pro-Choice Task Force members are

collecting thousands of signatures on

Decade of Choice petitions, to be pre- |

sented to Governor Deukmejian for

Mother's Day. The petitions reaffirm

the basic right of each person to repro-

ductive freedom and ask that any ef-

forts to overturn or obstruct the 1973

Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abor-

tion be opposed.

`*During April, Task Force members

and supporters will be gathering signa-

tures at shopping centers, schools, and

other public gathering places so that

those who support reproductive rights

can be counted in our message to the

Governor: uphold the law on abortion

in California,'' said Task Force mem-

ber Liz Zeck, an organizer of the peti-

tion drive.

Decade of Choice petitions are avail-

able from Marcia Gallo at the ACLU,

415/621-2494.

Calendar--

James P. Fox, Monday, May 9, 8:00

p.m., Allstate Savings and Loan

Community Room, address above.

Contact Richard Keyes, number

above, to confirm time of meeting.

SACRAMENTO

PUBLIC FORUM: ACLU National

Legislative Director JOHN SHAT-

TUCK will be the guest speaker at a

special forum co-sponsored by the

Sacramento and Yolo County

Chapters, Tuesday, May 3, 8 p.m.;

SMUD Auditorium, Sacramento.

Contact Mary Gill, 916/457-4099.

SAN FRANCISCO

BOARD MEETING: (Fourth Tues-

day each month.) Tuesday, April

26, 6:00 p.m., ACLU-NC, 1663

Mission, San Francisco. Wine and

sandwiches available before

meeting. Contact Chandler Visher,

415/391-0222 (days).

SANTA CLARA

BOARD MEETING: (First Tuesday

each month.) Tuesday, May 4, 7:30

p.m., Community Bank Building,

San Jose. Contact Vic Ulmer,

408-379-4431 (evenings).

SANTA CRUZ

BOARD MEETING: (Second Wed-

nesday each month.) Wednesday,

April 13; Wednesday, May 11. 8:00

p.m., Louden Nelson Center, Santa

Cruz. Contact Bob -Taren,

408/429-9880 (days).

SONOMA

BOARD MEETING: (Third Thurs-

day each month.) Thursday, April

21; Thursday, May 19. 7:30 p.m.,

Center for Employment Training,

3755 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa

Rosa. Contact Andrea Learned,

707/544-6911 (days).

STOCKTON

BOARD MEETING: (First Tuesday

each month.) Tuesday, May 3. Con-

tact Eric Ratner, 209/944-2361]

(days).

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

1983-84 CHAPTER OFFICERS

Eric Ratner, chairperson; Bart Har-

loe, vice-chairperson; Lee Miller,

secretary; and Jim Riddles,

treasurer.

YOLO

AUCTION / PARTY / RAFFLE.

DRAWING with over 30 prizes -

Sunday, April 24, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Live music, good food, and great

prizes - contact Julius Young,

916/758-5666 (evenings). :

Pro-Choice

Task Force

Regular organizing committee meet-

ings: First Wednesday each month

at 6 p.m., ACLU-NC, 1663 Mission

St., San Francisco; Wednesday,

May 4. Contact Marcia Gallo,

415/621-2494.

Right To Dissent

Subcommittee

Regular organizing committee meet-

ings: First Wednesday each month

at 7:30 p.m., ACLU-NC, 1663 Mis-

sion St., San Francisco; Wednes-

day, May 4. Contact Marcia Gallo,

number above.