Tag: Battle for Free Speech

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Ridgewood Public Schools does not tolerate any acts of hate or negative speech in our buildings or on our property.

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Dear Parent or Guardian,

The recent events in Charlottesville have compelled me to write to you this afternoon. The horrific and
vile images on our screens emphasized the unfortunate and misguided behavior of real people with real
hate in their hearts towards others who look or believe differently from themselves.

Having watched those expressions of hatred and violence with horror and disbelief, I want to stress to
you and reassure you that the Ridgewood Public Schools does not tolerate any acts of hate or negative
speech in our buildings or on our property. Our district is a community of people from many different
backgrounds, nationalities, beliefs and protected classes, and we insist that our students and staff
practice tolerance and respect at all times through clearly articulated goals for respectful and inclusive
behavior. We also go one step further, by finding ways to highlight and celebrate both differences and
similarities.

As we ready for the opening of school and a peaceful and welcoming start to a new year, I encourage
you to talk about the school environment in your discussions with your family about the recent events in
Charlottesville. Please know that we are here to assist you and feel free to reach out to your child’s
principal, or to me, at any time.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

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Join Yaron Brook in the Battle for Free Speech

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Join Yaron Brook in the Battle for Free Speech
January 08, 2015 Carl Svanberg

For too long the right to free speech has been undermined by the weak and apologetic intellectual and political leaders of the West — leaders who are more concerned about not offending the assailants than they are about standing up for the victims and their right to speak their minds. And for too long we have seen the results of that appeasement in an endless series of shocking headlines. The senseless slaughter at Charlie Hebdo is just the latest in a long list of death threats and attacks going all the way back to 1989 with the fatwa on Salman Rushdie.

In an effort to provide the American public with some moral clarity and leadership on this important issue, ARI’s executive director, Yaron Brook, will be traveling across the country to give a talk titled “Free Speech and the Battle for Western Culture.” Here’s a description of Yaron’s talk:

Above all else, the West’s fight for liberty was historically a fight for the free mind against religious and political tyranny. If knowledge and happiness are the goal, the individual must be free to think and speak without threat of violence, imprisonment or death. This idea is at the root of the West’s unprecedented prosperity. And without this right, ARI could not advocate the new ideas and the new philosophy that can revive the West’s greatness. But today the right to free speech is precarious. This right is under vehement attack by our enemies, the latest being the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, and is being increasingly dismissed by the West itself. Come hear Yaron Brook explore the reasons why the right to free speech is being attacked and why it is imperative that we properly defend freedom of speech.

When will Yaron talk in a city near you?

January 13. Refreshments begin at 6:30 PM. Talk begins at 7:00 PM at The Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers in Chicago.

January 14. Refreshments begin at 7:00 PM. Talk begins at 7:30 PM at CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.

January 20. Refreshments begin at 7:00 PM. Talk begins at 7:30 PM at the Sheraton Palo Alto in Palo Alto.

January 21. Refreshments begin at 7:00 PM. Talk begins at 7:30 PM in Irvine, California.
January 08, 2015 Carl Svanberg

Register online. Walk-ins welcome.

The events are FREE for students.