For Immediate Release: October 29, 2003
Contact: Tom Krattenmaker
610-328-8534
tkratte1@swarthmore.edu
http://www.swarthmore.edu/news/
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Swarthmore College Dean Robert Gross issued the following statement today clarifying the administration's position on action by Swarthmore students relating to the Diebold, Inc., memos.
"The College administration applauds our students for their idealism and initiative, for acting on their consciences in the interest of fair elections and healthy democracy. We believe their actions express the values of the College, including its commitment to prepare students to be engaged, socially responsible citizens.
"As an educational institution, it is the College's role to equip its students with the intellectual and ethical resources to pursue such action, not to take advocacy positions as an institution on political issues, even issues as important as this one. To defy the copyright law as some have urged would expose the College unnecessarily to a host of unacceptable risks, including very costly and time-consuming litigation. It would also establish a precedent whereby other student activists in the future might expect the institution to commit its name and other resources to their own cause, creating a situation that would quickly become unworkable. As an educational institution, the College avoids political advocacy except in situations directly related to its core educational mission.
"If the College were to take a political stand on an issue, it would do so only after a full and complete community-wide discussion, and ultimately a decision by the board to do so.
"While we have required our students to abide by the law and remove the Diebold material from the College's network, we have advised them of the legal recourse available to them and encouraged them to pursue it."
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