DATE: February 26, 2010 9:45:54 AM PST
WWU's Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education to Host a Free Public Forum March 16
Contact: Jen Reidel, program coordinator, at Jennifer.Reidel@wwu.edu or (360) 927-7540.
BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University’s Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education and the City of Bellingham will host a free public forum, “Free Speech in Public Schools,” with guest speaker Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff in the landmark free-speech case Tinker v. Des Moines, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16 at the Bellingham City Council Chambers, 210 Lottie St., in Bellingham.
“We are excited to have Mary Beth Tinker as a speaker. Her story is an American story. It is one where an individual exercised their constitutional freedoms and fought to ensure that citizens’ rights are safeguarded from government abuse of power,” said Jen Reidel, program coordinator for the Munro Institute. “The Tinker case still impacts us today as we grapple with the appropriate balance of student freedoms within the school setting.”
The Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education at Western Washington University is dedicated to encouraging civic literacy among secondary-education teachers as well as the public at large. To that end, the Munro Institute hosts periodic teacher trainings highlighting civic ideals and teaching strategies for classroom use.
Munro, a member of Western’s Board of Trustees, has a long and distinguished record of public service. From 1980 through 2001, he served as Washington's secretary of state, a job to which he was elected five times. Munro received his bachelor’s degree in Education and Political Science from Western in 1966 and was recognized by Western in 1989 as a Distinguished Alumnus.
For details, contact Jen Reidel at Jennifer.Reidel@wwu.edu or (360) 927-7540.
printer friendly
