FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANHATTAN COLLEGE TO HOST DISCUSSION THAT EXAMINES THE PATRIOT ACT AND U.S. CIVIL LIBERTIES

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College will host a panel discussion, “The Patriot Act: Tool Against Terror or Threat to Civil Liberties?,” on Tuesday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the College’s Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers.  This event is free and open to the public.

The panel is comprised of David Kelley, U.S. Attorney-Southern District of New York, and Udi Ofer, project director for the New York Bill of Rights Defense Campaign. The two will address concerns in favor and against the Patriot Act and other legislation enacted by the federal government in the name of national security.

Mr. Kelley joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1988.  From 1993 until 1995, Mr. Kelley served as deputy chief of Organized Crime and Violent Gangs Unit.  Shortly thereafter, he was named chief of the newly formed Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit where he personally prosecuted or supervised terrorism and organized crime cases.  U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft appointed Mr. Kelley in 2003 to his current position as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Ofer is an attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) as well as director of the New York Bill of Rights Defense Campaign.  The New York Bill of Rights Defense Campaign was created to ensure that government antiterrorism initiatives uphold civil liberties and civil rights and that constitutional rights are not sacrificed in the name of national security.  Mr. Ofer, a Crowley Advocate in International Human Rights Law, speaks frequently on post-9/11 civil liberties issues.

This discussion is sponsored by Manhattan College’s government and peace studies programs.  For further information about this event, please contact Dr. Margaret Groarke at (718) 862-7943.  If you are a member of the press and would like to cover this discussion, please contact Melanie A. Farmer or Amy Massey at (718) 862-7232.   Manhattan College is located at West 242nd Street near Broadway in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, one mile from the Westchester County line and accessible by MTA subway lines 1 and 9.

Manhattan College was founded in 1853 upon the Lasallian tradition of excellence in teaching, inspired by St. John Baptist de La Salle.  Manhattan College is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science.  For more information about the College, visit us online at http://www.manhattan.edu.

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