New conversation series tackles current issues

A new campuswide initiative aimed at bringing the UB community together for learning and conversation about some of the critical issues of the day will begin this month with a teach-in on free speech on Sept. 25.

Sponsored by the Office of Inclusive Excellence, “Campus Community Conversations” will be an occasional series of teach-ins, panel discussions and moderated conversations on a wide range of current topics, says Seval Yildirim, vice provost for inclusive excellence and chief diversity officer.

“These events have been planned in response to requests from students, faculty and staff for campuswide conversations on these topics,” Yildirim says.

The format for the series will be live webinars held from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The first event on Sept. 25 features UB law professors Manoj Mate and Paul Linden-Retek in conversation with Yildirim, also a professor of law, about the parameters of First Amendment free speech protections.

The panel will discuss constitutional doctrine covering specific categories of free speech protections across different domains. 

The second event of the series will be a teach-in on Oct. 8 with Mate discussing the upcoming presidential election with UCLA law professor Richard Hasen.

Hasen is the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. He is the author of numerous books on election law, including his latest book, “A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy.”

Hasen and Mate will discuss the challenges facing the nation in this election, including concerns about foreign interference, disinformation, voter suppression and restrictions on minority voter participation, risks posed by nonacceptance of election results and threats to election certification and the peaceful transition of power.

Those interested in the events may register here.

“I am so excited to engage our campus community in these events,” Yildirim says.

“We will continue these conversations in the future with a range of topics that impact our campus community and our nation at large,” she says. “In the spring, we are planning events around the Constitution and Indigenous rights, attacks on DEI and advancing transgender rights. I look forward to seeing our campus community at these events.”