You can find more information here: https://saveutlibraries.com

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See the complete letter, including co-signing organizations, here; you can find the text of the letter itself below [link edited on 8/2/2016].

As scholarly associations, we are committed to the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression. The recent moves in Turkey herald a massive and virtually unprecedented assault on those principles. One of the Middle East region’s leading systems of higher education is under severe threat as a result, as are the careers and livelihoods of many of its faculty members and academic administrators.

Our concern about the situation in Turkish universities has been mounting over the past year, as Turkish authorities have moved to retaliate against academics for expressing their political views—some merely signing an “Academics for Peace” petition criticizing human rights violations. 

Yet the threat to academic freedom and higher education has recently worsened in a dramatic fashion. In the aftermath of the failed coup attempt of July 15-16, 2016, the Turkish government has moved to purge government officials in the Ministry of Education and has called for the resignation of all university deans across the country’s public and private universities. As of this writing, it appears that more than 15,000 employees at the education ministry have been fired and nearly 1600 deans—1176 from public universities and 401 from private universities—have been asked to resign. In addition, 21,000 private school teachers have had their teaching licenses cancelled. Further, reports suggest that travel restrictions have been imposed on academics at public universities and that Turkish academics abroad were required to return to Turkey. The scale of the travel restrictions, suspensions and imposed resignations in the education sector seemingly go much farther than the targeting of individuals who might have had any connection to the attempted coup.

The crackdown on the education sector creates the appearance of a purge of those deemed inadequately loyal to the current government. Moreover, the removal of all of the deans across the country represents a direct assault on the institutional autonomy of Turkey’s universities. The replacement of every university’s administration simultaneously by the executive-controlled Higher Education Council would give the government direct administrative control of all Turkish universities. Such concentration and centralization of power over all universities is clearly inimical to academic freedom. Moreover, the government’s existing record of requiring university administrators’ to undertake sweeping disciplinary actions against perceived opponents—as was the case against the Academics for Peace petition signatories—lends credence to fears that the change in university administrations will be the first step in an even broader purge against academics in Turkey.

Earlier this year, it was already clear that the Turkish government, in a matter of months, had amassed a staggering record of violations of academic freedom and freedom of expression. The aftermath of the attempted coup may have accelerated those attacks on academic freedom in even more alarming ways.

As scholarly organizations, we collectively call for respect for academic freedom—including freedom of expression, opinion, association and travel—and the autonomy of universities in Turkey, offer our support to our Turkish colleagues, second the Middle East Studies Association’s “call for action” of January 15, request that Turkey’s diplomatic interlocutors (both states and international organizations) advocate vigorously for the rights of Turkish scholars and the autonomy of Turkish universities, suggest other scholarly organizations speak forcefully about the threat to the Turkish academy, and alert academic institutions throughout the world that Turkish colleagues are likely to need moral and substantive support in the days ahead.

(note: organizations wishing to be included as signatories on the above statement should contact Amy Newhall at amy@mesana.org).

In the 1980s, John Belton represented the Society before the Copyright Office of the United States when it considered expanding the authorial rights of film directors. In 1993, a committee led by Kristen Thompson drafted a report that made the case that fair use permitted reproductions of films stills in academic work. That document was adopted as policy by many university presses, and permitted decades of well-documented books and articles by media scholars. A decade and a half later, SCMS's public policy committee wrote a new statement, identifying fair use best practices in film and media teaching and publication. In 2006, Society member Peter Decherney successfully argued for an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, making it legal for media professors to make clips from DVDs for teaching. SCMS submitted a letter of support, and in 2009 and 2012 the Society joined Peter and others to expand the exemption to encompass students, educators in all fields, and documentary and noncommercial filmmakers.

This April 2013, SCMS joined another effort to protect educational fair use and signed onto an amicus brief in the 11th Circuit Court of appeals. Academic publishers Cambridge, Oxford, and Sage all sued Georgia State University over its e-reserve practices, i.e. making teaching materials available though courseware. The university won a big victory in the first round of the case. The district court found that 70 of 75 examples under question were clearly not infringing. The material was used for education and the amounts assigned were small. It was a triumph, but the decision was also overly narrow. Represented by the USC Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, SCMS joined the American Association of University Professors, the Modernist Studies Association, and University of Pennsylvania professors Peter Decherney and Tsitsi Jaji to argue that course reserves can also be "transformative." As many courts, including the Supreme Court, have held, even the use of entire works can be protected by fair use when the purpose of the use is different than the originally intended purpose. When works made by the entertainment industry, for example, are used for teaching, comment, and criticism, they are likely to be fair uses. Briefs by academic authors and library associations made very similar points.

This is a case that affects everyone teaching film and media. Arguments are expected to take place in late May, and a decision will follow. We will update you as soon as we learn of any decision. In the meantime, because we know how vital such issues are to our members, we want to keep you informed of our work on your behalf.

The Society for Cinema and Media Studies is proud to announce its support for a new venture, the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference. Previously conducted under the title of the Midwest Undergraduate Film and Television Conference and held only at the University of Notre Dame, this new incarnation will rotate across multiple universities on an annual basis, so as to enable wider access to students across North America. It will carry the SCMS imprimatur to reflect the organization’s strong support for undergraduate education in cinema and media studies.

We ask that you tell your best undergraduate students about the First Annual Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference. It will be once again held at the University of Notre Dame on April 12-13, 2013. Next year it will move to the University of Oklahoma.

Undergraduate students are invited to propose papers appropriate for a 20-minute presentation on any aspect of cinema and media history, criticism, or theory. Interested students must submit a proposal form, which can be found at http://ftt.nd.edu/ftt-events/society-for-cinema-and-media-studies-undergraduate-conference/.

Completed proposals should be sent by email to JoAnn.Norris.9@nd.edu at the University of Notre Dame. Please write "SCMS Undergrad Conference 2013" in the subject heading.

The deadline for proposals is Midnight EST on Monday, February 4, 2013. Questions about the conference should be directed to Christine Becker at cbecker1@nd.edu.

The Society is a member of the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW). I serve as the SCMS representative to this group. Yesterday CAW released the findings of the 2010 survey on part-time faculty members. The report is available on the CAW website at http://www.academicworkforce.org. There is also an article about the report in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/article/Study-Paints-Portrait-of/132421/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en). I think this will be of great interest to all SCMS members.

Sincerely,

Patrice Petro
Past President, Society for Cinema & Media Studies
Vice Provost for International Education
Professor of English, Film Studies, and Global Studies
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee