Upcoming Events
Summer of Social Justice Cinema Series
Friday evenings: June 9, 16, and 30, and July 7, 14, and 28, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Room L
Do you like movies? Do you like social justice? Do you want a family-friendly and free activity this summer? Then we have an opportunity for you!
Our Lifespan Religious Exploration program will be hosting a Summer of Social Justice Cinema Series, geared toward a wide age range! For select Friday evenings in June and July, we will be watching youth-friendly films around the topic of social justice, followed by a guided discussion about the topics explored in the films. Films are recommended for preteens and older; a synopsis for each film will be available. Refreshments will be provided, but attendees are also encouraged to eat ahead of time, or bring their own dinners. Movies will be shown in Room L.
Registrations are required for youth who will be dropped off. No reservation is required for young people coming with their parents, but RSVPs are encouraged. Adults are welcome. The dates are all on Friday evenings: June 9, 16, and 30, and July 7, 14, and 28, from 6 pm to 9 pm. Attendees can come to one or all of the dates.
Please contact Melinda Stuart-Tilley (religious.exploration@uutallahassee.org) for more information, and please look out for Facebook updates.
Free Thinkers’ Forum
Tuesday, July 4, will not be held on the Independence Day holiday.
Free Thinkers’ Forum
Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., Room L
Supreme Court Constitutional Decision Making:
PART II, The Rule of Law/Or the Rule of Deeply
Held Value Predisposition
Presentation by: Ned Ryan, Attorney
Program: Part II: Rule of law or rule of deeply held value predisposition. You will hear Ned’s conclusion to the question, how is it that a change of just one person on the Supreme Court can result in new and different constitutions.
Ned Ryan: Ned Ryan, retired, has had a varied career mostly as an attorney, working in the federal, state and local governments, and in private practice. He specialized in trial and appellate practice and has been involved in housing and municipal planning, criminal justice planning, and constitutional planning. He served as a Member of the New York State Assembly, and counsel to the Assembly Judiciary Committee subcommittee on the State Constitution. He has been deeply involved in various U.S. Constitutional cases as a staff counsel to a national civil liberties organization and, in particular, challenges to the War in Viet Nam and other constitutional cases. He taught in Law School, served as an Administrative Law Judge in NY State, and is currently completing a doctoral dissertation on the interpreting the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., Room L
What Should Constitute Lawful Assisted Suicide: A Case Study
Presentation by: Warren Brackmann
Program: Michelle Carter, 20, was found guilty in a juvenile court of involuntary manslaughter for goading her teenage boyfriend into killing himself. She faces up to 20 years in prison when she’s sentenced on Aug. 3. Warren will describe the situation in more detail and then show a couple of short clips from news reports about the incident. A discussion will follow lead by Warren.
Warren Brackmann: Warren, was born in New York, lived in Virginia before moving to Canada as a teenager. Earning a B.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario, he worked for over thirty years in information technology in Canada and the U.S. He is now retired from the IT business and is pursuing his passion of fine art photography. His work is or has been exhibited in art galleries in and around Tallahassee. A co-director of Freethinkers’ Forum, he is also an officer on the advisory board of the Center for Inquiry–Tallahassee.