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News Release
Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-2692
Phone: (410) 516-7160
Fax (410) 516-5251
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September 9, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leslie Rice
lnr@jhu.edu
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The 1999 Milton S. Eisenhower
Symposium:
"Redefining the Role of the Media"
This year's student-organized
Milton S. Eisenhower
Symposium at The Johns Hopkins University is Redefining
the
Role of the Media, designed to generate a thoughtful and
provocative discussion on the role of the media in American
society.
Established in 1968, the Eisenhower Symposium is a
student-run
lecture series, free and open to the public, that annually brings
to campus experts with a variety of perspectives on an issue of
national importance.
Few are immune to the media's influence, whether that
influence is exerted through television, radio, print media or
the
Internet, this year's organizers say. The demise of political
parties as distinct entities, the waning importance of the
nuclear
family, and the rise of the Internet as a cheap and accessible
form
of communication all have enhanced the media's role in society.
Symposium directors Feras Mousilli, a senior, and Sehla
Ashai,
a junior, say the series' task this year is to challenge
participants to examine one of the most powerful influences in
American society. How can the media, facing overwhelming growth,
diversification and specialization in the industry, maintain
standards of ethics in the face of corporate demands for
financial
success? How will American society handle the metamorphosis of
media from a passive reflection of society to a political, social
and cultural machine? To what extent will Americans use the media
to fulfill their needs of expression and communication?
As in the past, the Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium is
expected to draw 20,000 audience members. The two student chairs,
selected by the undergraduate Student Council, are responsible
for
selecting the topics, securing all speakers, raising necessary
funds and publicizing the series. The chairs receive some funding
from Student Council but are responsible for raising the balance
from corporations and foundations.
Covering topics like the nuclear arms race, human sexuality,
freedom of the press and foreign policy and race, the symposium,
established to honor the university's eighth president, has
drawn
speakers like James Carville, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Reed, Kurt
Vonnegut, Carl Bernstein, Eugene McCarthy, Pat Robinson and Isaac
Asimov.
Student chairs Feras Mousilli and Sehla Ashai can be reached
at (410) 516-7683, or by e-mail at
mse@jhu.edu.
See attached tentative schedule and, for updates, check out
the
1999 MSE Symposium Web site at:
http://www.jhu.edu/mse.
1999 MSE Symposium
Tentative Schedule of Events
Oliver Stone, Loveline's Dr. Drew Pinsky to Speak
at the 1999 Milton S. Symposium
Students at Johns Hopkins University have announced part of
the speaker schedule of the 1999 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium:
Redefining the Role of the Media. The lecture series,
which
is free and open to the public, hopes to generate a provocative
discussion on the role of the media in American society.
Organizers
of the series expect to announce more speakers for the series
over
the next few weeks. All lectures will take place on the
university's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in
Baltimore.
Events scheduled so far include:
Dr. Drew Pinsky
Friday, Sept.17, Shriver Hall Auditorium, 7 p.m.
As co-host of Loveline, the popular show on both radio and
MTV, Pinsky dispenses advice each week on drugs, sex and
relationships to his loyal young viewers and listeners. A board-
certified internist and addiction specialist, he began hosting
Loveline 15 years ago. Mixing humor and professional
expertise, Pinsky and co-host Adam Carolla answer questions from
viewers and listeners on topics like teen pregnancy, sexual
dysfunction, depression and alcohol and drug abuse.
Nadine Strossen and Jack Thompson
Tuesday, Oct. 12, Shriver Hall Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Strossen was elected president of the American Civil Liberties
Union in 1991. A professor of law at New York Law School, she has
written, lectured and practiced extensively in the areas of
constitutional law, civil liberties and international human
rights.
She is a frequent commentator on legal issues in the national
media
and her writings have been published in over 100
publications.
Thompson, an advocate for more responsible
American
entertainment, has been a practicing medical malpractice attorney
in Florida since 1977.He is credited with securing the first
decency fines ever levied by the Federal Communications
Commission
in American history in a case against three "shock" radio
stations.
Thompson has been guest on shows like Nightline, Good Morning
America, Oprah and many others.
Oliver Stone
Friday Oct. 29th, Shriver Hall Auditorium, 7 p.m.
The Academy Award-winning American screenwriter and filmmaker's
credits include Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, Platoon,
Natural Born Killers and Wall Street. (Note: Despite
Stone's recent legal trouble, his agent has assured students that
Stone will honor his commitment.)
Phoebe Eng
Thursday, Nov. 18, Room TBA., 7 p.m.
Eng is author of Warrior Lessons: An Asian American Woman's
Journey Into Power. She is also the co-founding publisher of
A.
Magazine, a national consumer magazine targeted to the Asian
population in the U.S. She is frequent media critic on issues
like
Asian identity, how the media shapes identity and diversity.
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