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EXPERT ALERTS
- American Muslims Reflect on Fighting Intolerance, Growing Anti-Muslim Sentiment
- Communication Between Parents and Teachers
- Politics and the Workplace
MEDIA JOBS
- Investigative Reporter - Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Reporter - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- NFL Reporter - Mclean, Va.
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
- DNC 2012 Day One: Event Prep and CarolinaFest
- Media News Highlight
- Tool Spotlight: timeStats
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EXPERT ALERTS
Expert Alerts are listings of ProfNet members who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact their media representative at the end of the listing. You can also find Expert Alerts online at bit.ly/pncalerts
American Muslims Reflect on Fighting Intolerance and the Growing Anti-Muslim Sentiment
Zainab Al-Suwaij
Executive Director
American Islamic Congress (AIC)
"As American Muslims honor the 11th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11, we must reiterate our commitment to nonviolence, interfaith dialogue and tolerance. I co-founded AIC in the weeks following 9/11 in the hopes of building interfaith and interethnic understanding, and representing the diversity of American Muslim life at the time of highly charged and polarized debates. Eleven years after the horrific attacks that took nearly 3,000 of innocent lives, the American Muslim community has made great progress in its bid to empower the often silent moderate voices and to dispel many harmful stereotypes. But great challenges remain. As recent attacks on religious minorities in Oak Creek, Wis., and Joplin, Mo., demonstrated, religious intolerance is, unfortunately, still alive in the United States. Freedom of religion is one of the founding principles of the United States. This reminds us we must not take this freedom for granted. Religious intolerance must be countered by our communities as we lead by example. But we must also keep our leaders accountable when their words create the environment of intolerance and discrimination."
Al-Suwaij, the executive director of AIC since its inception just after 9/11, is a leader in the interfaith community and can speak about: 1) the significance of 9/11 to the American Muslim community; 2) the progress made over the past 11 years evident in the greater visibility of moderate Muslims; 3) the challenges the community still faces illustrated by the recent tragedies in Oak Creek, Wis., and Joplin, Mo.; 3) the status of interfaith dialogue in the U.S. and what it can do to help during times like these; 4) how actions and rhetoric from the nation's top leaders on down creates an environment of hate, discrimination and violence against certain religious or ethnic groups is permissible; and 5) how Muslim groups work with entities such as the Department of Justice, schools and community groups to dispel stereotypes and fears.
News Contact: Kseniya Zudava, i.zudava@aicongress.org or +1- 1-617-266-0080
Communication Between Parents and Teachers
Dr. Elizabeth Archambault
Assistant Professor in the College of Education
Argosy University, Inland Empire in California
"Keeping the lines of communication open with your child's school and teacher is critical to your child's academic success and establishing a home-school partnership. If a problem arises, whether it is academic or social, it is important and comforting to know you can address it with the child's teacher and try to reach a resolution through communication and cooperation. Your child will be more secure knowing you are participatory in his/her educational experience. Although most issues can be resolved between the child and teacher or parent and teacher, sometimes more serious circumstances arise that require intervention at a higher level."
Archambault is able to discuss how parents can keep the lines of communication open with the classroom teacher, as well as how to address those more difficult situations.
News Contact: Anne K. Dean, adean@argosy.edu or +1-714-620-0910
Politics and the Workplace
Robin E. Shea
Attorney
Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLP
Commentators agree that this year's presidential campaign is more divisive than any other in modern history. In the two months between the conventions and the election, employers need to know how to avoid being caught in the middle and how to keep the workplace civil. Is it a good idea for a public-minded employer to solicit political donations from employees, encourage employees to volunteer for the campaigns of certain candidates or even to "encourage" employees to vote the "right" way? Can a heated political debate in the workplace lead to hostile work-environment harassment claims? Do First Amendment rights apply in private-sector workplaces? Are there any "best practices" for employers to follow in this contentious election season? Shea can discuss these issues and more.
"There is an old saying that you shouldn't discuss politics or religion with people you don't know very well. That goes quadruple for this election, where opinions and emotions are so strong on both sides. Unless the employer is a political party or a candidate's organization, employers should not be putting any pressure on their employees to work on campaigns, make donations or vote a certain way. And employees should be respectful of their co-workers' rights to their opinions. Although the First Amendment applies only to 'state action,' it's very easy for a comment about a political issue, or political 'humor,' to be interpreted as evidence of race, sex or religious discrimination."
Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLP is a national employment and labor law firm. Shea has more than 20 years of experience in labor and employment law, and is the editor of the blog Employment & Labor Insider.
News Contact: Wendy Angel, wangel@constangy.com
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MEDIA JOBS:
Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: bit.ly/pncjobboard
- Investigative Reporter - Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Reporter - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- NFL Reporter - Mclean, Va.
See more listings here.
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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at profnetalerts@prnewswire.com
- DNC 2012 DAY ONE: EVENT PREP AND CAROLINAFEST: PR Newswire's Christine Cube offers a glimpse into the Democratic National Convention: bit.ly/OTzYGY
- MEDIA NEWS HIGHLIGHT: ProfNet Editor Evelyn Tipacti shares stories from the worlds of media and journalism: bit.ly/PwPPvR
- TOOL SPOTLIGHT: TIMESTATS: ProfNet Editor Jason Hahn looks at timeStats, a Chrome browser extension that tracks your online browsing habits: bit.ly/NCDWmd
