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UW-Eau Claire's Forum Series Announces
2008-09 Season Lineup

RELEASED: July 28, 2008

EAU CLAIRE — The 67th season of The Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will open Monday, Oct. 13, with a presentation by Jeffrey M. Smith, a leading spokesperson on the health dangers of genetically modified organisms.

Jeffrey M. Smith

Smith's international bestseller, "Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating" (2003), is credited with motivating changes in consumer buying habits to safer, non-GMO foods. His second book, "Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods," reveals insider documents about GMO safety trials and shows how the world's most powerful biotech companies bluff and mislead critics, Congress and the Food and Drug Administration about the products we buy every day.

Smith's Forum program, titled "Seeds of Deception: Genetically Modified Organisms and Your Health," will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Zorn Arena. The event is the first of five Forum events scheduled for the 2008-09 season. The rest of the season lineup will include:

• Tariq Ali: "U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan," 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19, Zorn Arena. Pakistan, the likely home of Osama Bin Laden and safe house for the Taliban forces fighting NATO in Afghanistan, stands on the front line of the war against terror. Recent events have shown this longtime ally of the West is in deepening crisis. British-Pakistani writer and historian Tariq Ali draws on his extensive first-hand research and personal knowledge of the key players involved to assess the causes and consequences of Pakistan's rapid spiral into political chaos.
• John Perkins: 'Geopolitics, the Future and You: A Call to Action," 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8, Zorn Arena. Perkins' expos of international corruption, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" (2004), spent more than a year on The New York Times bestseller list. In his 2007 book "The Secret History of the American Empire," Perkins details the clandestine operations that created the world's first truly global empire and provides a compassionate plan for creating a stable, sustainable and peaceful world.
• Cathi Tactaquin: "Immigration and Race in the Global Era," 7:30 p.m. March 3, Schofield Auditorium. Tactaquin directs the California-based National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, an alliance of grassroots, community, labor and faith organizations working for fairness and justice in immigration policy. Drawing on her experiences as the daughter of a farm worker, an organizer in the Filipino community and an international migrant activist, she calls for a greater understanding of how the worldwide demographic shift is challenging perceptions, attitudes, policies and laws for both race relations and immigration.
• Robert M. Sapolsky: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: Stress, Disease and Coping," 7:30 p.m. March 25, Zorn Arena. In his most popular book, "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers," Stanford University neurobiologist Sapolsky writes that when we worry or experience stress, our bodies turn on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way — through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of humor, Sapolsky explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of afflictions, and he gives practical advice about controlling our stress responses.

Established in 1942, The Forum continues its tradition of presenting many of the world's greatest minds and imaginations. A typical Forum includes a 60-minute lecture, a 30-minute question-and-answer session, and an open reception.

More information about each of these events and ticket information can be found in the season booklet or online. Season subscription information is also available at the Service Center in the east lobby of Davies Center, 715-836-3727. Subscription options include the "Works" package at a 25 percent discount or a build-your-own-season package of six or more tickets to Forum and Artists Series events at a 20 percent discount.

Tickets for individual Forum events are $8 for the public, $6 for those 62 and older and UW System or Chippewa Valley Technical College faculty and staff, and $4 for those 17 and younger and UW System or CVTC students. Student tickets are half price ($2) up until the day of the event. On the day of the event, students will be required to pay the full student ticket price. Ticket sales begin August 11.

Patrons also may charge their tickets to MasterCard or Visa when they order by phone. Call 715-836-3727 or, outside the immediate Eau Claire area, call toll-free 800-949-UWEC. A $3 handling fee will be added to all telephone charge orders.

Wisconsin Public Radio and Community Television have contributed generous promotional support for The Forum. Best Western Trail Lodge Hotel & Suites (715-838-9989), 3340 Mondovi Road, is The Forum's exclusive accommodations partner.

Funded by the students of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, The Forum is administered by the University Centers Activities and Programs office.

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JS/JP

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