What does it mean when in our democracy those peacefully carrying out an informational leafleting at a major university against the policies of a major corporation are tossed out into the cold and then detained by police?

This kind of free speech seems to be limited at Duke University.

This is what happened to us at Wednesday’s Duke Energy Conference 2012. Our aim was to distribute flyers and offer a more realistic assessment of our energy future than what the conference’s opening speaker, Duke Energy Progress CEO Jim Rogers, would offer.

In brief, we wanted conference attendees to know that Duke Energy has a 20-year plan with almost no wind and solar energy and almost no energy efficiency.

Instead, it is quietly moving toward burning more fossil fuels and building more nuclear plants – a plan that would be a disaster both for consumers and the climate.

We were first told we’d need to respect conference speakers and move outside. We were then detained by police, had our ID’s confiscated, banned from campus, photographed, and escorted to our cars.

Duke University’s notion of respect is misplaced. Respect should be accorded to anyone holding a mature, well-thought-out position on an issue.

Imposing a ban, as Duke did, on information of this kind sullies the high purpose of a university. It seemed that conference panelists and speakers – execs from Chevron, Walmart, PG&E, GE, and various cybersecurity firms – were regarded as above reproach and thus should not have to accommodate dissenting views.

The academic-industrial complex would do well to embrace the principle that free information flow is essential to the free market.

From a higher ground, freedom to assemble and freedom of speech should never be trumped by position and privilege. Never.

Duke University needs to recalibrate its sense of the value of information, especially when that information counters what for the rest of the world is the disrespect of life by a few.

Pete MacDowell

Harry Phillips

Sammy Slade

The writers are associated with NC WARN, a Durham-based non-profit devoted to climate justice.

Give to your local pet shelter

It’s that time of year when we start thinking about how we can help those who are less fortunate. One of the best ways to help is by making a charitable contribution to your local pet shelter.

While big national organizations inundate the airwaves with pleas for support, the truth is that you’ll get far more bang for your charitable buck by giving locally.

The national organizations aren’t affiliated with local pet shelters, and very little of their money goes to help shelter homeless pets.

A contribution to a local shelter is the best way to make lasting impact on the lives of homeless pets.

Diana Culp

Director, Humane Society for Shelter Pets