At the Non-profit Commons meeting this morning, avatars Ping Rao and Nonny Writer talked about a new project to stimulate dialogue about America’s "War on Terror." USC Institute for Media Literacy and the Seton Hall School of Law will be launching on Monday a "Virtual Guantanamo" to focus on public policy issues surrounding the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. The first in a series of monthly discussions about various political, legal and ethical questions surrounding the detention center, the program on Monday will center on constitutional questions relevant to Guantanamo. It looks like this will be a mixed-reality discussion, taking place both at Seton Hall and in-world at a simulated Guantanamo detention center.
The larger purpose is to increase public discussion about Guantanamo. “What we hope to create is a virtual platform where
people from around the world can gather together to
discuss important social justice issues,” said
Prof Mark Denbeaux, who also is the author of the “Guantanamo
Reports,” detailing the status of detainees at the
military prison camp. “As an Internet-based virtual
world, Second Life will allow us to conduct a broad
and diverse debate on a wide range of political,
legal and international issues.”
That’s this Monday, September 17, beginning at 10:30AM PST at IML sim (teleport SLURL).
Nonny and Ping (pictured right) were kind enough to gave me a quick tour of the camp, which you can see pictures of after the jump…
Although perhaps not ready for release on Monday, Nonny and Ping explained to me that they wanted avatars to begin their "virtual Guantanamo" experience within a military cargo plane as a detainee headed to the camp. I tried out the prototype of the cargo plane and found it a jarring experience. Here is a quick video that gives you an idea of what it’s like:
Your avatar dons a HUD that puts you through a fairly unpleasant exercise of lying shackled on the floor of the plane, having a hood thrown over your head (completely obscuring your vision from your SL client), and hearing rough voices telling you to be quiet. It’s very immersive and unsettling.
When you are unhooded, you are given a pair of orange coveralls to wear as you crouch within a concrete, outdoor cell that we’ve seen so many times on the news. You can stand up and open the door of your cell, which initiates a short video showing actual detainees in the same situation. Walking past the razor-wired fence prompts other videos of detainees and a father talking about how his son was detained for no reason. It’s all very sobering.
Certainly an interesting way to set the stage for a discussion on the morality, legality and efficacy of Guantanamo. I will be curious how this effects the tone of the discussion on Monday.
Seton Hall School of Law on Second Life:
Constitution Day Program on Interrogation and Intelligence Gathering to be Featured at Virtual Guantánamo Bay Detention Center
From Press Release
Newark, NJ – Seton Hall School of Law will be
partnering with the developer of a Second Life
platform on September 17 to provide a virtual
environment for people to join in on its
Constitution Day program on “Interrogation and
Intelligence Gathering.”
The program, developed by Professor Mark Denbeaux,
will be webcast in a virtual Guantanamo Bay
detention center on Second Life. The session is part
of a Seton Hall Law pilot to provide an online
platform for the discussion of constitutional,
political and international issues.
The virtual detention center was developed with
funding from the MacArthur Foundation and Bay Area
Video Coalition by Nonny de la Peña, producer and
director of the documentary “Unconstitutional: The
War on Our Civil Liberties,” and Peggy Weil,
professor of interactive media at the University of
Southern California.
“What we hope to create is a virtual platform where
people from around the world can gather together to
discuss important social justice issues,” said
Denbeaux, who also is the author of the “Guantanamo
Reports,” detailing the status of detainees at the
military prison camp. “As an Internet-based virtual
world, Second Life will allow us to conduct a broad
and diverse debate on a wide range of political,
legal and international issues.”
Seton Hall Law plans to offer monthly programming on
Second Life focused on issues ranging from
intelligence gathering, to forensics testing, to the
global war on terror, said Denbeaux. The
Constitution Day session is the first of the
programs to be offered on Second Life.
De la Peña added, “What we’re building is an
environment where people can talk and work on
problem solving in a global community.”
The virtual Guantanamo Bay center allows visitors to
walk through the experience of military detention
and features clips from de la Peña’s documentary.
In addition to the Second Life webcast, the
Constitution Day program will be webcast to
participating colleges and universities across the
nation. The program, which follows on the heels of
Seton Hall Law’s successful “Guantanamo Teach-In”
last year, is being offered to assist colleges and
schools with meeting the U.S. Department of
Education regulation requiring that all educational
institutions receiving federal funding must provide
students with instruction on the U.S. Constitution
each September 17.
To view the program on Second Life, participants
will need to create an account and go to “Gone Gitmo”
at SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/IML/182/211/122
or simply plug in the Second Life coordinates: 164
186 123. Space to participate in the Constitution
Day program on Second Life will be limited based on
the specific capabilities of the Guantanamo Bay
platform the day of the webcast.
For more information on the Constitution Day
program, please visit
http://law.shu.edu/constitutionday.
Do Seton Hall’s programmers bother to talk about what happens BEFORE these people are caught, from the recruitment and indoctrination, training and use of civilian populations as human shields (often willingly), all the way to their violent actions?
Geneva Convention is clear about what you should do with combatants out of uniform that you catch – try them in the field and, if found guilty, waste ’em.
Maybe we should try that sometime?
I think all viewpoints are welcomed at the discussions. The question isn’t what we should do about confirmed terrorists, the question is how we deal with people who are accused of being terrorists? Do we throw out our hard fought constitutional freedoms in the quest to punish “these people”? At what point do we endanger the liberties of political dissenters, those with unpopular views, and those who were merely at the wrong place at the wrong time? In short, at what point is our democracy in danger?
Watch some of the clips that Nonny has documented from current military officials, families, lawyers and detainees and see for yourself. I am not surprised at how many members of our own military and government have decried Guantanamo as a travesty.
Restore Habeas Corpus!
~in kenzo~
This is a great use of Second Life. I look forward to checking it out and seeing how it might change the discussion.
That’s a fine ideal CM, but what about those that were caught unarmed by the Northern Alliance warlords riding in the back of a truck (David Hicks) or riding in a crowded bus in Pakistan (Mamdouh Habib)? Both ended up in Gitmo. Do you try them in the field as unlawful combatants, even if there is no witnesses that can be found to have seen them fighting?
Guantanamo Bay In Your Face In Cyberspace
Seton Hall and USC gives your Second Life avatar a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay. Read
Guantanamo Bay In Your Face In Cyberspace
Seton Hall and USC gives your Second Life avatar a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay. Read
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Rik.
Do you really think they talk to these poor people with “rough voices”???