The following letter was sent to the entire LSA membership as an e-mail in February 2017.

Dear LSA Member,

I am writing to update you on the LSA's response to certain policy issues and concerns emanating from the new leadership in both the U.S. Congress and the White House. The Executive Committee feels strongly that the LSA must continue its public engagement with issues that have a direct impact on linguists and others concerned with the study of Language in the US. We further agree that the LSA must work closely with other organizations and individual colleagues in the scientific, scholarly and higher education communities to ensure that our mission and values are both advanced and protected when under threat.

I am therefore also writing to ask you to become more directly involved in the society's work on policy issues. There are many ways to get more involved, depending on your availability, skill set, financial resources and level of interest. And even if you are not able to do anything more than what you have already been doing, please know that your LSA dues dollars are being put to good use supporting the work of the Secretariat and the other arms of the LSA to address these issues on your behalf.

Ways to get more involved:

  • Sign-up for the LSA’s policy news e-mail distribution list, which includes action alerts on pending legislation and other timely issues.
  • Join an LSA committee that engages with policy issues: CELPCoPPLiSCCEDL, COGEL (formerly COSWL),and Ethics.
  • Contact your elected officials about LSA policy issues. You can learn more about how to do so here.
  • Encourage your colleagues in the linguistics community to become members of the LSA. All dues payments from new members who join between March and May 2017 will be set aside for the LSA’s work on policy issues.
  • Participate in the March for Science on April 22nd, either in DC or your home state. Submit your sign slogans to our contest and win a free meeting registration (look for more details coming soon).
  • Make a donation to the LSA’s general fund. All donations made between March and May 2017 will be used to support the LSA’s policy work. If we receive sufficient donations, the LSA will hire a part-time consultant or professional staff member to manage this work.
  • Volunteer to work on a policy-related task in collaboration with the LSA Secretariat. A list of potential projects is available here.
  • Sign up for the e-mail distribution lists of the LSA’s policy partners, COSSANHA and JNCL .

In addition to the steps outlined above, the LSA will continue its efforts on policy issues, including:

Thank you for your continued support of the LSA during this challenging time.

Best regards,

Larry Hyman

President

 

The Linguistic Society is a non-profit organization exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The LSA Federal Identification Number is 74-6043371. As a non-profit organization, the LSA may qualify for corporate donation-matching programs. Prospective donors may review a copy of the LSA's most recent federal tax return (Form 990) here (PDF).