February 11, 2005

Sanjeev Bery, ACLU field organizer, speaks to Evergreen Democratic Club

By Tom Harney
Special to the Times

“I thought that our speaker, Sanjeev Bery, was a very bright, young, intelligent, idealistic person who really believes in what he is doing and what he is practicing,” said Rosalyn Applebaum, Evergreen Democratic Club member. “He is very sincere and very sensitive to what is going on in the world.”

Sanjeev Bery, the field officer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, spoke at the local Democrats’ monthly meeting held at the Foothill Center on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Sanjeev Bery, the field officer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, spoke at the local Democrats’ monthly meeting held at the Foothill Center on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

During Bery’s presentation, members received a heightened awareness of how their civil liberties may be diminished in the name of increased security. Bery explained how some measures that are advanced under the justification of increased security, and that appear at first glance to be reasonable, can be very harmful under closer scrutiny.

Bery cited a failed proposed measure in congress that would have made local law enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing immigration violations. The measure failed when members of congress realized it would actually act as a deterrent to the reporting of criminal activity to local law enforcement agencies.

Bery grew up in Modesto, Calif., and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in political science. Upon graduation, he went to work for the ACLU of Northern California at their Mission Street office in San Francisco.

The ACLU of Northern California, with about 50,000 members from Humboldt County to Monterey, is the largest of the ACLU affiliates. Bery now faces the task of organizing and opening an additional ACLU branch office in San Jose this spring. Bery will serve as the director of that new office.

Prior to Bery’s presentation, Club President Bob Applebaum made a presentation about Social Security reform and raised the following questions: Is there a crisis or a serious problem? Does the proposed policy change help solve the problem, or is it an opportunistic attempt to effect a philosophical change? Who really benefits?

The next meeting of the Evergreen Democratic Club will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, at the Foothill Center in the Villages. Refreshments will be served. Phone Evergreen Democratic Club president Applebaum at (408) 238-5811 if you would like to attend.