March 18, 2013 - Cuban blogger and activist Yoani Sanchez spoke to Cardozo students and the public on March 18 in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room, in a talk in which she discussed living under constant surveillance, criticized the Cuban government, and spoke about her hopes for the future. Sanchez started blogging in 2007 from her home in Cuba, and her blog is now translated by volunteer supporters around the world into 17 languages. In addition, she reaches 400,000 followers on Twitter, and has become one of the world's most celebrated cyber dissidents.
In January 2013, Cardozo students visited Sanchez in Cuba as part of a seminar abroad. Professors David Rudenstine, Jennifer Blasser, and Associate Dean Amy Sugin joined students on the trip. During their visit to Sanchez's home, students were impressed by her dedication to free speech and her efforts to speak out for change in her country despite attempts to silence her.
When Sanchez secured a visa to leave Cuba after asking permission for five years, Cardozo students invited her to the school. She said that technology is allowing a new generation of Cubans to set the stage for change now and post-Castro.
She was interrupted by some in the audience who support the Cuban government, in response to which she emphasized that she wants to live in a country where that kind of open disagreement was possible without people being arrested.
