in 2007 called for full transparency in how the US used music as torture, comdemned the use of music as torture, and demanded that the US government and its agencies stopped using music as a means of delivering physical and psychological torture. Organization Governance The Society is governed by a Constitution, Board of Directors, Council Members, and stands by its strict Bylaws. There are several standing committees that members can participate, ranging in size from 4-15 members. Some of these committees organize national events, such as the annual conference, while others operate local events, nominations, awarding of prizes, publications, and student concerns. Membership The Society offers Individual and Institution Memberships, which offer benefits and additional resources not available to the public. Individual membership fees are determined by annual income and academic enrollment (full-time student), but also one-time lifetime memberships are also available. Members receive copies of SEM publications, such as the Newsletter and Journal, gain voting rights, can submit papers for meetings and conferences, can access a members-only section of the website, and receive discounts for certain databases, such as JSTOR. Annual Conferences The first official SEM meeting was September 2–9, 1956, and since then, the Society of Ethnomusicology has continued to host annual conferences throughout the country and occasionally abroad. Locations for these large-scale gatherings require a host university with a strong ethnomusicology department, hotels that can house the huge number of attendees ranging, which ranges from 800-1000 people, at an affordable price, and has access to air travel. Locations are typical chosen three years in advance by the SEM Board. The conference is then executed by the Program Committee, Local Arrangements Committee, and Business Office. The Annual Meetings are made up of programs, paper presentations, lectures, banquets, and special events, which include diverse performances, formal concerts, and dances. Video-streaming will be available for several paper presentations. Publications Alongside the Ethnomusicology journal, The Society for Ethnomusicology publishes a variety of works, nearly all of which are peer-reviewed. The SEM website itself serves as a communicative and archival device, enabling members to discuss the latest news, share project updates, and gives digital access to many of the print publications. The SEM website offers free access to the last fifteen issues of the journal (currently volumes 43-57 from 1999-2013), the student newsletter, and on-going lists of Ographies, including bibliographies, discographies, and dissertations. Issues of the SEM Newsletter are also available from