The Butler Underground

The Butler Underground on Canine Account

2009-11-09T13:35:00.012-05:00

Last week I was contacted by Butler University Senior, Brock Benefiel, from Canine Account, and asked to be part of a panel discussion on student blogging. Canine Account is the university's new online news show, created in a production lab through the Media Arts Department. My fellow panelists, Christina Lear and Kristen Raves, and myself, joined Brock and his co-host Leslie Gardner on Friday afternoon to film our segment in Fairbanks.

Kristen works for Butler University in Admissions being in charge of the student bloggers and Christina is employed by Butler as one of the eight student bloggers this year. Christina's blog can be found by clicking here. (View all Butler Bloggers.)

Canine Account is an opportunity here at Butler for students to provide, receive, and discuss pertinent information. Unfortunately, since it is rather new (it began just this semester), it is not yet as well known as it could be. Please do your part to learn more about Canine Account and spread the word. This is a great outlet, with great resources, and has the potential to continue to grow, with the help of our community. Links for information about Canine Account can be found at the end of this post, below the video.

Canine Account Official Website
Canine Account on Facebook

Peace,
Lauren

A Report on October's Symposium

2009-11-01T14:48:00.001-05:00

Room 156 of Butler University's brand new Pharmacy Building continued to fill with symposium attendees long after the published starting time of 5:30 pm. The substantial turnout serves as evidence that many people, on all sides of the recent conflict plaguing our campus, were concerned about the direction our community is taking. Perhaps more importantly, however, Tuesday's gathering suggests that our community is populated by those willing to participate in constructive discussion.

The evening began with a crash course on libel thanks to Nancy Whitmore from Butler's School of Journalism. The following section contains my notes from that segment.

LIBEL - how to establish? Libel law varies from state to state.
In Indiana - false statement of fact of a concerning individual that injures a reputation, published with actual malice, knowledge of falsity, reckless disregard for the truth
Libel law favors the speaker. If the university goes ahead with the suit it will be very difficult for them to prove it. We're only going to punish the most egregious form of libel...so in the meantime, it can harm people's reputations in the short run.
Free speech law is based on an open marketplace. Here at Butler we are trying to advance truth, knowledge, and research. We exist in a different marketplace.

Alyson Ahrns, Editor in Chief of the Butler Collegian, then spoke a bit more about libel and how it affects her work at the paper. In response to recent events, the Collegian has been receiving a number of submissions from members of the Butler community. Ahrns pointed out that each piece must be looked over with a fine toothed comb by Collegian staff members, to ensure that everything is factual because as she said, "if enough people read your statement of opinon as fact it can still be considered libel."

In addition to the words of Whitmore and Ahrns, prepared statements (varying in their levels of "of-the-cuffness", if you will) were given by Michael Vance (Pharmacy), Bill Watts (English), Stephan Laurent (Dance), Bob Dale (Psychology), and Harry van der Linden (Philosophy). Paul Hanson, from the Department of History, served as moderator for the evening's discussion.

Laurent, who is in his 22nd year here at Butler, spoke about his concern for freedom of expression, his art making him a well-suited spokesman for those who have been repressed. He said that "we're making history here," and asked of all in the room, "is this the kind of history Butler wants to make?"

A charismatic Michael Vance, who is in his 20th year at Butler University, changed the feeling of the room as he spoke with simultaneous sincerity and hilarity. Vance, who is rather absolute in his views on free speech, said that it's "like pregnancy. Either you have freedom of speech, or you don't." With that in mind, it's not altogether shocking that he was not partial to Butler's recent lawsuit (now dropped) against Jess Zimmerman, but he did feel that there was incivility in Jess's Blog.

Bill Watts, a very public supporter of Jess Zimmerman, spoke next, acting as "Butler's Dissenter in Chief," a role that he said he fell into inadvertently. He told a story of a student who e-mailed him with a collection of thoughts about the situation at hand. She wrote them, but out of fear and uncertainty about what may or may not bring down legal action on her, showed them only to Watts. (This student of his later stood up, gave her name, and stated that she was no longer afraid, and that "as students, we can count, we're not just here to learn, we're a part of the community.") In response to the question of civil discourse, Watts said "I prefer civil speech over incivil speech, but I have to tell you that when you're challenging authority, they will often hear whatever you have to say as incivil."

Bob Dale and Harry van de Linden were the last two scheduled speakers at the symposium. Dale, who said he was "way too upset to talk off-the-cuff," spoke of his mother, who taught him to seek compassion, and his father, who taught him that you can't unsay words, and said that it is our "moral obligation to show compassion to others." Harry van de Linden wrapped thing up for the scheduled speakers in saying that the issue at hand infact wasn't about the free exchange of ideas, but about the kind of speech people use to protest abuse of power.

After the speakers had concluded, the floor was opened to those present to discuss their thoughts about what had just been said and the situation as a whole. Among those who spoke were Dr. Jamie Comstock, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Dr. Michael Zimmerman, former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and father to Jess Zimmerman. Both Drs. Comstock and Zimmerman were rather heavily involved in the situation and seemed to be playing defense at the symposium, Comstock for the administration and Zimmerman for his son. Dr. Zimmerman said that he was "incredibly proud of what Jess did," which certainly launched debate in the room. He also questioned whether or not we should have different standards for speech on campus and off campus and for students and faculty.

Many people spoke up at the symposium and as a result varying opinions were voiced. It seemed to be a rather constructive gathering and we shall see if the dialogue between anyone interested at Butler will continue. Don't be afraid to speak your mind but if you do, watch what you say. Not because you might get in trouble but because it might not be the truth. As Bob Dale pointed, "We have the duty to speak the truth and ensure that our truth is the truth."

While this may not be a popular thing to say when writing for a counter media source, I will leave you with this:

BUTLER DISSENTERS AND ASSENTERS UNITE!

The time is now, not just to make your voice heard but to hear the voices of others.

Peace,
Lauren

A Note on Free SpEEch

2009-10-31T00:07:00.003-04:00

I've paid very close attention to Jess Zimmerman's blog of late and partake in and read the comment threads. Here's something I've noticed: There's a difference between writing a comment intelligently and writing a comment thoughtfully. Now, I don't mean that the pointed calls for Fong's ousting and criticism of the internal disciplinary process are not well-reasoned. But thoughtfulness in this climate must lead us to consider speech and the internet more broadly. We may make our allegiances, but what of the future?

Something that caught my eye in the Collegian Online earlier this week was Levester Johnson's comment on Juicy Campus being brought down. He offered this as evidence of the proper protection of free speech on these, the interwebs. Much of what appeared on that site was crude, rash, ignorant, out of touch with reality and seemingly irrelevant. I say seemingly because not only were individuals hurt by it but so was the reputation of the student body. More importantly that cesspool of anonymity also exhibited misogyny and homophobia.

The memory of Juicy Campus became all the more relevant when a friend shared with me a group from the Book of Faces. This group (and my perspective is limited as I refuse to join it) purports to be, "a group where you can post the outrageous/absurd/hilarious/tragic things heard while on Butler's campus. All of those crazy things you hear people say post on the wall and all can laugh about the things Butler students, faculty, staff, and randoms on campus say."

A quick review of the one page of Wall that I am allowed to see revealed what appeared to be a form of Juicy Campus. Neo-Juice perhaps. The most important difference is that posters have no option to be anonymous. Yet some of the comments remain crude. Some are humorous. And unfortunately there are several comments which appear to mock and find outrageousness, absurdity, hilarity and tragedy in homosexual and transgendered lifestyles.

Now, this group is not a lone wolf trolling the tubes, it's a very public and student-sponsored outlet of Butler University. What do we make of free speech in this context? It's not terribly useful, certainly not civil and, in many senses, it's socially damaging. Is it worth defending? If not, then where do we draw the line?

These kinds of questions form a well-thought opinion and distinguish it from a well-worded one. And, I'm not claiming that abhorrent examples of free speech should be used to reign in Jess Zimmerman or lessen the enormity of what the university has done. But I am trying to show how it is difficult for people on the raw end of "irrelevant" gossip to easily weigh in. And if we are, as the Underground claimed and I Am John Doe has shown, living within a climate a fear, it goes to show how careful we must be to ensure that an ability to dissent does not host an ability to hate.

An Email to the Chair of the Board of Trustees

2009-10-21T22:14:00.006-04:00

Just a few minutes ago I finished this email which I addressed directly to John Hargrove, the Chair of the Butler Board of Trustees. I urge anyone who is supporting Jess right now or who is confused and infuriated by the current state of affairs, to do the same. It will do you no harm. The trustees have power that students and faculty do not and only good can come of giving them our take on everything.

from	Jon Irons
to		jhargrove@ghj.com, trustees@butler.edu
date		Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 9:13 PM
subject		Regarding Butler U v John Doe
mailed-by		gmail.com

Mr Hargrove,

I am writing in order to reiterate what I hope has been considerable outrage over the actions that Butler University took in January of 2009. As I am sure you are well aware, the university filed a lawsuit against an anonymous blogger who wrote critical and pointed opinions about the actions of certain administrators. Since I learned about this lawsuit three weeks ago I have been fuming not only about the drama leading to its filing, but also the opinions and statements of the university.

I am a co-founder of an independent student blog known as The Butler Underground. The blog was formed in direct response to the sudden shut down of The True BU in January 2009. At that time, my colleague and I joked half-heartedly about what role the university might have taken in the shut down of the blog. We joked because we thought it would be ludicrous for a university to go to such measures to silence the opinions of students (not simply the author but the readers and commenters as well). In doing so we took up the cause of dissent and began to fight the climate of fear which had descended upon students. At that time, I had friends who supported me fully in private but refrained from making their opinions known in public spaces for fear of silencing, hassle and prevention of graduation. When this lawsuit was revealed the students in full last week, I happened to be on campus visiting and saw a darker cloud descend upon the student body. While many of us were outraged and spoke out loudly in defense of the implied defendant, Jess Zimmerman, we could not overlook a clear sense of danger associated with our actions. Will the University work to silence us as well? Will The Underground come under similar scrutiny? Should I run my comments by others to ensure they cannot be misconstrued? The very act of writing these words, fear and danger and silencing, especially in response to action taken by a university that purports to uphold a liberal arts tradition, is enough to drive me mad!

As an attorney who, as your biography states on the Butler website, "is a nationally respected First Amendment advocate," surely you cannot simply sit idly by and watch such a dangerous precedent become established. I am no lawyer, sir, but a great deal has been published about this case outside of Butler and none of it has supported the case filed by our university. Indeed, most speak to the long history of preeminent anonymous writing, the groundbreaking precedent that this case sets and how the two observations do not add up. See for instance, The Huffington Post.

Now, as student and faculty opinion has gone spiraling out of control, and after the fact that Butler is gaining national poor publicity, Dr. Fong sent out a memo to faculty (not to students or alumni) clarifying his position. He states that the university never intended on actually going through with the lawsuit and will not; an opinion which is at odds with comments made by university lawyers to reputable media outlets and to statements made by the Zimmerman family. Most of all, this statement is at odds with the very status of the litigation itself which is still active. Furthermore, within that memo, Fong appears to have placed blame upon Jess for the entirety of situation and maintains that Mr. Zimmerman (a.k.a. John Doe, a.k.a. Soodo-Nym) has made defamatory, libelous and harassing comments with no form of evidence other than an abandoned lawsuit. I find these comments and current handling of the situation inexcusable and appalling. Dr. Fong continues to invoke Butler's mission statement as justification for the lawsuit and even went as far as to mention the massacre at Virginia Tech to excuse his decision to prosecute.

I invite you to visit Mr. Zimmerman's blog which contains links to the text of the memo I spoke of as well as links to Fong's statements in the Butler Collegian.

Though I have moved on from Butler, I am close enough to this case and the students underneath the cloud of fear, that I am actively working to demand a public apology from Dr. Fong addressed and distributed to Jess Zimmerman, his family, the student body, the faculty and alumni. This is not an outrageous demand as the issue has resulted in extremely negative attention to this university and has consumed the precious time of students and faculty who have worked very hard to battle the opaque nature of current administrators (not to mention that it has scared the student body).

I am writing to you now because I have been solicited no less than two times, since I became aware of this case, to donate a monetary gift to the university. I interpret these requests as pokes and prods, begging me to forget and infuriating me. I feel I cannot trust my money in the hands of current administrators who would, apparently, spend my meager contribution on frivolous and damaging lawsuits. As a fellow alumnus I urge you to do the same. Furthermore, as a trustee (let alone the chair), I know that you are trusted, "with fiscal and strategic oversight and governance of Butler University." I hope it is in your power to reprimand Dr. Fong who has, by filing and continually defending this lawsuit, besmirched the name of the university you and I once called home. I beg of you to act and defend the students and faculty that are quickly exhausting their resources!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jon

--
Jon Irons
BA Anthropology

Class of 2009
Butler University, Indianapolis

The Butler Underground
www.flickr.com/photos/phlootman87

Another Response to Fong's 10/19 Memo

2009-10-20T12:26:00.010-04:00

Dr. Bill Watts forwarded me a letter he addressed to the faculty in response the memo that Bobby Fong released yesterday. He reiterates similar points that Jess and I have made, namely the continued accusing of Jess and the inconsistencies of the university's position on the lawsuit. Most importantly he addresses the statements made by Fong and his lawyers that the university, throughout these last weeks, kept all legal options open. Why would officials make these statements if, as Fong claimed, they had no intent on ever suing Jess? Things are not adding up.

"Dear Senate Colleagues,

Since I first raised questions about Butler University v. John Doe, and since President Fong has now sent us two extended statements about the lawsuit, I want to provide you with some facts important to an understanding of this matter. In his October 19 statement, President Fong states that “The University did not, has not, and will not sue Jess Zimmerman.” This may be the current position of the University, but it is at odds with previous statements and actions:

1.On Sept. 27, Michael Blickman wrote, on behalf of the University, to Jess Zimmerman’s attorney that “we will proceed to substitute Jess Zimmerman for John Doe in the pending lawsuit. I anticipate that these actions will occur by the end of the week. Please let me know whether you will accept service for Jess Zimmerman.”

2.In his Oct. 13 statement to the faculty senate, President Fong noted that I had asked him, on Oct. 7, “to close this lawsuit and to normalize the disciplinary process involving the student in question.” President Fong responded to this request in his Oct. 13 statement by saying that “the University is keeping all of its options open.”

3.On Oct. 16, Inside Higher Ed published an article which stated the following: “As for naming Zimmerman to the suit in place of the current ‘John Doe,’ Blickman said the university ‘is reserving all options’ in the future.”
( http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/16/butler#)

4.As of October 20, Butler v. John Doe remains open in Marion County Superior Court 2. More than four months have now passed since Butler gained definitive proof of the identify of Soodo Nym, and nearly ten months have passed since Jess Zimmerman was first accused of using this pseudonym. President Fong still has not committed the University to closing the lawsuit.

While President Fong now states in his Oct. 19 memorandum that “We do not intend to sue Mr. Zimmerman,” the record suggests that the University took extraordinary steps to give a 20-year-old sophomore the impression that he was going to be sued, and that the ample legal resources of the University would be used against him.

Moreover, President Fong continues in his most recent memorandum to use the words “libel,” “defamation,” “harassment,” “threats,” and “intimidation” with reference to the utterances of Jess Zimmerman aka Soodo Nym, thereby suggesting that the University could reasonably proceed with the lawsuit if it chose to do so. By this time, many knowledgeable people have examined the entire record, and find little or no support for the central claims of the lawsuit. In addition, the claim that Jess Zimmerman’s utterances have been threatening, intimidating or harassing depends, so nearly as I can tell, entirely on the “Butler Brigades” email message, which President Fong now acknowledges is not attributable to Jess Zimmerman.

I look forward to a lively, educational and on-going debate about how best to preserve the free exchange of ideas while maintaining civil discourse in the university. I remain deeply skeptical, however, that either the lawsuit itself or the handling of the lawsuit has in any way enhanced the educational mission of Butler University.

Sincerely,
Bill Watts"

Dr. Watts, whatever your opinion on his outspoken-ness, is truly serving the Butler student community. Through email exchanges and Facebook he has continually made sure that students see what he and the faculty see. He has CCed students on email exchanges with administrators about sensitive issues. I see this as an effort to force transparency on a university that would rather keep everything silent and preserve the marketable idyllic image of Butler. For that I am grateful.

-Jon

A Short Introduction

2009-10-20T08:23:00.002-04:00

This entry brings no new developments except for the addition of a writer to The Butler Underground. Jon has asked me to introduce myself and explain why I am here.

My name is Lauren Thorne and I am in my third year at Butler University as a theatre major. I won't plague you with unnecessary personal tidbits here, as this isn't a social mixer. What matters here is not me; it's the information. I'm not here to preach my views or denounce the views of others. I'm here because I believe in a Butler where we work hand-in-hand with one another to foster an open environment that facilitates learning and growth.

Information is power. I'm not speaking of power over someone else. I'm speaking of the personal power that comes from being aware of what's going on in one's community. That awareness allows one to act in ways that promote peace, understanding, and progress.

Peace. Understanding. Progress.

That is what we, as a community, need to be striving for.

I thank you for your time and, along with Jon, strongly encourage you to attend the symposium tonight. Information regarding the time and place can be found in earlier posts.

Peace,
LT

Any questions, comments, or other feedback can be posted as comments on the blog, of course, or sent to Laurenet0112358@gmail.com.

A Break For Jess

2009-10-19T23:14:00.004-04:00

Earlier this evening, on his blog, Jess Zimmerman announced that the University will not substitute his name in place of "John Doe" in the current lawsuit. This was made clear in a memo send by President Fong to the faculty. Jess has made the memo public on his blog and you can find the contents of the memo below. Please see Jess's entry for his insightful commentary on the situation which is far from clarified.

"FOLLOW UP TO THE “John Doe” COMPLAINT
To the Butler University Faculty
From Bobby Fong, President
Monday, 19 October 2009

Subsequent to my communication to the faculty with regard to the “John Doe” complaint, student Jess Zimmerman publicly admitted to being Soodo Nym, the originator of messages that prompted the University to seek court orders to protect members of the Butler community from defamation and harassment and to discover the identity of the sender.

In my earlier remarks to you, I refrained from identifying the status (faculty, staff, or student) or gender of “John Doe,” respecting the individual’s right to confidentiality. Jess Zimmerman has chosen to waive that right by publicly identifying himself as the anonymous blogger. This frees me to clarify further two points on behalf of the University.

The University did not, has not, and will not sue Jess Zimmerman. His public claim that the university has done so is false. The University filed the lawsuit against “John Doe,” the anonymous blogger, because it did not know who Soodo Nym was.

Mr. Zimmerman met with Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson on 2 January 2009. In an email dated that same day to confirm what was discussed at their meeting, Mr. Zimmerman wrote Johnson:

. . . I did not write or know about the note that was sent to Provost Comstock and Dean Alexander on Christmas day. Further, I condemned the note as being in poor taste and promised you that I would make sure to express my desire for civil discourse to everyone I know. I will make certain that the group that controls the blog knows that I, both in my capacity as a student leader on campus and as a concerned student, feel that this type of communication is unwarranted and should stop. In addition to the Email sent to the Provost and JCFA dean, you shared with me an Email sent from another address to you that said that “threatening students has gone too far.” This meeting was the first time I have seen or heard about that Email account and I agreed to let people know that Emails like that have no place in higher education.

Dr. Johnson replied in an email on that same day:

• I acknowledged your statement that you do not claim responsibility for the messages sent to me and those sent to Dean Alexander and Provost Comstock.
• I acknowledged the right for Blog sites to exist and that it has become a common means of communication as are other means on the web, and from my perspective, will need to be embraced and understood moving forward. I also strongly stated my opposition to “anonymous” Blogs such as TrueBU which are damaging to the civil discourse expected within a university environment, especially if they do not allow for opposing opinions to be posted. . . .
• Jess, most importantly, I appreciated your pledge to communicate with any individuals who may be affiliated with the TrueBU Blog site and therefore the inappropriate messages sent to Dean Alexander, Provost Comstock and myself. . . .
Mr. Zimmerman denied being Soodo Nym. Mr. Zimmerman’s father met with me on two occasions, 31 December 2008 and 7 January 2009. I have notes of those meetings indicating that I told him, “Jess has denied to LJ that he is Soodo Nym but acknowledges knowing the identity of Soodo Nym.”

On 4 January 2009, the University attorney wrote to Soodo Nym’s e-mail address:

Be advised that your communication to Dean Alexander and Provost Comstock is in violation of Indiana criminal laws prohibiting harassment and intimidation. Your e-mail and previous postings on the truebu blog also constitute actionable libel as you have defamed the University and several individuals, including those referenced above. . . .

The University has been advised by one of its students that a number of individuals have posted to this blog as “Soodo Nym” . . . The legal action to be filed by the University will result in the disclosure of this information by the internet service providers involved in this matter.

The blog’s author claimed to be a student or students, but the blog contained information to which students would not usually have access. When Mr. Zimmerman denied that he was the author, there was no way of ascertaining with certainty who the blogger was, faculty member, student, or outsider, without seeking the name of the owner of the blog account from an internet provider. To do this, we needed to seek a subpoena directing the internet provider serving “Soodo Nym’s” account to divulge the account owner’s identity. In Indiana, the only way the subpoena could be obtained is to file a “John Doe” lawsuit against the account owner. The decision to do this was not made lightly.

Butler has a duty to safeguard robust academic speech. However, the University also has a duty to protect all of its members from defamation, harassment, threats, and intimidation. This, too, is part of creating a campus climate where robust speech can flourish. The University makes no attempt to stifle criticism of its policies or actions. However, “Soodo Nym’s” blogs and e-mail crossed the line from robust criticism of policy to character assassination and intimidation. Read as a whole, its intent was to undermine the effectiveness of the provost and dean by maligning their reputations and making their jobs unbearable by ongoing harassment. The blog was defamatory by legal definition because it contained falsehoods that harmed the professional reputations of individuals.

The University complaint against “John Doe” was filed on 8 January 2009. The suit was filed against the anonymous blogger. As a result of subpoenas ordered by the court in response to the complaint, the University obtained evidence that Mr. Zimmerman was Soodo Nym on 9 June 2009. This was the first proof we had that the blogger was a student. The University has not taken the legal steps needed to sue Jess Zimmerman by replacing “John Doe’s” name with his and serving him with a complaint. It has no intention of doing so. Mr. Zimmerman has not been sued.

But had Mr. Zimmerman been honest with Dr. Johnson, no suit of any sort would have been filed.

The University will deal with Jess Zimmerman through the internal disciplinary process.

Through the summer, the University engaged in discussions with the attorney for Mr. Zimmerman with regard to his going through internal disciplinary processes of the University. Contrary to Mr. Zimmerman’s public assertions, the University specifically offered in writing to exclude “academic suspension or termination of his enrollment at Butler” from a list of possible sanctions because the hope was this would be a “teachable moment” for Mr. Zimmerman. Discussions continued until 26 September 2009, when attempts to reach an agreement broke down because Mr. Zimmerman maintained that no sanctions were warranted. The University is initiating the internal disciplinary process.

Mr. Zimmerman has now publicly acknowledged that he was “Soodo Nym” and that he sent the 25 December 2008 email. He denies, however, that he knows about the 2 January 2009 email from “butlerbrigades” sent to Vice President Johnson and Provost Comstock. I’ve been asked if the University pursued the identification of that email’s sender. Yes, we did.

Attorneys for the University sent a subpoena to Microsoft (Hotmail) that was served on 9 January 2009. Microsoft responded on 21 January 2009, outlining its document disclosure process, which involved providing the user with notice as well as an opportunity to object.

On February 9, 2009, Microsoft disclosed records of butlerbrigades@hotmail.com to us, which revealed that the email account had not been active or logged into since the harassing email was sent back on 2 January 2009. Because Microsoft did not require any identifiers to open an account, this was a dead end.

No activity has occurred on the “John Doe” complaint since June, when discussions commenced with Mr. Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman’s name has not replaced that of “John Doe” on the complaint. There is no lawsuit against him. There never was. The University filed a complaint against “John Doe”, NOT a student. We do not intend to sue Mr. Zimmerman.

I want to reiterate some items from my earlier remarks. The free exchange of ideas is fundamental to academic life. Teaching, learning, and advances in research proceed by way of intellectual disputation. But central to civil discourse is debating the merits of an issue and not engaging in ad hominem arguments. Academic freedom does not provide protection for defamation and harassment. Indeed, the free exchange of ideas demands that faculty, students, and staff be protected from defamation, harassment, threats, and intimidation because these are the means by which bullies intimidate others into silence. There is a point where people subjected to disparagement pass over from anger and frustration at misrepresentations to fear of what might happen to them and their families. That point was reached in this instance."

It seems that given the vocal student objections and national media attention, the President has put his tail between his legs and skulked away. Nevertheless, as is clear in this memo, Fong will continue to justify his actions by misconstruing the mission of a liberal arts university. His unapologetic message and continued bickering is shameful.

In the memo he wages still more accusations against Jess, suggesting that his false statement to Levester Johnson about not being Soodo Nym made this whole mess necessary. Jess has owned up to this lie in his blog and intends to justify it.

Furthermore, Bobby Fong continues to accuse Jess of harassing and defaming Jaime Comstock, Peter Alexander and Levester Johnson without proof or a court decision to back him up. Indeed, Fong seems ignore sentiments from both inside and outside the university which overwhelmingly agree that Jess's comments could not possibly be construed as libel or defamation.

Fong also asserts that the overall tone of The True BU was problematic due to its tone, its goals and the anonymity of the author.

Finally, Fong claims that the university never intended on suing Jess Zimmerman or any other student, but only used the lawsuit to gain subpoena power and determine the true identity of Soodo Nym from Google.

Let's get a few things strait. Bobby Fong and his administration lost. They could not have continued with the lawsuit because of the staunch opposition from students and faculty, as well as the national attention. Further, had they gone ahead with the lawsuit they would have lost because nothing Jess published in the blog was so devastating as to be construed as defamatory.

Finally, Fong and his lawyers lost because the voices and messages of Jess and students were too overwhelming. Any other justification or excuse for this action is purely pandering.

But, Fong did not seem apologetic in his memo. Indeed, as Jess pointed out in his blog, there are too many inconsistencies and contentious points made to consider this matter closed. Most worrying to me is the line that Jess will now be subject to internal disciplinary processes. Despite backing down on a lawsuit that would not have won in court, the University feels a justification to punish Jess anyway. (For statements that were not libelous, defamatory or otherwise, and for statements he has continually denied making.) And they plan to do this, once again, behind closed doors to deny students and the community their opinion.

In the petition that, last I checked, over 300 people had signed, we demanded an apology. Until that apology is given by Dr. Fong to all members of the Butler community (students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni) this issue is not over. As Fong claims to work as a steward of the liberal arts, it seems he is misconstruing his own mission. Justification for this lawsuit cannot be found in the mission statement of Butler University or the College of the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The lawsuit, and handling thereof, has worked against promoting a climate of free speech, respectful debate and dissent. Until an apology is given, the precedent remains and students will continue to live in fear of legal recourse. That is unacceptable.

Jess surely has a weight off his shoulders now that Big Bad Butler has finally stopped threatening to sue him. But a weight remains on him and over the entirety of the student body and university community. The climate of fear remains, that a university will unapologetically threaten a lawsuit against its own students and work to cover-up that fact. This is not over, but our collective voice has gotten us this far and can take us the end, winning an apology from Dr. Fong.

-Jon

The Symposium on Free Speech and Civil Discourse and the Teach In

2009-10-18T22:39:00.005-04:00

Apologies for the twin entries today. As Caleb and I have wandered far from campus our direct involvement in the reaction to the lawsuit against Jess Zimmerman is limited. One thing we can offer is our support in the form of promoting events and using The Underground's facebook mailing list. Feel free to send requests for blog entries to the.butler.dissenters@gmail.com or jonwirons@gmail.com.

In response to the lawsuit, and in addition to the petition, a symposium and discussion of the consequences of the lawsuit on free speech will be held on Tuesday Oct 20th, from 5:30-8:30 pm in the Pharmacy Building 156.

"In light of the libel lawsuit, Butler University v. John Doe, and the attention this case has received, there will be a symposium on "Free Speech and Civil Discourse" on Tuesday, October 20 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in PB156. Speakers will include Stephant Laurent in Dance, Michael Vance in Pharmacy, and Bill Watts in English. All faculty and students are invited. Please come to discuss these issues that are so important to our community."

This so-called Teach-In has been organized by Dr. Vivian Deno from the Department of History. Here is a little information on the event and helpful links regarding the case against Jess Zimmerman. In lieu of publishing our own set of links please use these:

"How do you feel about having rights? How about free speech? What do you think about Butler suing one of its own students for libel and defamation - simply for speaking his mind?

If you haven't heard about the legal battle our university is waging against Jess Zimmerman, a junior here at Butler, I strongly urge you to visit Jess's blog: http://www.akadoe.blogspot.com/
Start with his first post, at the bottom of the page.

Here is Butler English Professor Bill Watts's op-ed piece in the Collegian about the suit: http://thebutlercollegian.com/index.php/opinion/694-butlers-lawsuit-is-unnecessary-frivolous
Collegian article about the faculty senate on the lawsuit, including comments by President Bobby Fong: http://thebutlercollegian.com/index.php/news/717-fong-addresses-faculty-senate-about-truebu

Now that you're a little caught up, want to do something about your anger/confusion/outrage? Then you should attend a faculty-hosted Teach-In on Free Speech and Civil Discourse, this Tuesday, October 20, from 5:30pm - 8:30pm in PB 156. From History Professor, feminist and Collaborative member Dr. Deno:

'Please join the faculty, staff, and student body of Butler University in an open exchange about free speech and civil discourse. Bring your friends, your ideas, and your voice!! Spread the word!

What constitutes civil discourse? How do you distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable speech? Who decides? What is the proper response to speech deemed unacceptable? Butler's current libel suit and the ensuing media coverage raises a number of questions about what constitutes civil discourse on the modern college campus. We'll grapple with these and other questions in what promises to be a lively session.'

PLEASE, PLEASE go to this session! Even if you don't know the whole story - come find out. Even if you feel like you don't have anything to say - come listen."

-Jon Irons

With Regards to Butler University v Jess Zimmerman

2009-10-18T22:13:00.004-04:00

I assume that no one reading this blog is a stranger to the new case brought by Butler against Jess Zimmerman, a junior who has admitted to authoring the True BU. The Underground arose in response to the silencing of that blog, though we had no idea at that time how deliberate and sinister the actions taken by the university had been. Now that the lawsuit has come to light and Jess has "come out" as Soodo Nym, The Underground throws its full support behing Jess and the right to express dissent in public places on university campuses.

I am certain that Butler and its administrators would love nothing more for this to all go away, that students become disinterested, the faculty overwhelmed and that the lawsuit ends. They want wealthy alumni to donate and for new students to hand over their money in exchange for a "liberal arts" education. The very act of discussing this issue at all is an act of protest, an act of support for student voices on campus. Nothing is more important right now then getting the word out, then discussing and not fearing to express your ideas.

The "Friends of Jess Zimmerman" have started a petition demaning that Bobby Fong and the Board of Trustees issue an immediate apology for filing the lawsuit, "Butler University v John Doe a.k.a Soodo-Nym a.k.a. thetruebu@gmail.com," and for the accusations waged against Jess Zimmerman. I urge everyone to read and sign this petition which states very well the importance of this time in Butler's history.

I will place the petition text below. Click here to access the petition online and sign. Don't forget to read the comments and please refrain from anonymity.

"An Open Letter to President Bobby Fong and the Butler University Board of Trustees:

The actions taken in the name of Butler University in the law suit BUTLER UNIVERSITY v. JOHN DOE a/k/a "Soodo Nym" a/k/a thetruebu@gmail.com have become a national embarrassment to Butler University and are unfair to Jess Zimmerman, a current Butler student.

For this case to be the first one in the nation in which a university has sued a student over on-line speech issues is a mistake that Butler University must correct. Whatever one may think of it, the content of the TruBU blog was certainly not so egregious that Butler should be attempting to use it to break new legal ground with respect to freedom of speech issues. Steps need to be taken to ensure that Butler University does not become synonymous with the stifling of the free expression of ideas.

Similarly, the accusations made against Jess Zimmerman by the Butler administration have been unfair, harmful and wrong-headed. Even more important, they are transparently false and thus they too place Butler University in the worse possible light. For President Fong to quote a portion of one sentence from an email that Jess Zimmerman did not write in a manner that implies that he was, in fact, the author and then to use those words to claim that action had to be taken to protect the campus community from violence of the sort experienced by the students, staff and faculty of Virginia Tech University is a disgrace and an insult to all who have been a part of violent tragedies. Similarly, for President Fong to say, "Butler does not tolerate racial and sexual epithets in the name of free exchange of ideas," in his criticism of The TruBU blog and of Jess Zimmerman when no such epithets existed in the blog or have been attributed to Jess Zimmerman is also a disgrace and trivializes the all too frequent instances in which such hateful speech is used in our society. These statements present Butler University in an unflattering light.

Therefore, we request that President Fong and the Butler University Board of Trustees immediately take steps to correct their actions. In particular, we request that President Fong and the Butler University Board of Trustees:

1. Issue an immediate apology for filing the BUTLER UNIVERSITY v. JOHN DOE a/k/a "Soodo Nym" a/k/a thetruebu@gmail.com lawuit; and

2. Issue an immediate apology for the accusations made against Jess Zimmerman.

These two actions, if taken swiftly and sincerely, will help bring this affair to a close and begin to repair the damage done to Butler University's good name."

-Jon Irons

Breaking News in the College of LAS

2009-05-07T14:48:00.002-04:00

The Dissenters were made aware yesterday that Michael Zimmerman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been relieved of his administrative duties. The decision was made public at a meeting yesterday which was supposed to be part of Zimmerman's three year review (a process that Butler administrators undergo to evaluate their performance).

Faculty sources from LAS indicated that, overall, Zimmerman's review (which is in part completed by faculty members) was positive. Following what was described as a series of tense exchanges between Zimmerman and Provost Jaime Comstock regarding the review and Zimmerman's release of the document to the LAS faculty, Comstock ended the meeting, saying that, "it is time for LAS to have a new dean."

Zimmerman's popularity was not necessarily a unanimous sentiment for the LAS faculty, but from what I understand (and my own interactions with the dean) he made positive strides for the college and brought national attention to the university in his short time as dean.

This move came as a shock to many faculty members, although there were rumors that Zimmerman was looking for another job earlier in the semester. But, from what I understand there were no recommendations for Zimmerman's dismissal within his three year review.

As of now, Zimmerman will still work at Butler as a professor of Biology (a field in which he has his PhD). However, due to the tense exchange with Comstock during the meeting and the public release of his review to LAS faculty (an announcement which baffled Comstock during the meeting) there are questions about the stability of his position as professor.

The impact for students is immediate. Not only have LAS students lost an administrator who worked hard for the liberal arts, but now time, money and precious faculty energy will have to be poured into an arduous search process for a new dean. This is a process that students should work to be involved in. In addition, this situation once again shows that despite one's accomplishments and positive peer review, administrative positions at this university are vacated at the whims of upper level administrators.

This is something that will weigh heavily on the minds of many faculty throughout the summer and something that should cause students to be concerned about the stability and quality of their academic pursuits at Butler. We will bring updates as we get them, especially as the search process begins. Do not let the summer become the season of forgetting.

-Jon

An End to the Beginning

2009-04-30T06:54:00.003-04:00

Another year at Butler University has come and gone. Although it has certainly not been one lacking its fair share of disappointments and disheartening incidents, there have been some positive developments.

Toward the end of the this spring semester, students seemed to be engaging just a bit more than usual. This is certainly a welcome change, one that hopefully can be continued in the future.

This forum will not be going anywhere. Although Jon is graduating and will be sorely missed, the Underground will continue on. In the fall, we will be operational from day 1. I'm excited to see what we can do.

Jon and I extend our thanks to all who provided advice, commentary, or a contribution. Should any issues arise during the summer, please e-mail.

Until Fall '09.

- Caleb

BUPD Officer Arrested

2009-04-10T16:38:00.007-04:00

The Dissenters received a tip about the arrest yesterday of BUPD Detective Glenn Alan Criswell. There are a few accounts of the story on the internet, read it here. Or here and here

Criswell is charged with misdemeanor accounts of battery and interfering with the reporting of a crime. The allegations resulted from an altercation with an ex-girlfriend who was the victim of the alleged crime. We understand that the police department has removed Criswell from his normal duties and he is now performing administrative tasks.

We would like to remind everyone that Det. Criswell headed BUPD's investigation of a missing laptop that lead to Cori Jackson's suspension. Indeed, Criswell made a detailed statement to The Butler Collegian on the matter. We interpreted some of the language in that statement to indicate that Criswell assumed Jackson's guilt prior to any extensive investigation. See our earlier post on the matter.

This interpretation fits with a statement made by Jackson in the original interview transcript, this excerpt occurs during the first meeting between Criswell and Jackson:

"He [Criswell] takes me upstairs [and] before I can even sit down he slams his hand on table and says, "I know you did it!’ And I said, ‘you think I did what?’ The officer replies, ‘no, I know you did it! I know you took the guy’s laptop.’ And I said, ‘with all due respect sir, you’re entitled to your opinion but I know what happened.’ And, I tell him everything and he doesn’t believe it. He says, ‘I’m not buying what you’re selling..."

We point out these observations not to demonize Det. Criswell, but to criticize the notion of credibility that Dean Irene Stevens indicated was part of the disciplinary procedure. We have no updates with regards to Jackson's suspension appeal, but in the original decision made by Stevens it seems that Jackson's credibility lost out to that of other parties (Criswell included).

Though Stevens claims that credibility is not the sole factor influencing disciplinary decisions, it nevertheless figures into it. Unlike courts of law, Butler's policy allows for personal and subjective deductions to play an official role in life-changing decisions.

Credibiliy can change direction on a dime. If anything, this goes to show that students should be evaluated on an even keel with other professionals at our university. Students may be young and inexperienced in many areas, but no one (student/administrator/public servant) can make an accurate assessment about the actions others have taken in the past or will take in the future based on credibility alone.

-Jon

Evaluation: Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Programs

2009-04-02T14:44:00.006-04:00

As with our former evaluation of Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs, we have completed our review of finalists for the second associate provost opening - faculty affairs and interdisciplinary programs.

You can find a full description of this position in our initial post on the topic. We encourage you to give it a glance and also to utilize the candidate information that was distributed through campus email.

Links to the infamous "Survey Monkeys" are below. Herein, in the absence of substantive input and influence, you may "share you concerns" with those possessing actual decision making power. Although a sham, we encourage you to utilize the mechanism we have been granted, such as it is. Please note: survey responses must be completed by 5pm tomorrow.

Being the involved and active student that he is, Jon was unable to meet every candidate and thus has not written an evaluation. Hopefully mine can suffice.

Make your voice heard:

Maurer
Behling
Aziz

- Caleb

An Evaluation: By Caleb Hamman

I was able to meet with all three candidates: Lynn Maurer, Laura Behling, and Fahima Aziz. After evaluating each of them, it seemed to me Laura Behling was clearly the person for job.

This associate provost position differs significantly from the first. Mainly, this individual's responsibilities will relate much more closely to faculty. Still, because I am a student, I evaluated finalists on the same three criteria as last time: their ideas on facilitating effective and genuine student learning, their ideas on student faculty interaction, and their own administrative abilities. Obviously, the two former categories involve significant faculty interaction with students. Thus I see these criteria as still being very relevant.

Fahima Aziz was the last of the finalists to visit Butler. Aziz appeared to have considerable skill in administration, and delivered what was assuredly the longest and most detailed PowerPoint presentation I've seen in some time. My main criticism of Aziz is that she appeared too administrative. If she had larger thoughts on university education, student learning, and student-faculty interaction, she didn't express them. I was given little reason to believe Aziz would be anything other than a technocratic, top-down operator of the administrative machine.

Lynn Maurer had many positives. She continually went out of her way to talk about difficulties faced by minority and female students. She called for shared governance of the university community and noted the importance of experiential learning for allowing students to develop into active citizens and genuine learners. Maurer also valued interdisciplinary programs, such as gender and peace studies, and saw them as useful mechanisms for facilitating community engagement. As a whole, I thought Maurer was a good candidate. She would definitely be my second choice.

Laura Behling blew me away. No PowerPoint - just an hour long conversation in the writers studio. Behling sat in chair and actually talked to the people present. Without prompting, she shared ideas about education, faculty-student involvement, and transformative learning. She referenced the work of individuals who have written deeply about these issues, and shared her own thoughts on the ideas in question. Behling took the time to tell us about her personal life, and asked questions to those who were present, valuing their own input and ideas. Simply put, Laura Behling was the best candidate for either associate provost position. She surpassed her fellow finalists by no small margin.

A Dissenter's Comment on the April 1 Article in the Collegian

2009-04-01T23:52:00.006-04:00

Though Caleb and I were not authors of the April 1st Collegian article, we consulted and suggested some minor changes to the final piece. As such, I feel it permissible to respond to it.

In the article you may find what brief comment Irene Stevens was willing to make and a more in depth contribution by detective Criswell. These are important to consider because they contradict some of the original statements made by Cori.

The contents of the video are of the greatest interest to me, as there are major conflicts between Criswell's and Jackson's statement on the video.

I would also like to take a moment to point out three interesting aspects of the situation as presented in the Collegian piece. The first reiterates Anonymous’ citing of Criswell in a comment on yesterday's post. Criswell also said that, as 24 hours had passed since the incident, he didn't expect to find the laptop. This is typical reasoning in police work that in cases of theft and abduction criminals work fast to move the evidence. Despite being logical deduction, it shows that Criswell had already assumed that Cori was, in those 24 hours, acting with a criminal's mentality. I find this disturbing because, If we assume that the detective works without bias (that we are treated and protected equally under the law), this suggests that all students act as criminals in his mind.

Second, the statement by Criswell says that DeMarco was 100% certain the laptop was in the bag. The time when he was questioned is crucial here. If questioned directly after the incident there was no time for him to consider other possibilities; the likes of which he considered when, as Cori said in his interview, DeMarco made an appearance at the disciplinary hearing. We may all be 100% on things at one point, but furhter contemplation often reveals fuzzier details. If DeMarco made the same statement within the last month, then it conflicts with statements Cori made in our interview. As such, DeMarco's insistence as presented in the article is by no means certain.

Finally, the press release cited in the article presents an unusual discrepancy. It says that BUPD presented an affidavit of probable cause to the prosecutor on February 18th. The next sentence in the press release states that the prosecutor felt there was sufficient evidence and issued a warrant. If a warrant was indeed issued on Feb 18th, how was it that more than a month passed before BUPD notified Cori of the warrant (during which time his whereabouts could have been predicted around his class schedule)? In addition, let's remember that between the time Butler's release says a warrant was issued (2/18) and the time Cori turned himself in (3/26), Cori went through the entire disciplinary process with Stevens, including a scheduled hearing.

It seems, according to the release, that BUPD has demonstrated immense incompetence in allowing a wanted felon to roam campus. Either that, or the press release is mistaken; vague at best.

In an email exchange shared with Caleb and I, Stevens remarked of our original post that we were assuming all the proof was present. Her indication was that reaction to the situation was largely uninformed. I fear that the same might be said of the official statement released by the University. We should not presume that we have been presented with everything there is to present. Most importantly, we should not consider the statements by the University or the detective as any more authoritative than Cori's. I expect further development and surprising twists in this situation.

-Jon

An Update on Cori Jackson

2009-03-31T20:03:00.003-04:00

Late Sunday night we published a written transcription of an interview with Cori Jackson. The story of his suspension had been brought to our attention early in the month, but Caleb and I were not able to sit down with Jackson until last Friday. Caleb and I are on the editorial board of the Collegian, though we are not part of the news section, and we informed the news editors of the situation as we understood it. From there we had the interview, recorded it and I transcribed it on Sunday. Both we at the Underground and representatives from the Collegian spoke with Jackson about getting his story told in these outlets and, at the time, he was supportive of our attempts to get his story out to the public.

We chose to publish the exact words of Jackson, as we thought this fit best with our mission to allow suppressed stories to be told by those who lived them.

By midnight, I had become aware that Jackson had informed his attorney about the publications, and his attorney counseled Jackson to have them removed. As these words are Jackson's and not ours, we complied.

Though Caleb and I truly want Cori's story to be told to the Butler community in the format we originally chose, we will continue to refrain from making the transcript available on the Underground. Our colleagues at the Butler Collegian will be publishing a story in tomorrow's April 1st issue regarding the proceedings at the university and at BUPD.

In the brief discussions I've had with Cori about the progress of his case (and the possibility of reposting) he has expressed regret about not feeling comfortable supporting the release on the Underground and in the Collegian. His response to our efforts was positive, but he avidly expressed his desire to wait. Cori is to see a judge regarding his case in the coming days and he is hoping that the progress of the case will go in his favor. For that reason, he does not want any publications here to complicate that possibility.

Though further portions of the interview we presented and further information are to come to light tomorrow, this blog is about harboring a respectable space for dissent and opinion. A free flow of information does not necessitate an uninhibited one, but does necessitate respect.

I am aware that copies of our Sunday post exist and I ask that you maintain these responsibly. I also encourage everyone to pick up an issue of the Collegian in order to read new details about story which Caleb and I were unable to present originally. We will keep the updates coming and ensure that injustices are not kept quiet; that they are not swept under the rug by administrators as a complicated guise of bureaucracy.

-Jon

Dr. Carol Hagans to Become Associate Provost of Student Academic Affairs

2009-03-31T16:00:00.002-04:00

Regardless of whether or not students had a direct and valued say in this decision, hopefully it will prove to be a positive one.

The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce that Dr. Carol Hagans has accepted the offer to become the new Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs, effective Monday, May 18.

Since June 2000, Dr Hagans has called Butler her home, serving both as the Director of Counseling and Consultation Services and the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. She completed her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees at Ball State University and is both APA and CACREP accredited. Dr Hagans has a proven record with 18 years of experience in higher education, ranging from small liberal arts, medium-sized land-grant institutions, and the Graduate School of Theology in the Caribbean, and brings with her specialized knowledge of Butler students and issues they face from both a therapy and Student Affairs professional services background.

I would like to express sincere gratitude to the Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs Search Committee, which consisted of chair Joe Kirsh and committee members Gary Beaulieu, Bob Bennett, Sally Click, Jennifer Griggs, Kent Grumbles, Kendra Hormann, Scott Kincaid, Deb Lecklider, Tom Weede, and Anne Wilson, for their time and efforts in this decision.

Please join my enthusiasm in congratulating Dr. Hagans as she begins this exciting new facet of her professional life.

Sincerely,
Dr. Jamie Comstock
Provost

On Cori Jackson & The Power of Our Voices

2009-03-30T00:15:00.010-04:00

I think the potential of this forum was demonstrated earlier this evening. Within hours of posting the story about Cori Jackson, the email accounts of Caleb and I were being flooded with responses both on the page and on tips of other stories regarding Dean Irene Stevens.

As part of this flood we received a message from CJ himself requesting that we remove the entry. After speaking with his attorney, CJ was advised to have the post removed until he meets with the judge again. We have agreed to remove it, for the time being, as we would not want to impede any progress in his case. The post has not been deleted, but will not appear in a published form for the time being. I have also made an effort to ensure that all comments made on the entry while it was up were saved and will reappear when and if we re-post. We are working closely with CJ and hope to have the post back up soon. I understand with the rise and fall of blogs at Butler that many are sensitive to saving information, I myself was able to save the True BU entries in various forms. I request that anyone who still has this post available please refrain re-publication. I reiterate, this is by request of CJ and his attorney and we do not want to impede his case.

The Underground has been slowly exposing the many realities of student, faculty and administrative life at Butler, none more disturbing than the recent events surround Mr. Jackson. As such we have been treading some delicate borders and negotiating legal and ethical realities which are unprecedented in this type of forum. Occasionally this leads to some hard choices, ones that we do not take lightly.We will always act in the best interest of the community by insuring the integrity of The Underground, protecting those whose stories are being shared and not shying away from controversy.

Again, CJ's story has not and will not fall to the background. It remains underground and though we exposed it only briefly, the response was immense. We expect to have something to present within the next day or two and will keep everyone updated.

Thank you all for your concerned responses. We hope we have your understanding in the matter.

-Jon

Professor Bill Watts: Email Monitoring and the TrueBU

2009-03-29T17:58:00.010-04:00

During my short time at Butler, Professor Bill Watts of the English Department has repeatedly shown himself to be a dedicated advocate for faculty and students. He has written numerous articles for The Butler Collegian addressing campus injustice and has provided guidance to many in need.

Below you'll find a piece composed by Professor Watts addressing the administration's recent intrusion into a student's personal email account and the subsequent closing of the former TrueBU.

- Caleb

Jess Zimmerman’s Email and the Closing of TrueBU

Bill Watts

Space

We should all be concerned about the intrusion into Jess Zimmerman’s private Butler email account, as reported by the Butler Collegian on Feb. 25, 2009. While this intrusion may be legally defensible, it is not justifiable in moral or academic terms. I believe that its purpose was to intimidate and to inhibit the free exchange of ideas.

In their carefully modulated statements to the Collegian, Scott Kincaid, Chief Information Officer, Levester Johnson, Vice President for Student Affairs, and President Bobby Fong have left the impression that Jess Zimmerman’s private email was read because he was suspected of sending out threatening messages. This explanation does not stand up to scrutiny.

To begin with, I have seen the two email messages in question, and I can say that it is impossible to construe the one and it is a stretch to construe the other as threatening. Both messages were written in the aftermath of Andrea Gullickson’s dismissal as head of the School of Music.

(Both emails can be found below this article in their entirety.)

Space

The message sent by Soodo Nym to Provost Jamie Comstock and JCFA Dean Peter Alexander is dismissive of their abilities and it is snarky, but it is not threatening. The harshest sentence in the message, sent on Christmas day, says to Alexander and Comstock: “I hope your new year's resolution is to begin to represent Butler University in a positive fashion and with integrity--something both of you have demonstrated, repeatedly, that you lack.”

The second message was sent by someone writing under the name of “Butler Brigade,” and it is both shorter and blunter than Soodo Nym’s missive: “You’re entering dangerous territory. You can mess with our faculty but you will not intimidate our students. Be fully aware that we can create much more trouble for you than we have so far.” The message is signed “The Students of Butler University.”

To my mind, there is nothing in this note that threatens physical harm. To say that someone is entering “dangerous territory,” it seems to me, is to say that they are making unwise decisions, and that they should alter their course of action. Butler Brigade’s message is impolite and uncivil, and I do not approve of such anonymous messages, in which the speaker masks his or her identity with a pseudonym. But it is hard for me to see the message as threatening.

Even if we do stretch our imagination in order to find some kind of veiled threat in the message from Butler Brigade, this still does not justify rifling through Jess Zimmerman’s email account. Neither the message from Soodo Nym nor the “dangerous territory” message from Butler Brigade was sent from a Butler account; the former came from a Gmail account, and the latter from Hotmail. If Butler administrators wanted to track down these messages, they had better and more legitimate means to do so than intruding on an email account that had nothing to do with these messages.

A few years ago, an anonymous emailer sent out a message mocking Michelle Mannering, who was then a professor in the history department. In response to this message, the Butler Police went to extraordinary lengths to check the IP address of the message, and to track down the sender. The Butler Police could have done the same with the “dangerous ground” message, and they could also have subpoenaed the email service provider to learn the identity of Butler Brigade. This would have been the legitimate way to deal with the message.

In understanding why Butler administrators chose instead to breach Jess Zimmerman’s email account, we have to look to two other factors: his relationship to the TrueBU blog and his relationship to Michael Zimmerman, his father and dean of the LAS, and Andrea Gullickson, his step-mother, and the former head of the School of Music.

In my several conversations with him, Jess Zimmerman has always been coy about his relationship to TrueBU, the blog that was critical of the Butler administration. I do not know whether Jess Zimmerman was just an acquaintance of the creators of TrueBU, or whether he was a principal creator himself, but I do know that he was involved with the blog in some way.

At the same time that Vice President Levester Johnson and Dean Sally Click presented Jess Zimmerman with email messages from his private account, Butler University officials were making a concerted effort to close down TrueBU. I believe that Michael Blickman, Butler’s ever-present, behind-the-scenes legal muscle from the Ice Miller law firm, was central to this effort.

Here, I must rely upon indirect evidence and a bit of conjecture to reconstruct the sequence of steps taken to close down TrueBU. If any Butler official wishes to contradict or correct my reconstruction of events, I would be grateful for the correction. But here is what I believe happened:

1. A high Butler official—perhaps President Fong himself---and Michael Blickman made a request to Scott Kincaid to open up Jess Zimmerman’s email account on the dubious grounds that he was involved in sending out threatening email messages;

2. Michael Blickman sent a message to Soodo Nym threatening legal action on the questionable grounds that TrueBU was distributing material that was either defaming or harassing Butler officials;

3. Dean Michael Zimmerman was presented with evidence, probably taken from Jess Zimmerman’s email, indicating that his son was associated with TrueBu. Dean Zimmerman was pressured to tell his son to close down the blog.

In this way, then, Butler officials were able to move behind the scenes to close down TrueBU while giving themselves room to state publicly that their real concern was with email threats that did not, in any case, come from Jess Zimmerman’s email account. And, of course, their efforts succeeded; the blog was closed down.

The opening of Jess Zimmerman’s email was not simply a violation of his privacy; it undermined one of the principles of the University, which should be dedicated to the free and unfettered exchange of ideas.

One of the most beautiful and compelling statements of that principle is to be found in John Milton’s seventeenth-century treatise, Areopagitica. In making his argument that Parliament should not regulate the free expression of ideas, Milton writes:

And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?

Because Truth would triumph in any free exchange with Falsehood, Milton reasoned, artificial means of censoring utterances could only hinder the discovery of what is true.

Not content to allow Truth and Falsehood to confront one another, our administrators sought, by intruding on Jess Zimmerman’s email and by employing other strong-arm tactics, to close down a blog expressing ideas with which they disagreed.

We are all diminished by their actions.

Space

Email 1

Sent from Soodo Nym on Dec. 25, 2009 from a Gmail account:

Drs Alexander and Comstock,

I wanted to write to wish you a very merry Christmas and a good new year.

Though I've spent this last week, and will spend the next week, off of campus sipping eggnog and opening/giving presents, I haven't forgotten the abuses of power and poor leadership you showed last semester. I know you wanted me (and all students) to forget over the holiday, but I assure you that I have not. Oh well.

Anyway, I hope your new year's resolution is to begin to represent Butler University in a positive fashion and with integrity--something both of you have demonstrated, repeatedly, that you lack.

As I've told people both online and in person, my goal is to tell the true stories of Butler University. I hope you give me something positive about which to write next semester: If you ever have any professional or personal achievements (Or, Dr. Alexander, if you ever even have a biography that someone feels is important enough to publish on ANY website) I would love to report them because it will make Butler look better.

Best to you and yours this holiday,

Soodo Nym
Butler Blogger: The True BU

Space

Email 2

Sent from Butler Brigade, late December 2008, to Jamie Comstock and possibly other administrators from a Hotmail account:

You’re entering dangerous territory. You can mess with our faculty but you will not intimidate our students. Be fully aware that we can create much more trouble for you than we have so far.

Sincerely,
The Students of Butler University

Removal of "Music Gate" Coverage

2009-03-27T14:23:00.003-04:00

After consulting with trusted faculty, Jon and I have decided to remove our initial post--one containing the internal correspondence surrounding the resignation of Andrea Gullickson as Chair of Music.

As with our decision to remove the Butler logo, we take this action not necessarily because we think this is the ethical decision, but because we wish to allow the administration no legitimate grounds for interfering with this publication. We want it to be unmistakably clear that should we disappear in the fashion of the TrueBU, that it was due to nothing other than dislike of the free flow of information in our university community.

As we have written before, we wish to dissipate an emerging climate of fear at Butler. We take this action not because we wish to further this environment, but so we can ensure the vitality of this forum which seeks to eliminate it.

- Caleb

Another Provost Position!

2009-03-26T16:14:00.004-04:00

Butler just finished entertaining three finalists for Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs (see posts below for detailed description and evaluation of this process). Now, we're currently interviewing finalists for Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Programs.

As with the former position, Jon and I will be meeting with and evaluating the finalists. The process should be completed by next week. Until then, we encourage you to attend the open forums and share your concerns with the applicants and the numerous administrators that also attend these meetings. The dates and times of these discussions are sent out regularly to all Butler community members. If for some reason you can't access the schedules, e-mail either Jon or me and we'll fill you in. The next meeting will be held tomorrow morning at 10:30 in the writers studio (third floor Jordan Hall). Hope to see you there.

- Caleb

The administration's description of the position:

The associate provost for faculty affairs and interdisciplinary programs provides leadership, strategic direction, and administrative oversight for the Comprehensive Faculty Development program, the Core Curriculum, and cross-college, inter-disciplinary programs. The associate provost reports directly to the Provost, serves as key member of the provost’s central office staff, and sits on the Provost Advisory Council, as well the University’s Senior Administrative Group.

Duties and Assignments:
· Responsibility and authority to ensure the appropriate delivery of the faculty approved Core Curriculum, which includes oversight for staffing, budgeting, course scheduling and learning outcomes assessment, as well as providing guidance to, and engaging in high levels of collaboration with, the faculty core curriculum committees.
· In collaboration with the provost, develop, implement and sustain policies and protocols related to faculty affiliation with the university, including hiring, the tenure and promotion process; the maintenance of faculty personnel files, etc.
· In collaboration with the provost, deans, and faculty leadership develop and implement a comprehensive faculty development program that addresses a broad spectrum of faculty needs, including early-career, mid-career and late-career support, as well as development in teaching and research. Provide appropriate guidance an instruction during the faculty search process.
· Oversee the cross-college, interdisciplinary programs of the institution (International Studies, Gender Studies, Service Learning and other programs as currently exist or will be developed). Provide supervision and evaluation of area-directors and coordinators.
· Oversee the implementation and further development of the internal-grants and sponsored-programs activities of the institution. Provide guidance to the faculty committees charged with allocation of internal grants funding. In collaboration with the deans, develop a program to support faculty seeking external-grants funding through sponsored programs.
· Implement special-function programs for faculty, including start-of-year colloquy, orientation for new faculty, mentoring programs, and others as occasions arise.
· Manage and sustain the auxiliary functions needed to support faculty research, including the activities of the Institutional Review Board and animal-care.
· Serve as the administrative liaison for the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate.
· Complete duties and projects as assigned by the provost.
Requirements:
· Terminal degree, with senior faculty status.
· Minimum of five years experience in academic leadership, preferably at the department chair level or above.
· Full understanding of the faculty evaluation policies, procedures and processes.
· Record of excellence in teaching, scholarship/creative achievement
· Leadership skills to support the work of and foster collaboration among a diverse population of colleagues and direct-reports.
· Ability to solve problems, analyze and evaluate data, allocate resources effectively.
· Strong communication skills.
· Ability to manage multiple, simultaneous priorities, organize work-flow, identify emerging needs. Ability to work both proactively and responsively.
· Understanding of best practices in curricular development, pedagogy and research, as well as an ability to integrate emerging practices into current structures
· Understanding of higher education institutions, structures, policies, and practices

Evaluation: Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs

2009-03-25T02:15:00.007-04:00

Over the last two weeks, we have taken the time to interview and interact with the three candidates for Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs. According to the administration, the person in this position:

"Provides leadership, strategic direction, and administrative oversight for all student academic support programs and student academic development and success initiatives. The associate provost reports directly to the Provost, serves as chief of the provost’s central office staff, and sits on the Provost Advisory Council, as well the University’s Senior Administrative Group." (See the end of this post for the full description.)

Obviously, this is an important post--one that Butler students should be concerned with.

As such, we have provided our personal evaluations of the candidates. We do not claim to be absolute authorities--we only wish to provide those concerned with this position some standards by which to compare. Also, we encourage you to utilize the candidate resumes and responses that were e-mailed out during the past week. If you've lost them, contact us and we'll be happy to send you a copy.

We have posted links below. These will take you to online surveys where, in the absence of legitimate voting power, you can "share your thoughts" with the administration. Please note that our officials have requested these responses be completed by 5pm today.

Make your voice heard(!):

McKeever
Rasnak
Hagans

- The Dissenters

An Evaluation: By Jon Irons

Dr. McKeever seemed quite relatable and interested in students. However, when I met with her in a more intimate situation I found myself wanting more genuineness. I had a number of questions to ask Dr. McKeever, particularly about her ideas of the special role that a student affairs provost might have. Unfortunately, our time was mostly used up due to the long stories she told about growing up in a military family and teaching and learning English. Her perspective was intriguing, but she jumped from the meat of the questions the students asked to anecdotal supplement after only supplying cursory answers. I left the meeting uncertain of whether this story-telling down-to-earth self was a real one or a tactic to win favor. This is not a good type of uncertainty to leave.

Furthermore, McKeever presented a metaphor to her position that bothered me. She used the idea of grafting roses on a rose bush to explain how she thought “cultivating” the student-faculty relationship was of the highest importance. Ultimately, it seemed that the role of the cultivator was unrivaled, and while the grafted roses would develop unique relationships, the scheme carried an air of determinism which bothered me. I think administrators think of themselves too much as cultivators and not equal actors.

It is worth noting that Dr. Hagans is an internal candidate, meaning that she already holds a position at Butler. She works in the counseling center in the HRC. The fact that she worked at Butler, left and returned again indicates to me that she is a good fit for and enjoys the climate here. This is a benefit in the sense that she understands the needs to Butler-type students. However, one might wonder if the incomplete puzzle needs a well-fitting piece or a another one that fits, but requires some reworking around the edges. Perhaps conflict would breed more productivity.

Unfortunately I could not meet with Dr. Hagans in a smaller student-oriented setting. For that reason I cannot offer a great deal of insight into the person behind the claims. But, while I was at the open forum, she answered a question about the role she would play in summer school. To this she immediately mentioned the numbers of students she has worked with that express (of the Butler summer opportunities) frustration in never being asked what they needed. This meant for her that the first step in addressing summer school would be to determine needs, with specific mention to the needs of students seeking summer credit. Again, I cannot attest to verifying the sincerity behind listening to students (for all the candidates promised to defer to students), but I can say that the sincerity I felt in the formal setting was more than an sincerity I got from Dr. McKeever in even the intimate setting.

An Evaluation: By Caleb Hamman

I was able to attend open forums with the three candidates for Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs. I was also able to meet with the second candidate, Dr. Mary Ann Rasnak, in a small discussion with two other students.

After interacting with each of the candidates, I think that that the third, Dr. Carol Hagans, would be the best choice for the position.

I essentially used three criteria to evaluate the candidates. In order of decreasing importance these were: their ideas on facilitating effective and genuine student learning, their ideas on student faculty interaction, and their own administrative abilities.

I felt that both Rasnak and Dr. Kerry McKeever, though both seeming to have some skill in the latter category, did not sufficiently demonstrate transformative ideas or plans on the two former.

McKeever spoke of “grafting” students onto professors, showed little concern for pedagogy, and seemed lacking of thoughts regarding the value of experiential learning. When I asked her about possible barriers to university student learning, McKeever almost entirely focused on problems stemming from poor high school education. When at the university, according to McKeever, students can have problems managing time or more difficult material. Though this is certainly true, McKeever demonstrated no concern for pedagogical problems stemming from the university structure itself—those relating to competition and separation that we at the Underground view as substantial barriers to true learning. Moreover, in my personal interaction with McKeever, I felt as if I was being belittled due to my status as a student. A notable example was her interruption of my question, but I’ve heard other students also speak about her tendency to run them over in a conversational setting.

Rasnak would be my second choice. She showed much more concern for student learning that McKeever. However, her focus was almost entirely administrative, and even when asked directly to speak about her theory of student development, continued to only emphasize program solutions. Similarly, her thoughts on experiential learning, which she expressed in the open forum, seemed somewhat manufactured. In my opinion, this is probably due to the fact that I spoke with her extensively on the topic before the meeting and informed her (perhaps mistakenly) that some of those evaluating her would view this as an important subject—one which, I emphasize, she did not mention until I brought it up and even then seemed to view as of marginal importance. Finally, I was somewhat troubled by Rasnak’s suggestion that a solution to faculty-student estrangement was to have upper-class students act as intermediaries between students and faculty. Though I understand this may make some sense at the kind of large institution Rasnak is familiar with, it seems to me to be an unnecessary (and alienating) segregation for Butler, where faculty-student ratios are considerably smaller.

I was only able to attend roughly 30 minutes of an open forum with Hagans. Of all the candidates, she was the only one I was unable to question. Still, even from her brief presentation, it seemed evident to me that Hagans understood some principles that, in my opinion, are absolutely essential for quality learning to take place. Mainly, these are connection, collectivism, empathy, and community. Granted, I was unable to specifically ask Hagans questions concerning my criteria of pedagogy and student-faculty interaction, but from hearing her brief remarks, it seems safe to conclude that at worst she could be the best of three evils—however, from the values I heard articulated, I think there’s a good chance Hagans can offer something much more promising.

Full Description of Position:

The associate provost for Student Academic Affairs provides leadership, strategic direction, and administrative oversight for all student academic support programs and student academic development and success initiatives. The associate provost reports directly to the Provost, serves as chief of the provost’s central office staff, and sits on the Provost Advisory Council, as well the University’s Senior Administrative Group.

Duties and Assignments:

· Provide oversight and strategic direction for the efforts of the Academic Affairs support units including the Registrar, Learning Resource Center, Student Disability Services, Honors Program, Internship and Career Services, Office of Post-Graduate Studies, and Center for Faith and Vocation.
· Provide leadership and direction for Butler’s Summer Session, with emphasis on student development and satisfaction, as well as enrollment potential.
· Ensure that the Honor’s Program serves as an engaging recruitment and retention mechanism for high achieving students across all disciplines.
· Oversee services and programs that support student achievement and recognition in research and creative activity, including the Butler Summer Institute, Undergraduate Research Conference, and other programs that exist or will be developed.
· Support the provost’s priorities and plan-of-work by researching issues, developing and analyzing data sets, preparing presentations, and convening special-purpose workgroups.
· Manage and implement key university initiatives, including retention, academic advising, and electronic portfolio.
· Collaborate with cross-functional constituents, both internal and external on issues and opportunities related to student recruitment, enculturation, persistence, and achievement. The work involves problem-solving, idea generation, strategizing and individual/group meetings. Examples include working with other functional areas on university wide programs such as Early Registration, Welcome Week, Scholars’ Forum, and residence-life programs and working with student leadership to discuss concerns and priorities.
· Respond to the concerns of students, parents and alumni who may be experiencing difficulties in negotiating university policies and procedures. Serve as the university FERPA officer.
· Represent the Provost’s Office on councils and workgroups and ad hoc committees, including: Administrative Systems Improvement Committee; Assessment Committee; Career Services Advisory Board; grant-proposal development groups; Welcome Week planning group. Chair the Student Retention Operation Team and the Electronic Portfolio Implementation Team.

Requirements:

· Terminal degree, college teaching experience, and minimum of five years experience in academic administration, preferably in the areas of student academic development, campus wide retention initiatives, and program development.
· Experience in managing a divisional budget and ability to allocate resources effectively.
· Leadership skills to support the work of and foster collaboration among a diverse population of colleagues and direct-reports.
· Ability to solve problems, analyze and evaluate data.
· Strong communication skills.
· Ability to manage multiple, simultaneous priorities, organize work-flow, and identify emerging needs. Ability to work both proactively and responsively.
· Understanding of best practices in student development and support, as well as an ability to integrate emerging practices into current structures
· Understanding of higher education institutions, structures, policies, and practices

Butler Searches for New Provost

2009-03-16T23:16:00.007-04:00

The University is begining a long interview process to hire two new provost positions. For those of you who have no idea what a provost is, Jaime Comstock is the Provost, also known as the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Faculty report to their chairs, chairs report to their deans and deans report to the provost. Such is the academic heirarchy. Associate provosts serve to parce out the work and highlight specific areas of concern. For instance, the new provost for faculty affairs and interdisciplinary programs will keep programs like gender studies or international studies as an important priority.

Though we may not all have helpful input for a search of this type, attending open forums is an excellent way to learn how the university works and what kind of people (and what goals they have) are working to create your educational experience at Butler. You can expect to see Caleb and me, as well as many other concerned students, at many of these forums actively trying to exercise the student voice. If we are to truly dissent and object to the diminished voices at Butler, we must take every opportunity to work through the avenues that are already in place.

Though I'm sure all students have been receiving emails from the Office of the Provost, we will publish the schedule of events here for your convenience and to hammer home the importance of getting involved. I will try to work up something more extensive with links to the candidate's various involvement. The Underground will proudly serve you as a source throughout this search process.

-Jon Irons

The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce the following schedule of candidates for the two Associate Provost positions:

Associate Provost for Student Academic Affairs

March 16 – March 18
Kerry McKeeverAssociate Dean of the College
State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo
Open Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:March 17 - 10:45 a.m., Johnson Room; 2:00 p.m., Johnson Room

March 18 – March 20
Mary Ann Rasnak
Director, Academic Achievement and Access Center
University of Kansas
Open Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:March 19 - 10:45 a.m., Johnson Room; 3:15 p.m., Johnson Room

March 23 - March 24
Carol Hagans
Director, Counseling and Consultation Services
Butler UniversityOpen Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:March 23 – 10:00 a.m., Jordan Hall 083; 2:00 p.m., Jordan Hall 083

Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interdisciplinary Program

March 23 – March 25
Lynn Maurer
Professor and Chair, Political ScienceSouthern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Open Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:
March 24 - 3:30 p.m., Gallahue 108
March 25 - 10:00 a.m., Johnson Room

March 25 – March 27
Laura BehlingDirector, John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning
Associate Professor and Chair, English
Gustavus Adolphus College
Open Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:
March 26 – 3:30 p.m., Jordan Hall 141
March 27 – 10:45 a.m., Jordan Hall 083

March 30 – April 1
Fahima Aziz Professor, Management and Economics
Alkire Chair in International Business and Economics
Hamline University
Open Forums for faculty, staff, and students will be held:
March 31 - 3:30 p.m., Johnson Room
April 1 – 9:30 a.m., Johnson Room

Myth Busting

2009-03-11T19:39:00.005-04:00

There is a need to dispense with a dangerous myth that has spread itself throughout the Butler community.

As our statement of purpose makes clear, we at the Underground firmly believe that the voices of students and faculty have been suppressed and have lacked serious inclusion in the decision-making process.

Unfortunately, an alternate viewpoint seems to have taken hold with many. This position asserts that organizations like SGA and CPA and mechanisms like President Fong’s Starbucks forum provide avenues for the voices of community members to have substantial impact. This is fantasy.

It’s not that campus organizations and forums are unwelcome or are void of any influence. I know from personal experience that student groups can make positive change and I consider this a testament to the value of active participation. Furthermore, I think open forums with administrators are wonderful and too rare in universities around the country.

That said, we must harbor no illusions. It may be true that certain community members can organize concerts, start campus organizations, or “share their concerns” with administration officials; however, it’s imperative that we recognize four points:

1. Even many of the popular avenues of decision-making are not available to large segments of the Butler community.

This applies to students, faculty, and administrators and to virtually all campus employees.

Student decision-making power is largely confined to organizations like SGA and its subsidiaries. Even if we set aside the issue of the insufficient influence of these organizations, the fact remains that they in themselves are rather exclusive and hierarchical.

Supporting evidence can be found in the recent proposal to reduce the number of SGA representatives or in the platforms of recent SGA presidential candidates who advocated an even more condensed format for SGA assembly and debate.

Moreover, due to quantitative limits on representative and executive positions, only a small percentage of the student body is able to participate in the (inadequately effectual) decision-making process granted to students.

Although I believe it’s the place of others to speak on their own behalf (and we at the Underground encourage all to use this forum to do so), it should still be said that faculty, particularly those at the lower levels of the institutionalized corporate hierarchy, have also been subjected to the unmitigated power of high-level administrators and the board of trustees and have been relatively marginalized in the decision-making process.

Low-level administrators are in a unique position of disadvantage. As they are not paying customers (i.e. students) or highly trained professionals (PHDs, MBAs, etc), their labor can be erroneously considered “unskilled” and thus disposable in the event of insubordination, insufficient performance, or undesirable action.

The influence of campus employees in the university’s decision-making process is effectively zero. Although the lives of those in maintenance or food service are substantially affected by university policy, they lack a mechanism to exert their influence. Many campus employees, such as those cleaning academic buildings, work midnight shifts that guarantee they won’t even be seen by those who benefit from their services.

2. Real decision-making power continues to rest in the hands of high-level administrators and the board of trustees.

In any corporation, power is concentrated at the top. At Butler, this translates to the vice-presidents, the president, and, most importantly, the board of trustees. Within this exclusive group, the real decisions are made. Its members—mostly male, mostly white, mostly business background—are essentially the masters of the Butler universe. The big choices—involving investment, tuition, and enrollment—are made in the absence of voting representatives from the aforementioned segments of the Butler community. The process is far from transparent. Yet it continues, essentially shaping the direction of the university, with only the input of a handful of individuals.

3. Certain opinions and actions are continually suppressed by a competitive, hierarchical structure.

Let’s be clear. Though the department of public relations seems to be seeking the title, there are officially no information police at Butler. Aside from the occasional e-mail monitoring or mysterious blog disappearance, criticism and dissent are not consciously supervised or suppressed by malevolent ministers of truth.

That said, we at the Underground firmly believe that certain opinions and actions are effectively prohibited in our university community. This prohibition is rarely carried out by conscious individuals; rather, it is done subconsciously and its ultimate source is a competitive, hierarchical structure.

Rhetoric aside, competition is the emphasis of the corporate university—competition for promotions, for power, for money, for scholarships, for positions, for popularity, for elections, for grades. This has monumental effect on university education and thus on students and thus on society, but this is another matter in itself. In terms of repressing undesirable opinions, the competitive corporate model is a master censor.

Simply put, articulating an opinion not in line with the proper doctrine is a sure way to harm one’s chances of climbing the ranks of the hierarchy. It’s a dynamic that’s been well illustrated as inherent to the totalitarian structure. In a corporate university, you may not be dealt with like you would in the Third Reich, but you certainly run the risk of being passed over for a promotion, a grant, or an A.

4. Embracing fictitious notions of popular influence can be just as dangerous as having no influence at all.

Thought control is incredibly more effective than physical coercion. Someone who is chained, incarcerated, or tortured at least knows that injustice is taking place and will seek to redress it if given an opportunity.

Conversely, if you can control the way someone thinks, the way he or she perceives a certain situation, the very framework in which rational thought takes place, then not only can do as you please and make others do the same, but you can make them think it’s their natural place to do so, that all is right as it is, as it must be, as it should be, that it can be no other way.

This is the very danger present in the illusion of input and why it’s so essential that we adopt a realistic view of our influence.

- Caleb Hamman

Butler's Failing Grades

2009-03-05T22:26:00.008-05:00

At the College Sustainability Report Card website, Butler received an overall grade of 'D' and we received no specific grade over a 'C.'

This is an independent organization that reviews university sustainability in terms of "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It becomes clear that an important aspect of this is environmental concerns; categories include Climate Change and Energy, Green Building and Food and Recycling. Clearly our failing grade is not something to be proud of. I encourage you browse this report, and compare Butler to other Indiana institutions (like Purdue University, which received a 'B+').

I discuss this to make a larger point. The language in our statement of purpose is strong and some might worry that individual instances (like those surrounding the True BU posts) do not involved large enough groups or are too specific to elicit broad response. This kind of thinking leads to situations where university administrators run amok and begin to rule an institution from the top down. Further, if we were to accept this near-apathetic logic, how could we react to the discovery of failing reports like the one posted above? I am unsure when this report was released, but I doubt that Butler publicized it, especially to students and donators. With the situation as it is, the administration would have no reason to and it is easier for administrators to control the university if their failings are kept quiet.

I should add specifically that the Student Involvement grade was a 'D.' Is this a sign of a student body with a role in making the university? Our ability to exercise a meaningful voice here goes beyond our present niches into the realm of sustainability for the future. This failing environmental report is not an issue for LAS or JCFA or for ECO, but for the student body and university community at large. While this grade falls on our shoulders, I do not think the university is fostering an environment to engender such involvement. This is terribly troublesome.

One final note on this report: There are two sections of special interest to the Underground, Endowment Transparency and Shareholder Engagement. The former grades institutions in terms of "free flow of information" with respect to the endowment ($163 million as of 2007 for Butler). The latter determines how responsibly the university is investing money; most importantly by emphasizing humane and eco-friendly investment. In both of these sections Butler received an 'F.' Epic fail. There are no policies in place to make this information known to the public or Butler community. Not to become redundant but it seems we are, once again, left in the dark as far as Butler's spending and investment ethics are concerned.

The first section of the report sums up my concern best:

President Fong reaffirmed Butler University's commitment to environmental responsibility in a recent open letter to the university community. Butler has no policies relating to campus-wide sustainability initiatives.

It seems the president is all talk and no action, something which has concerned me with regards to Butler's image as a Liberal Arts institution as well. He offers friendly words which represent Butler as an idyllic place, but hidden within a painstaking Google search is a different reality. With no viable means of holding him accountable, why would we expect anything different? I urge you to address this report with Dr. Fong in his next open forum, if not sooner in an email. This report is unacceptable and if we can find no avenue at this time to address it, we must work to establish one.

-Jon Irons

A Brief History of Dissent

2009-03-04T23:22:00.010-05:00

The Underground did not come about out of thin air. We, The Dissenters, began it in reaction to a series of events that transpired in the Fall semester of 2008. In early November, an epic drama began to play out in the School of Music, the likes of which rivaled even Homer’s imagination. By the end of the month and into early December the drama reached its height: Dr. Andrea Gullickson was relieved of her position as Chair of the School of Music under the most complex and unclear circumstances.

News of this shocked and upset students and faculty within the Jordan College of Fine Arts (JFCA). It was at this time that a little known and rarely active blog suddenly came to life. The True BU, as it was called, began publishing news of “Music Gate” as well as correspondence between the faculty of administration. Soon, students organized a sit-in to address their concerns to the dean of JCFA. During this time, the author of the blog, Soodo Nym, continued updating the True BU regularly featuring entries and responses from various faculty and students. One of the main contentions of the blog was that Dean Alexander deliberately chose the week of final exams to remove Gullickson so that student reaction would be limited. But, as winter break came, Soodo Nym kept publishing and many students, including myself, remained raw over the situation.

Then, in early January, certain Facebook statuses alerted to me to the fact that the True BU had shut down. Indeed, I was unable to load the blog page or elicit a response from the Gmail account. As the semester resumed, the Butler Collegian reported the story about Dr. Gullickson’s removal and it seemed that the matter had calmed down. This may have been due to several reasons: First, just before classes resumed for the spring, Dr. Dan Bolin was named Chair of the School of Music; second, University Public Relations and the involved parties were never willing to speak openly on the matter.

Finally, on Feburary 25th, the Collegian published a story about the administration reading Jess Zimmerman's e-mail, suspecting that he had sent threatening e-mails to certain administrators. It was also widely presumed that he was associated in some way with Soodo-Nym, which is now understood to be a group of students.

Thus, not only were we saddened that students were deprived of this blog, the likes of which exposed the reality of the brutal politics of academia, but we believed (and continue to believe) that administrators (that is, Bobby Fong and Levester Johnson) had a hand in coercing Soodo Nym to shut down the blog. Without the blog, students could only be told that the situation was a “personnel matter” and for that reason could not be legally discussed. We were left in the dark, the underground.

The Underground is a statement that an academic community should be allowed such a forum fed by personal opinion, political transpiring, student response and faculty input. We should not be kept in the dark about these personnel matters that directly affect the fabric of our education and experience at the university. We should have full knowledge and power of voice about what makes Butler, Butler. To this end, we will begin by reclaiming the last 8 entries of the True BU which address the hubbub of Music Gate. We will not let this story go untold and we will probe to make sure this community is not left in the dark again.

– Jon Irons
Senior, Anthropology