Thursday, April 1, 2010

Under the Bus

Although I didn’t have the energy or the desire to attend last Thursday’s symposium on free speech, my father did go. He reported two interesting facts to me that are worth sharing with all of you.

First, although there was virtually no discussion at all about my situation, all three of the panelists made it clear that the type of actions Butler University engaged in was entirely inappropriate. Repeatedly, the panelists described what they thought were bad things to do under situations similar to our situation and repeatedly they almost perfectly described the actions the Butler administration took.


Second, John Hargrove, president of Butler’s Board of Trustees told my father after the event that Butler has made a change in its legal representation. They are no longer represented by Ice Miller and have moved to Baker and Daniels. While I think that this is a very good move, from my perspective, Ice Miller was belligerent and unhelpful throughout, I do not believe that they were the sole source of the problem. Attorneys don’t act unilaterally!


But it appears that Butler’s president may have managed to shift all blame away from himself and to Ice Miller. It appears that he may have managed to convince the Board of Trustees of his outrageous statements that he was completely unaware of the legal actions taken in the university’s name – from filing a lawsuit against a student to demanding that a student post a $100,000 bond to insure a fair on-campus disciplinary procedure.


It’s hard to believe that competent people could believe statements of this sort, but it appears that Butler’s president has been successful in throwing his attorney’s under the bus while walking away unscathed. Amazing.

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On another note, for those of you who have asked, I can be reached via Email at jess.f.zimmerman(at)gmail.com.


6 comments:

  1. Holy shit. You've got to be kidding us. If Fong gets away with pointing his finger at someone else the whole world is crazy. Even more than the Ice Miller lawyers Bofo deserves to be fired.

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  2. This is unbelievable and would be an absurdist comedy expect it hasn't been funny! I can't believe that the Board of Regents could be unaware of what has truly transpired with all the publicity and public outcry. If they are that detached and from the reality of Butler and the doings of the administrtion, then shame on them and fire them. Great that the attorneys were fired, but it doesn't change the damage done to you and your family. Hindsight is alway 20/20, even from under a bus.

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  3. This is typical of the Butler Administraton. Screw up and pass the blame on to others. Bobby allowed Ice Miller to make decisions for the university for a long time. Most of which have been poor decisions. Ice Miller needed to go; however so does the Butler Administration. Now with the Basketball accomplishments, they will drop this issue.

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  4. Its time for the Butler Administration to leave the university!!!!!!!!!!!

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  5. Wouldn't it be amazing if the administration was half as classy as the basketball team.

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  6. Butler: World-class university, penny-ante administration.

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