Administrative Moments

Butler University recently released a fund-raising video titled “Butler’s Proudest Moments of 2009.” Not surprisingly, given the quality of students and faculty at Butler, there were a large number of things to celebrate. I join with my friends and mentors in congratulating those at Butler who accomplished so much this last year.

In the spirit of this video, I offer my “Butler’s Less-Than Proudest Administrative Moments of 2009.” As with everything associated with The True BU situation, Butler has far deeper pockets than I do so I won’t be able to produce a flashy video like they did. Instead, I’m going to have to provide you with a written list of those moments that the Butler administration would likely hope you all forgot. So, please imagine some music as well as administrators and their attorneys ranting and raving, as you read the following.

January 2, 2009: The vice president for student affairs demands a meeting with me on a day the university is officially closed. He brings along a witness and when I say I want one as well, he refuses to allow me that courtesy. He says he is not asking me who was responsible for The True BU but I am later accused of lying to him about this issue.

January 4, 2009: The university attorney Emails the Soodo Nym account to threaten both a civil and a criminal case over The True BU. This threat frightened me into removing The True BU from the internet.

January 8, 2009: The university, over the signature of three attorney’s, files the country’s first ever lawsuit by a university against on-line speech. This occurred four days AFTER I was successfully intimidated into removing The True BU from the web.

January 9 – June 15, 2009: All quiet on the Butler front.

June 16, 2009: In response to a letter from my father asking for a retraction, a clarification or an apology from the provost about outrageously untrue statements she made about him, Butler informs me about the “John Doe” lawsuit and threatens to substitute “John Doe’s” name with my name unless both my father and I sign confidentiality agreements and unless I agree to submit to any punishment Butler deems appropriate for speaking my mind.

June 17 – September 26, 2009: Butler repeatedly threatens to substitute my name for “John Doe’s” name in the lawsuit and continues to demand that my father and I sign confidentiality agreements and that I submit to any punishment they deem appropriate for speaking my mind.

September 27, 2009: Butler stops threatening to replace my name for “John Doe’s” name in the lawsuit, instead promises to do so by the end of the week. They also say they will instigate internal disciplinary procedures immediately.

October 12, 2009: A local Indianapolis television station ran a news story reporting on Butler’s lawsuit against “John Doe.” Because the only people quoted were associated with the Butler administration, it appears obvious that the Butler administration leaked the story to the press.

October 13, 2009: The president tells the faculty senate about the lawsuit indicating that he was compelled to file suit because of the possibility of a Virginia Tech style event taking place. The president sends out a memo to the entire faculty about the lawsuit that was riddled with inaccuracies and that made absurd claims about The True BU.

October 19, 2009: The president sends out a second memo to the entire faculty about me and The True BU that was also riddled with inaccuracies and that made absurd claims about The True BU. Additionally, the president accuses me of bullying the administration and the campus by writing The True BU. The president says he never intended to sue a student and he would not sue a student.

October 20, 2009: At an open forum discussing free speech issues, the provost said that although she was frightened for her safety, Butler was compelled to file a lawsuit against “John Doe” rather than contacting the police for protection, claiming that the police could only be contacted if they could be told who was threatening her.

October 26, 2009: Butler withdraws its lawsuit against “John Doe,” a full seven days after the president said it would be dropped. The president’s wife writes to faculty about The True BU situation enclosing e-mail and documents personally addressed to the president’s office at Butler Univeristy.

October 27, 2009: The president sends out a third memo to the entire faculty about me and The True BU that was riddled with inaccuracies and that made absurd claims about The True BU. He again states that I am guilty of various transgressions and says that I will be punished through Butler’s internal disciplinary process. The president tells a student reporter that he had nothing to do with the promise made by Butler’s attorney on September 27th to replace “John Doe’s” name with my name.

October 29, 2009: The president refuses to act on a letter privately delivered to him by Father Charles Allen from more than 10 faculty members in the School of Music. These faculty members, fearful of administrative retaliation, opted to speak out only if they were guaranteed anonymity and confirmed that what was written in The True BU was the truth and that it accurately reflected the information they provided to Soodo Nym aka John Doe.

October 30, 2009: The chair of Butler’s Board of Trustees sends a statement to the media about The True BU case. In that statement, he opts to “reaffirm Butler’s pledge to provide for the safety and welfare of its students, administration, faculty and staff,” implying that campus safety was somehow at risk.

October – November: The president and his public relations staff regularly reply to concerns raised about my situation with a defamatory letter claiming that I threatened the campus community.

November 12, 2009: The chair of Butler’s Board of Trustees writes to acknowledge receiving a letter from my attorney discussing the internal disciplinary process. The chair ignores the issues of bias raised saying, instead, that he trusts the process and that the president was made aware of my concerns.

November 12, 2009 – the present: I’m sorry to say that I cannot, at this time, discuss this part of the ordeal. I hope to fill you in on it, as much as I can, soon.

There you have it: my list of “Butler’s Less-Than Proudest Administrative Moments of 2009.” The crazy thing is, all of these items involve only my case. I know, and I suspect that many of you know, many other administrative actions taken this past year that are just as reprehensible as these. It is a shame that no one is able or willing to hold Butler administrators accountable for their actions. I hope that my blog sheds some light where none has been and that it encourages others to speak out when they see injustices being committed.

Run the Numbers

I want to do something a bit different than my usual posts tonight.


Let’s look at the numbers:


33,470 – The number of distinct page loads I am “John Doe” has had in the 29 days it’s been in existence

31,200 – The difference between the number of distinct page loads of "I am John Doe" over a 3 week time period and The True BU had over its entire existence

859 – The number of signatures on the petition to the Butler administration asking for apologies for their actions

140 – The number of days it took for Butler to dismiss the lawsuit against “John Doe” after they used the court system to determine that “John Doe” was me, despite the president’s repeated claim that the university never had any intention of suing a student

58 – The number of comments on the original story about this case in Inside Higher Ed, making it the third most commented upon story for the last month, the ninth most commented upon story for the past six months and the thirteenth most comment upon story for the past year

11 – The number (at the very least) of School of Music faculty members who have endorsed a statement indicating that they provided me with the documents published in The True BU, that they shared their opinions and impressions of what was happening in the fall concerning the removal of the chair, and that they believe that what I wrote was accurate and consistent with their impressions.

10 – The number of university newspapers around the country that have written stories and editorials expressing their concerns about Butler's handling of this situation and the implications for freedom of speech issues across the country

8 – The number of times people signing the petition to the Butler Administration used the word “abuse”

6 – The number of months from when my father was first threatened with the specter of a lawsuit over The True BU to the time the administration informed me that a suit was actually filed, and that was in response to a concern raised by my father about defamatory statements made about him by the provost

4 – The number of months in which the Butler administration threatened to replace “John Doe’s” name with my name in the lawsuit accusing me of libel, defamation, harassment and threats; and the number of days after The True BU was removed from the web but before the Butler administration filed that lawsuit

3 – The number of memos Butler’s president wrote to the entire university faculty in a 15 day period about me

2 – The number of my family members removed from their administrative posts at Butler after The True BU began publishing

1 – The number of times a university has filed a lawsuit over online speech, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)

0 - The number occurrences of threatening, harassing, libelous, racist or sexist comments appearing in any of my writing, despite what the Butler administration has repeatedly claimed in communications intended for audiences both on and off campus

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) is an international organization dedicated to protecting the rights of reporters and promoting freedom of speech. In 2005, Reporters Without Borders won the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded annually by the European Parliament. The organization was founded based on the premise outlined in Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which asserts that people everywhere have "the right to freedom of opinion and expression.” When Reporters Without Borders sees an injustice, it investigates and, if warranted, sends letters of protest.

I’m honored to report to you that Reporters Without Borders has reviewed The True BU situation and has opted to put its considerable reputation behind me. A copy of the letter can be found in the documents section (on the right), but here’s the text of the letter of protest that they sent to Butler.

Dear President Fong,

Reporters Without Borders, an international organization defending freedom of the press and free speech worldwide, is concerned about the treatment of Butler University junior Jess Zimmerman. In January 2009, the Butler administration sued him after he published criticism and opinion pieces against your administration in an anonymous blog. It was the first time in the United States that a student was sued by his university for online content and our organization is quite worried regarding the consequences this decision may have on online free speech.

Reporters Without Borders thinks the right to speak freely includes the right to speak anonymously and defend it as long as long as no racial hatred,insult or call for violence is published. Moreover, back in 2004, in Polito v. AOL Time Warner, Inc., 78 Pa. D. & C.4th 328 (2004), the Supreme Court held the right to speak anonymously on the Internet was protected by the First Amendment, "but, if an anonymous Internet speaker engages in tortious or criminal conduct, the protection of the right to communicate anonymously must be balanced against the need to assure that those persons who choose to abuse the opportunities presented by this medium can be made to answer for such transgressions". We are not aware that Jess’ conduct was tortious or criminal and ask you to explain your action against him.

Reporters Without Borders is aware the University decided to dismiss the case and would continue with a formal disciplinay procedure against Jess Zimmerman. Instead, charging him with the same accusations it did in the lawsuit although his blog is no longer anonymous.

We are of course cognizant that a University such as Butler has to satisfy a high level of excellence. Criticisms have to be handled with care. However, our organization fears this decision is a way to intimidate and silence your student.

We urge you to take action on this issue, without harming the reputation of Butler University, the career of Jess Zimmerman or online free speech, by withdrawing the charges against him.

We trust you will live up to our expectations.

Clothilde Le Coz

Reporters Without Borders USA.

Butler’s abbreviated response came from the public relations department and, according to Clothilde Le Coz, said “The University never elected to take the legal steps to replace ‘John Doe’s’ name with Mr. Zimmerman in the complaint. No suit was ever brought against Mr. Zimmerman. In fact, Butler’s newspaper, The Butler Collegian, reported that ‘Zimmerman said he agrees that he technically was not sued, although he is the face behind ‘”John Doe."’”

In light of Butler’s refusal to address the “fear” raised by Reporters Without Borders that Butler’s “decision is a way to intimidate and silence your student,” and because Butler has neither dropped the charges against me nor explained why they have opted not to do so, Reporters Without Borders has encouraged me to publicize their letter in any way that I think will be helpful. My first step is to share it with all of you.

Increasingly, the administration of Butler University is becoming more and more isolated as this case drags on. Experts from around the world who have actually read the materials I wrote and who have actually read the incredible accusations Butler administrators and lawyers have made have all reached the same decision: there was nothing wrong with The True BU. Isn’t it time for Butler to recognize that the opinions of experts should count for something?

If I had said...

Yesterday I wrote about the irony of the Butler administration regularly attacking me for being critical of them – and doing so without being able to present any evidence of their charges. Today I want to write about a related irony. Although the Butler administration regularly claims that I engaged in “defamation, threats, harassment, and intimidation,” they can find nothing to point to to support their claims. Indeed, the spoof by Amanda Congdon ridicules the language they used in their lawsuit. Imagine what the administration would have done had I described their actions by using just some of the following descriptions – descriptions that far exceed anything I wrote:

inappropriate and just plain foolish, pathetic and wholly inappropriate, absolutely shameful, juvenile, immoral, unethical, and hopefully illegal response, unconscionable and petty, Butler University is the new McCarthy, juvenile vindictiveness, outrageous display of abuse of power, unproductive, un-Christlike, and even illegal, most disgraceful example of administrative Fascism, terrible abuse of power

In fact, though, every one of these words have been used to describe the administration and their actions, but not by me. Rather they were written by alums, by faculty members and by members of the clergy. Every one of these words can be found on the petition asking Butler to apologize for its actions. And just in case you might think that the words read worse out of context than in context, here are the statements from which they came:

From a faculty member: “These actions are beyond my comprehension—inappropriate and just plain foolish.”

From a clergy member: “This legal action is pathetic and wholly inappropriate.”

From a faculty member: “This is shameful. Absolutely shameful.”

From a clergy member: “Dr. Fong and the Board of Trustees of Butler University: As one whose academic career includes both teaching and administration at universities and seminaries, I am both shocked and outraged that Butler University has engaged in such a juvenile, immoral, unethical, and hopefully illegal response to a blog by Jess Zimmerman critical of Butler University. After eight years of the Bush Administration’s attempt to subvert the Constitution in any way it could including the freedom of speech on college campuses, for Butler University to do so of its own volition is both unconscionable and petty. There are no sacred cows where the First Amendment is concerned and that includes Butler University. This entire affair smacks of a degree of immaturity and malfeasance on the part of President Fong and the Board of trustees that is startling in its magnitude. Drop the lawsuit against Jess Zimmerman. It is a gross abuse of power intended to intimidate Mr. Zimmerman from exercising his First Amendment right of free speech as well as to threaten his status a student. I well remember the reign of terror Senator Joseph McCarthy imposed on America during the late 1940s and early 1950s. From the documents regarding the entire Zimmerman affair that I have read, Butler University is the new McCarthy.”

From an alum: “Until the Board of Trustees reins in the juvenile vindictiveness of the current administration, Butler has seen the last of my donations.”

From a clergy member: “As a graduate of an Indiana College (Hanover) and former resident of Indianapolis, I am dismayed at this outrageous display of abuse of power so contrary to the goals of higher education.”

From a clergy member: “It is sad that so many otherwise sane and gracious people can be so insecure in their organizational of theological "orthodoxy" that they resort to unproductive, un-Christlike, and even illegal ways to hide those insecurities from the public.”

From a faculty member: “This is the most disgraceful example of administrative Fascism that I have ever seen. As a Prof. Emerita, I have been proud of being associated with higher education for my career, but this suit and treatment of a student by Butler University shames all of us. What is happening to academic freedom.”

From a faculty member: “I recently retired from college teaching and have never heard of such a terrible abuse of power by any college or university.”

Recall how the administration attempted to turn my promise that students would not forget, over the long semester break, what the administration did at the end of the fall semester into a threat that warranted a law suit. Compare my promise [“I know you wanted me (and all students) to forget over the holiday, but I assure you that I have not.”], with what some others have written on the petition and imagine what the administration would have said had I written any of these things:

“A university, any university, is a symbol of learning and inquiry. To work against free speech is to work against that which a university, any university, stands for. The administration may not like the light in which it stands at the moment but that is the nature of freedom. Those who seek to hide in the darkness will die in the light.”

“This action must help repair more than just the name of Butler University, it must repair and reverse the oppressive and power mongering attitude of leaders and decision makers of Butler University. This is a Goliath action and behavior. Remember Goliath was killed by the shepherd boy David and a few stones. Before Goliath types are slain in the courts, and the hearts and minds of all people who desire doing what is right, just and fair, consider these two simple steps to bring about peace and reconcilation. Use your wisdom, not intellection power and legalism, to do what is right.”

“Bobby Fong needs to go!!!”

Yes, these statements are far more extreme than anything I wrote, and yet, like my writings, they too are not threats. Rather, they’re using language creatively to make points – points that can be distorted when taken out of context. That’s exactly what the administration did with my writing in their lawsuit, what they’re doing in their disciplinary proceedings and what they’re doing when they attack me in the notes they send out to everyone who complains about their actions.

It’s a shame that Butler administrators have been unable to understand the importance of reading language in context and the importance of allowing opinions to be expressed.

For all I know, they may be taking action against all of the people I quoted here. After all, if they really believe that what I did was wrong, these people really must have crossed the line.

If you haven't yet signed the petition to Butler administrators asking for apologies for their actions, please do so now - it only takes a second. And, while you're there, think about writing a comment of your own: freedom of expression is a wonderful thing!