Delayed Rights

I’m a little upset right now so let me apologize beforehand if this post comes off as whiney. My mom is in from out of town this weekend and all I really want to do is enjoy her company, introduce her to some friends and share some of what Indianapolis has to offer. It’s hard to do that, though, with the university, its president and its lawyers after me. So I don’t want to write too much.

This has been going on for over 10 months. In fact, it’s closer to 11 months ago that the vice president for student affairs demanded a meeting with me to discuss the True BU blog. After that meeting, the administration let it go and I didn’t hear about it for over five months and during that entire time the True BU blog was silent. Oh, the posts from the original blog, cached in some far recess of the net, made a brief appearance on another Butler student web site, but those pages were removed relatively quickly when fear entered the consciousness of the new bloggers.

The administration didn’t forget about me and my opinions, the were just waiting to raise the issue for a time when it was useful to them: when my dad was starting to make some waves over a completely different, and separate, situation, even though the president is quoted in the faculty senate notes from last week as saying that their desire to pursue the blog had waned. “Our intent is not to police the internet and the blog, however hurtful, was essentially let go,” he is quoted as saying. Well, it might have been “essentially let go” for them, but it certainly hasn’t been let go for me or for Butler’s high priced attorneys who seem fixated on this issue. For the last 4 months, the lawsuit and the threat of disciplinary action have been held over my head and threatened repeatedly and, frankly, I’m sick of it. It makes it hard to concentrate, it affects my classes, and it doesn’t get anyone anywhere: The University has nothing to gain and I certainly am not enjoying this. It seems to me that pursuing this right now is bad for every single member of the Butler community and all I want is for it to end. It seems that the only thing they want is for me to be quiet, and I really have no interest in calming down now just so they can threaten to do something later. It needs to end, and soon, because, no matter how hard I try, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to succeed in the classroom and in my other responsibilities.

The US constitution, a document I discussed in my post on Thursday, and a document that Butler seems to ignore in favor of its own rules, addresses this point. The sixth amendment to the constitution provides defendants with the right to a speedy trial. In New York, for example, the prosecution must be "ready for trial" within six months on all felonies except murder. Now I understand that even the administration isn’t claiming that I’ve committed any felonies, but if people accused of those sorts of crimes have a right to clear their name in a reasonable time frame, why don’t I? The constant threats feel completely inhumane and, honestly, it feels like harassment. The president, on the other hand, told the faculty that I’m a bully. With the university’s disregard of the rights outlined in the US constitution, I ask, as I did in my post last Monday, “Who’s the bully?”

Your voices are helping. They’re demonstrating that people on and off campus, people locally and around the country, are watching to see how the administration conducts its business. You’ve asked them for apologies and an end to all of this. I hope our voices get through to the administration. Occasionally, I will publish more posts written by others, like yesterday’s, in the hopes of encouraging more people to come forward, face their fear, and stand up for Butler. I also want to commend those who have already done so, even anonymously. I certainly am not one to judge people for feeling too afraid to use their names: I simply hope that someday soon they won’t feel so afraid.

Reaching Out

It’s been striking how many of the comments on my blog, and on the news stories, have mentioned the fear that people in the Butler community have about speaking out about our administration. I’ve had many people, both faculty and students, talk about it with me in person. That fear of retaliation was mentioned repeatedly at the teach-in, an event that many faculty members were frightened to attend. This isn’t a call out: In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s a reach-out. It’s an invitation. I can’t promise you that you will no longer be afraid, but I promise that sharing that fear with others makes it far more manageable. If we are to make change, we will need many, many people to be willing to face their fear of the administration and take a principled stand. Then, and only then, Butler will be able to move in the positive direction that its students and faculty so rightly deserve.

Dr. Marshall Gregory, the Ice Professor of English at Butler, is nationally renowned for promoting the liberal arts. In an open letter to the Butler community, he offers an impassioned plea for the University administration to do what’s right, and to help us all move on and move forward.

Because his message is so powerful and because I feel that it is important for students and faculty to see such a distinguished member of our community speaking so forcefully, I am printing (with permission) Dr. Gregory’s letter here. Please share your thoughts about what he has to say.

An Open Letter to the Butler Community

I have been deeply disappointed, frustrated, and angered by the way in which the higher administration at Butler University has handled—or, in my view, mishandled—the affair of the Soodo Nym blogger who said some things that the administrators did not like. I have read the evidence the administration proffers as alleged proof of the student’s terrible assaults on human decency and personal safety, and, in my opinion, what he said seems innocuous, neither dangerous nor threatening, and certainly not hostile enough to justify legal retaliation.

I cannot believe that Butler University’s institutional identity is so vulnerable that the administration thinks it desirable and defensible to react to a bit of undergraduate twitting with heavy legal muscle, bullying intimidation, and self-righteous claims about “civil discourse.” It is hard to imagine any sort of discourse more uncivil than hanging the threat of a lawsuit over the head of an undergraduate for months on end.

What one student writes on a blog, even if it is intemperate, will not damage Butler’s national reputation, but that reputation has been damaged by administrative actions that have focused a national spotlight on the university as a place where students will be threatened with a lawsuit for speaking their minds or for trying to speak truth to power. In one crude display of temper and temperament, Butler’s administration has given the university the appearance of being intellectually obtuse, more invested in power than in discourse, and more committed to its own version of truth (what Bakhtin calls “authoritative discourse”) than to the genial and collegial exchange of opinions. If Butler University has become the kind of place where a student’s attempt to speak his mind is met with displays of naked power and threats of coercion, then Butler University has become a vastly different, and vastly diminished, institution than I have thought it to be.

But in fact the university’s ethos has not changed; it is being misrepresented by the administration’s actions over the past several months. I have been talking about teaching in concentrated and intense ways with faculty members across the Butler University community for more than a decade, and I find it overwhelmingly true that most faculty members are committed viscerally and intellectually to developing the talents, abilities, and capacities of their students. Butler is the kind of place where students are nurtured, treasured, and developed by teachers who possess personal kindness and professional expertise, and who react in measured, nuanced ways to their students’ uncertain management of rhetoric and tone. If I were a parent helping my child choose a college, however, and if every Google search about Butler referred me to a shocking story about how the university’s administration sued a student over a blog, I would drop Butler from consideration in a heartbeat.

When students on this campus break the law by engaging in illegal actions such as, say, underage drinking, or when they cause social disruption by engaging in immature and dysfunctional conduct, these infractions are generally dealt with in nuanced and delicate ways by a student affairs staff that knows how to exercise influence rather than threaten power. In a striking contrast to this practice, it seems very mysterious to me that when a single student blogger expresses frustrations over particular administrative decisions, the university abandons restraint, and, in a huge and over-reactive spasm of authority, suddenly mobilizes its resources of money, lawyers on retainer, and its ability to penetrate the mechanisms of communication (email accounts). It’s the last thing one would expect to see at Butler. It’s like watching Socrates who devoted his life to making arguments suddenly turning into a back alley mugger. Why? What does the administration think is really at stake here? President Fong’s explanations leave me unenlightened and unconvinced.

It seems to me that the university administration should apologize to the entire community for the damage it has done to Butler University’s reputation, and, potentially, to its recruiting ambitions. The administration should especially apologize to the young man whom they have callously placed at the center of a controversy that they themselves seem mostly responsible for having generated.

Marshall Gregory
Ice Professor of English, Liberal Education, and Pedagogy

Internal Bleeding

I’ve spent a good deal of time on this blog discussing the parts of the president’s memos that are simply untrue. Today, I’m going to focus on a part of his memos that I think is probably, but unfortunately, accurate.

The more I think about it, the more the president’s promise of on-campus disciplinary action scares me.

After all, in a real court there is the assurance of impartiality. The president, however, has eliminated any possibility of there being a fair proceeding in on-campus disciplinary actions. In the memos he circulated to the full faculty of the University (linked on the right), he has already convicted me.

The president writes that “Soodo Nym’s blogs and e-mail crossed the line from robust criticism of policy to character assassination and intimidation,” and the blog, “contained falsehoods that harmed the professional reputations of individuals.” These are but two examples of the rhetoric the president uses that convince me that I will not be treated fairly. While I categorically disagree with the president’s assertions, and so do the many people who have read the documents and shared their comments on blogs and news stories around the country, the fact remains that the president of the university is willing to publicly convict me before internal disciplinary processes are even initiated.

I’ll let that sink in for a minute.

What does that mean? It means that the person in charge of the disciplinary process has told everyone else who will be involved in the disciplinary process that I’m guilty. Now, I understand that the U.S. constitution offers me no protection at Butler because it is a private institution, but as stewards of an institution of higher education in the United States, the administration at Butler should embrace at least a semblance of our country’s most basic and inalienable rights. Instead, by denying me any hint of my due-process rights, the president has decided that he can structure things better than can the country’s founding fathers.

Isn’t that a scary thought? It sure is to me. The lawsuit was, and still is (remember, despite the president’s promise, it has yet to be dismissed-check out the counter on the right) precedent setting: According to The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (The FIRE) it is the first time a university has ever sued over online speech. In some ways, though, the precedent that the administration is trying to set at Butler by announcing my guilt before holding the trial is far more dangerous. It seems that soon it will be an old-fashioned thought that students at Butler can expect to be treated fairly and even with a dab of respect. When important civil rights begin to erode, we all have much to fear; at Butler and elsewhere.

The man in charge has issued an edict: The trial, when it comes, is now for show. So I’m scared, and I believe that that’s exactly what the administration wants me to feel. Estella Lauter posted a great comment on the Inside Higher Ed article (linked on the right) where she quotes Audre Lorde. Lorde wrote, “For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us.” Please, don’t let the silence choke you: Tell the president and the board of trustees what you think of this dangerous and unfortunate situation. Speak out and speak up to save our rights.

I am Still "John Doe"

Two days ago, I reported that the president had announced that the school did not, has not, and will not sue me. Unfortunately, the actions of the University again don’t match up with president’s words. The “John Doe” suit remains active in Marion County court.

Since the lawsuit is still open, the school can substitute my name for that of “John Doe” whenever they want to. Are they going to add my name later today? Tomorrow? Next week? Four months from now? Is the president making promises now that he can break once he feels enough people have forgotten? These are questions that I find myself debating almost constantly. The president has said that the school will not sue me. If he intends to make good on that promise, then the school should dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. Given how often and how forcefully I’ve been threatened with this lawsuit, I won’t believe that they don’t intend to sue me until it is dismissed.

Yet the lawsuit sits, open, ready, and waiting. I believe it is not just a threat to me, but to each one of you who might ever dare to question authority. When you check the court dockets for the status of the Butler v. “John Doe” case, it is hard to imagine what the university wants you to think. Could it be that they want you to believe that “John Doe” might be you? I think, in a very public way, the Butler University administration has decided to say, “Do you want this to happen to you?”

This is simply not right. To date, nearly 600 people have signed a petition calling for the administration to apologize for filing the lawsuit and to apologize for the accusations made against me. Many of those who have signed have also left very strong comments:

“It is inconceivable that a University would operate in a climate of fear and that it would sue a student for a blog, anonymous or not. What are Butler students learning about honor and settling differences and free speech?”

-Reverend James F. Mulcahy

“Too many colleges and universities are using their resources to bully and intimidate their faculties and students. This case appears to be an egregious example that is a disgrace to Butler University and the whole of the Academy.

-Bruce A Voyles, Ph.D.

Grinnell College

“I would think that the brightest scholars in the world could handle a little lively on-line candor better than this. I think I can scratch Butler off the list of possible colleges for my three kids if this is the way they resolve things with students. I sure would not want one of my kids treated this way.”

-Reverend Max Ramsey

“As a lifelong academic I am appalled that a student's freedom of expression is being curtailed and threatened. This defies basic human goodness and decency.”

-Steve A. Wiggins, Ph.D.

If you have not signed the petition, I urge you to consider doing so. If you have signed it, go back and read what our friends on campus and around the country are saying. Their statements are very moving and provide a markedly different perspective than the one Butler administration is promoting. The petition can be found by going to www.ipetitions.com/petition/butler

Right now, I am “John Doe.” The president seems to want you to believe that you too can be “John Doe.”

Don’t let the administration scare you: They scared me once and I sat down, silenced. Now, I’m standing again and I don’t intend to go anywhere. I appreciate those of you who are standing with me and I’m confident and hopeful that together we will make a difference.

The Power of Fear

While today was a busy day, this post won’t be too long.

I want to start tonight by telling you about my discussion in January with the vice president for student affairs. He summoned me to his office over winter break, when the university was closed, and refused to tell me why we were meeting. I got there and requested that I be able to have representation since he had the dean of students by his side. I was told that that would not be allowed. I asked to leave. He asked me to stay. I should have left, but I didn’t. That was my first mistake. We spoke for a little while, and at one point he asked me about the December 25th Email. I should have refused to answer his question. That was my second mistake. Instead, I was scared, and I lied. That was my third mistake. I apologize to all of you: It was a mistake that should not have been made. Like I said yesterday, I hope you’re still with me.

There are two more things I want to talk briefly about tonight:

The president, in his memo yesterday (linked on the right), made the claim that “the University did not, has not, and will not sue Jess Zimmerman.” The lawsuit that the university filed against “John Doe” (me) remains open in the court system and remains a very big threat both to me and to all of those who feel they can’t speak out about what is happening on campus. I’ve started a counter, also on the right, that will tell you how long the lawsuit has remained active since the president promised the University community the school would not be pursuing it.

Tonight there was a public forum organized by a small group of faculty to discuss this topic, and discourse in general, and I want to thank everyone who came. It was a very, very emotional evening for me and, to be honest, I’m a little drained right now. Surrounded by interested and passionate students and faculty, I felt I was in extremely good company. I felt supported, and I wasn’t the only one. One of the students who spoke said that she had been afraid to send an Email that expressed her concerns about the actions of the administration. With such support around her, she stood up and said she was no longer afraid. It was the support in that room that helped eradicate her fear, and I hope that that support continues to spread throughout campus. While much of what was discussed tonight revolved around me and this situation specifically, I think we are beginning to see this issue as a much bigger one. What the administration is doing to me, they can do to anyone on campus who feels the need to speak out. It sets a dangerous precedent for the academic community at Butler and on other campuses. When so many of us band together to protect the rights of any one of us, the rights of all of us are protected. For now, I want to know what you thought. If you went, what did you take away from tonight’s discussion? What are your thoughts about what was said?

One last thing before closing: I’ve linked to a copy of Butler University English Professor Bill Watts’s reaction to the president’s October 19th memo to faculty.

Who's the Bully?

Breaking news on campus today. The president wrote in a memo sent to all faculty (linked on the right) that the University will not sue me, with the implication being that they never had the intention of suing me. Their purpose, he claims, in filing a suit against “John Doe” was to find out who “John Doe” was. Now that he knows that “John Doe” is a student, he seems insulted that anybody would think that he would allow Butler to sue a student.

If only the facts supported those claims.

The fact is, the president said on New Year’s Eve, more than a week before the lawsuit was filed, that he had incontrovertible proof that I was Soodo Nym. Was he telling the truth then or now? It can’t be both.

The fact is, on June 9^th, he says the court provided him with incontrovertible proof that I was Soodo Nym. Did he dismiss the suit? Absolutely not. In fact, it was a week later that the University first threatened to substitute my name in the suit for that of “John Doe.” The University’s attorney wrote, “It will now be appropriate to substitute Jess Zimmerman as the defendant in that lawsuit.”

The fact is, on September 27^th, the University, apparently tired of making threats, promised to substitute my name for “John Doe.” In an Email to my attorney their lawyer wrote, “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.”

The fact is, throughout the entire summer, and to this day, they have refused to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. (What that means is that they have the ability to re-file the suit at any time they want, even if they were to withdraw it.)

Simply put, the president’s statement is completely at odds with the facts. Even after he knew I was the blogger, he wielded the lawsuit like a club.

But let’s go one step further, because he’s also not telling you the truth about why it was so important to know who the blogger was. Repeatedly, when talking about the safety of the community (and referencing real violent acts), he cited a portion of a single sentence from a single Email that I did not write and that he agrees there is no evidence that I wrote, as the trigger for instigating the lawsuit. That sentence, he claims, is what crossed the line.

Let’s look at the facts.

The fact is, the Email in question was written on January second.

The fact is, the lawsuit was first threatened on New Year’s Eve.

Those two points are facts, not opinions. The only logical conclusion, other than that the president has not been truthful with the community about this issue, is that the Email that he found so offensive was written at his behest. Even I don’t believe that.

Let’s talk about one other fact, now.

The fact is, the president has decided not to attempt to prove any of his outrageous charges of defamation, harassment, threats, and libel in a court of law. My lawyers are confident that nothing that I wrote comes close to approaching the standard necessary for Butler to win a judgment in their favor. Similarly, my writings have now been read by a large number of lawyers and non-lawyers alike on the internet and they have formed exactly the same conclusion. What the president is attempting to do, by removing this from the court system, is to convict me, without any evidence, simply by assertion. He writes, “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.” The president’s implication is that I am guilty as charged and deserve punishment. The reality is, The True BU blog closed because the threat of a lawsuit intimidated me into silence. Since its closure, I have regularly been threatened with a lawsuit and disciplinary action and now, the president is attempting to convict me without a trial, using only the unfounded assertions in his memo. Who’s the bully here?

There is one more point I know I should discuss here. Yes, I lied to the vice president for student affairs about sending the December 25^th Email. It was a difficult situation, one that deserves and will get its own post, and I made a mistake that I should not have made. For lying, I am sorry.

I hope you’re still with me.

The Huffington Post Covers the Story

I know mid-day updates aren’t really my thing, but I’ve gotten enough comments about this already, in a lot of places, that I felt I should put it here: The Huffington Post put up a story about my situation early this afternoon. It certainly took members of the administration to task for their actions, but I'm going to have to take some time to digest it. Like I said late last week, word is spreading.

I’ve linked to The Huffington Post article on the right and I encourage you to link to it and comment it as well.