[Vision2020] Lewiston Tribune: It's back to the shadows for the UI

[Joe Campbell]

By the way, the above was genuinely intended as a question, not a
criticism or rhetorical question.

I think the Williams case is different from the Bustamante in several
ways. For one, latter was a murderer. For another, there were (as far
as I know) no UI charges filed in that case, which gives rise to the
question "Why?" given what we know about their relationship.

The Williams case is relatively cut and dry, according to the little
information we have. He was charged based on complaints by two
individuals; he was (if the news reports are accurate) asked to sign a
resignation letter and agreed to do so (but apparently changed his
mind); he killed himself the night before he was supposed to sign the
letter of resignation.

The presumption is that he was guilty of sexual harassment and
punished accordingly. The system seems to be working in that regard,
unlike in the Bustamante case. There is no "smoking gun," as far as I
can tell. I don't know what Williams' personal files or his student
evaluations would add to this account.

On Sun, Mar 10, 2013 at 10:32 AM, Joe Campbell
<philosopher.joe at gmail.com> wrote:
> What is the unreleased information supposed to tell us?
>
> The LT tried to contact the two persons who filed charges but they
> don't want to talk. And among the information included in Williams'
> personal file would apparently be information that might help someone
> identify the people who made the initial charges. Isn't that why that
> information is not allowed to be released? Williams is dead. But he
> left behind at least one child. Maybe Williams no longer has a right
> to privacy but what about his child(ren)?
>
> Honestly, if I thought the information would be helpful I'd be on your
> side but the man is dead and can no longer defend himself and the
> (supposed) victims don't want to talk about it further. I see nothing
> but speculation and innuendo arising from the release of this
> "information" and I can't for the life of me see what good it would
> do.
>
> On Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 11:53 PM, Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm> wrote:
>> A friend shared the below editorial with me – I’m surprised and disappointed
>> there was no Daily News coverage  L
>>
>>
>>
>> What on earth is wrong with the UI?!  And, that question applies to more
>> than just the reprehensible and anemic response highlighted in the editorial
>> below.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since Kent Nelson was brought onboard, the UI has become incredibly
>> secretive, particularly with respect to public records requests.  Indeed,
>> I’m perfectly comfortable saying that it has added extortion to its bag of
>> shady tricks.
>>
>>
>>
>> For those who depend on the Daily News – as I do – and don’t subscribe to
>> the Lewiston Tribune, I found this article that provides more detail about
>> the Williams scandal than does the editorial:
>>
>> http://media.spokesman.com/documents/2013/03/2472_001.pdf
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Saundra
>>
>>
>>
>> It's back to the shadows for the UI
>>
>> Posted: Friday, March 8, 2013 12:00 am
>>
>> University of Idaho administrators act much differently when the spotlight
>> is glaring upon them.
>>
>> And the lights were blazingly hot during the summer of 2011, when former UI
>> psychology professor Ernesto Bustamante gunned down graduate student Katy
>> Benoit and subsequently took his own life in a Moscow motel room.
>>
>> Chastened by criticism that its response to Benoit's appeals for help had
>> been inadequate, UI responded with a mixture of contrition and transparency.
>> Rules governing relationships between faculty and students were tightened.
>> Sexual harassment allegations would be aggressively pursued.
>>
>> Most vital of all, the public would see for itself how well UI conducted its
>> affairs. In the Bustamante case, that meant UI would join news organizations
>> in seeking release of the late professor's personnel file.
>>
>> Some of the details that emerged embarrassed UI, such as a student
>> evaluation that reported Bustamante tossed around the idea of killing
>> students while in the classroom. Nonetheless, it telegraphed the
>> institution's commitment to public disclosure.
>>
>> Now the lights are off.
>>
>> What's happened since?
>>
>> With the Benoit case still in the courts during 2012, the university had
>> been looking into claims that law professor Alan Fitzgerald Williams
>> sexually harassed at least two female students.
>>
>> Based upon almost a year of the Tribune's Joel Mills' reporting, Moscow
>> police reports and the university's own acknowledgements, we know College of
>> Law Associate Dean Benjamin Beard accompanied one of the students to the
>> police interview.
>>
>> When requested by Carmen Suarez, UI director of Human Rights, Access and
>> Inclusion, police provided her additional security.
>>
>> Williams was placed on administrative leave during the fall 2012 semester
>> and was about to be terminated when he committed suicide at Gig Harbor,
>> Wash., on Dec. 30, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
>>
>> As far as UI is concerned, that is all you need to know.
>>
>> Never mind the precedent of 2nd District Judge John Stegner's ruling in
>> opening Bustamante's files. Because Bustamante was deceased, Stegner found
>> he had no right to privacy. The judge then found a compelling public
>> interest in releasing the documents.
>>
>> What's different this time? Only the university's rejection of the Lewiston
>> Tribune's request to see Williams' personnel file. In response to the second
>> request - filed after Williams' death - UI said the public interest in
>> releasing the file was "nonexistent."
>>
>> Never mind a 1996 2nd District Court ruling declaring student evaluations of
>> faculty to be public documents. Says UI, the law school holds itself apart
>> from the rest of the university. But it is merely a graduate school, an
>> extension of the university, not some government entity responsible for
>> licensing lawyers. During the Benoit-Bustamante episode, UI President Duane
>> Nellis was ubiquitous, frequently granting interviews assuring a statewide
>> audience of his intent to remedy the situation.
>>
>> Today, Nellis is nowhere to be found. He's on his way out the door to lead
>> Texas Tech in Lubbock. The voice of UI is lead attorney Kent Nelson.
>>
>> Outside the glare of statewide publicity, the Williams case still matters.
>> This marks the first time the reforms devised after the Benoit-Bustamante
>> case were tested. How are we to know if the system worked, where it failed
>> and what refinements are needed if the key players insist on hiding behind
>> closed doors?
>>
>> What secrets do UI officials want retained within Williams' files and
>> student evaluations?
>>
>> And how genuine was this UI commitment to transparency in the first place?
>> In all likelihood, the courts were going to order the university to turn
>> over Bustamante's records. UI could resist, get out of the way or appear to
>> cooperate.
>>
>> Under no such pressure this time, UI has retreated behind its moat of
>> secrecy. In the background, you can hear the faint echo of an unmistakable
>> phrase: "Trust us.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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