Davila Speaks About Listservs and Blogs
From: president@gallaudet.edu
To: president@gallaudet.edu
Subject: The President’s message on listservs and blogs
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:21:45 -0400
Signature: Gallaudet University
Office of the President
COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20002-3695
Dear Members of the Campus Community:
As many members of our community continue the important work of
addressing the challenges before Gallaudet, I would like to take this
opportunity to articulate my views on the issue of listservs and blogs.
I support freedom of speech and expression, and listservs and blogs are
certainly one way in America that people exchange ideas and share their
opinions.
However, I do object when people post internal University documents,
discuss confidential personnel matters, or launch personal attacks on
students, faculty, and staff that cause hurt and disruption or endanger
such vital University matters as accreditation, funding, recruitment,
and the University’s reputation. Any business or organization has an
obligation to take action when there are threats to the welfare or
reputation of the institution or to its people. Gallaudet is no
different and I, as the leader of this institution, take this
responsibility very seriously.
Gallaudet, like any business or organization, has the ability and the
legal right to ban certain web sites or list serves from Gallaudet
computers during work time. Gallaudet has chosen not to do that.
I am convinced that healthy discourse will be important as we look
towards the issues and challenges that lie ahead. This discourse has the
ability to allow all members of Gallaudet’s constituencies to discuss
these issues openly and constructively through many different
means—town hall meetings, alumni gatherings, memos, vlogs, listservs
and blogs. I recognize the importance and power open discussion and
debate can have on an institution. In the coming days and weeks members
of the 6 Work Groups will facilitate opportunities for the community to
engage in critical discourse. I look forward to this at Gallaudet.
Sincerely,
Bob Davila
President
P.S. Gallaudet does not sponsor, host, or endorse any listservs or blogs
other than Bob’s Vlogs and the gBlog student journals on the Admissions
website.
Commentary: I am glad Davila had responded to the concerns of Gallaudet stakeholders regarding his recent actions, though this particular listserv wasn’t named. However, this statement raises more questions, especially with this statement: “Endanger such vital University matters as accreditation, funding, recruitment, and the University’s reputation. Any business or organization has an obligation to take action when there are threats to the welfare or reputation of the institution or to its people. Gallaudet is no different and I, as the leader of this institution, take this responsibility very seriously.”
I would love to know what your thoughts are regarding this memo. Does this mean we must talk about Gallaudet always in positive terms instead of discussing both positives and negatives of different issues, or or else we will face negative repercussions?  MZ
Email contact: Mishkazena@aol.com
Mishkazena (TM)
From: president@gallaudet.edu
To: president@gallaudet.edu
Subject: The President’s message on listservs and blogs
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:21:45 -0400
Signature: Gallaudet University
Office of the President
COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20002-3695
Dear Members of the Campus Community:
As many members of our community continue the important work of
addressing the challenges before Gallaudet, I would like to take this
opportunity to articulate my views on the issue of listservs and blogs.
I support freedom of speech and expression, and listservs and blogs are
certainly one way in America that people exchange ideas and share their
opinions.
However, I do object when people post internal University documents,
discuss confidential personnel matters, or launch personal attacks on
students, faculty, and staff that cause hurt and disruption or endanger
such vital University matters as accreditation, funding, recruitment,
and the University’s reputation. Any business or organization has an
obligation to take action when there are threats to the welfare or
reputation of the institution or to its people. Gallaudet is no
different and I, as the leader of this institution, take this
responsibility very seriously.
Gallaudet, like any business or organization, has the ability and the
legal right to ban certain web sites or list serves from Gallaudet
computers during work time. Gallaudet has chosen not to do that.
I am convinced that healthy discourse will be important as we look
towards the issues and challenges that lie ahead. This discourse has the
ability to allow all members of Gallaudet’s constituencies to discuss
these issues openly and constructively through many different
means—town hall meetings, alumni gatherings, memos, vlogs, listservs
and blogs. I recognize the importance and power open discussion and
debate can have on an institution. In the coming days and weeks members
of the 6 Work Groups will facilitate opportunities for the community to
engage in critical discourse. I look forward to this at Gallaudet.
Sincerely,
Bob Davila
President
P.S. Gallaudet does not sponsor, host, or endorse any listservs or blogs
other than Bob’s Vlogs and the gBlog student journals on the Admissions
website.
Commentary: I am glad Davila had responded to the concerns of Gallaudet stakeholders regarding his recent actions, though this particular listserv wasn’t named. However, this statement raises more questions, especially with this statement: “Endanger such vital University matters as accreditation, funding, recruitment, and the University’s reputation. Any business or organization has an obligation to take action when there are threats to the welfare or reputation of the institution or to its people. Gallaudet is no different and I, as the leader of this institution, take this responsibility very seriously.”
I would love to know what your thoughts are regarding this memo. Does this mean we must talk about Gallaudet always in positive terms instead of discussing both positives and negatives of different issues, or or else we will face negative repercussions?  MZ
Email contact: Mishkazena@aol.com
Mishkazena (TM)
June 18th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
What I see from this is I picture Davila putting flowers into the barrels of the guns pointed at Gallaudet.
Its like the famous Vietnam War protest picture.
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/204/8-10/flowers_in_guns.jpg
Richard
June 18th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Hi Miskena,
I have lost interest in reading Gally-Net, too many people are starting to bash Gallaudet, wanting to close it down, calling names like Davilliva and all that, I feel that Davilia knew it was going to get out of control and he had to do some damage control in order to protect Gallaudet as it is skating on a very thin ice right now.
Such as one person writing a letter to MCEHE, that was a very risky move, discussing about Slemo and his termination, and Gallaudet should be closed for all. Of course, that would make any University president extremely nervous.
I would hope that Davilia continues to make this University open and accessible when there is a lot of conflict and turmoil. I am grateful that he took the time to send out this kind of information, with Jordan and Fernandes, they did not do that kind of thing to calm the storm.
June 18th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I love Davila. I think he felt compelled to write the memo because there are (old-fashioned) people complaining about too much information getting out, but Davila is there to save the day, the staunch freedom of speech liberal supporter that he is. He’s the true leader who knows and internalizes the fact that open-door policy is best.
June 18th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Yes, Davila is very good in communicating with the outside world, with the Bob’s vlogs and his memos.
You feel GallyNet should be shut down completely?
June 18th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I think this was a very well written post with a very positive mind frame. Davilla writes with respect towards all, his words are kind yet serious. He is asking for mutual respect, that is all. I agree with Tayler above. He is a true leader. He makes himself available and approachable. He is open to healthy discourse, yet objects to personal attacks or sharing of confidential information. This is how it should be. I’m impressed with his post and, I for one, will continue to offer mutual respect.
~ LaRonda
June 18th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
He may have asserted that appropriate action will be taken, but that is not his main message. It is that open communication is the way to move the campus community forward.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Bravo! Bravo!
I loudly laud President Bob Davilla’s assertive message. He pulled his sheeves and started to sweat in order to protect the image of Gallaudet University.
Slemo Warrigon already costed his own career. I could not believe that he with his master degree plus certifications as an auditor easily overruled the Gallaudet University code of ethics.
The Gally-Net Listservs commentors who believe Slemo’s innocent needs to grow up…..
June 18th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
I think Davila’s response was appropriate. He gave reasons that would be considered legitimate by logical and reasonable people. After all, there *are* limits to the negative things or even positive things people say, if you do not have the documentation/evidence to back up your statements.
One of our weaknesses is to spread unsubstantiated gossip, and take it as the gospel. Someone made the joke to me a long time ago that the CIA could learn quite a few things from us on spreading propaganda like wildfire.
Also, we sometimes draw the wrong conclusions and we go ape over it. Just because X happened, doesn’t mean it necessarily caused Y to happen. Shane Feldman in his blog on DeafDC gave a good example: Just because the rooster crows at sunrise doesn’t mean the crowing MAKES the sun come up.
It makes complete sense to me that an individual or a business would take steps to protect his/its reputation, and in fact, I would be worried if Dr. Davila didn’t take those steps. That is how things got so out of control with Dr. Jordan. He let things get too wild before trying to stamp out the fire, with Draconian tactics.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
What about my blog? Since last August, I covered Gallaudet issues, both positive and negatives. I’ve been meticulous in reporting the facts accurately to the best of my ability. I’ve also discussed some not so pleasant aspects of Gallaudet, like its DPS’s systematic poor conduct toward students and BoT’s failure to listen to Gallaudet Stakeholders. With this memo, where does this blog stand? Does this mean we shouldn’t criticize Gallaudet at all if we feel Gallaudet isn’t taking the appropriate actions necessary for its healing? What about other outspoken blogs and vlogs, like Ridor’s, Gally Legal Issues, Save Gallaudet University, and Kalalua’s Korner along with others?
June 18th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Uhmm. Bob must have missed the current bandwagon: “Any publicity is good publicity.” Paris Hilton’s value just doubled…uhmm. Just a thought, yes?
The reputation of the University has been tainted and it has been that way for a long time, now, mes cheres. I know more Deaf people wanting to go to Gallaudet to make friends not for the education. So, let’s be real here. Mishka has a point.
If repercussions should happen to you because of this blog, be assured, mishka, I’ll be there defending you.
The protests has twice proven that Gallaudet is not simply a place of business. Davila said, “Any business or organization has an obligation to take action when there are threats to the welfare or reputation of the institution or to its people. Gallaudet is no different” This is where he is wrong. Gallaudet is a community property. It is owned by the Deaf community.
Regardless of its reputation, Gallaudet will still always be the Deaf mecca. I still hold Gallaudet in a high regard in spite of the ridiculous fiascos the university seem intent on gettin itself into…Reputation has nothing to do with Gallaudet, it is a word without value. No need to throw that out, Mr. Davila.
Mishka is right, the freedom of information is needed here. People should not fear to publish these information as they see fit.
Without ramifications… (of course, this insertion is needed: within reason! legally done!).
Der Sankt
June 18th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I understand your concern as well as others, but the difference between your blogs and Gally-Net is that its independently owned and you don’t have insider’s access in Gallaudet whereas Slemo was working for Gallaudet and also had insiders information about Gallaudet, this is probably where the conflict of interest occurred.
I’m sure Gallaudet cannot do much about independent blogs or listserv.
It should have been operated out of campus with a different name with people who don’t work for Gallaudet directly.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Dr Davila appears to be engaging in “damage control”, but the damage isn’t caused by publicity or blogger discussions, it’s caused by questionable statements and actions made by the Gally leadership. Few businesses or organizations occupy the position that Gallaudet does for its alumni, and a university of all institutions should cherish freedom of speech.
Not all criticism is constructive and some bloggers have been irresponsible at times, but the responsibility regarding Gally’s reputation ultimately rests with Dr Davila.
Let the discussion continue.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
MZ, the difference here, like you and others have said, is that you present the facts and you are very responsible in your reporting. You’re not a gossip monger. That’s why I read your blog, unlike some others.
You also don’t have a conflict of interest with Gallaudet. Dr. Davila can’t do anything about your blog - unless you reported something that was inaccurate and damaging to his and/or Gallaudet’s reputation. So I wouldn’t really worry there. As long bloggers are responsible and accurate in what they write, they are fine.
Slemo leaked confidential documents on GallyNet, and GallyNet has a reputation for spreading half-truths, really. I don’t know of any employer who would tolerate that.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I agree with Michele…I feel that Gally-Net has taken a downhill fall. It was a civil place where a lot of people had a civil discussion. Lately it has turned to people who speak bad about Gallaudet and Davila. There was no need to call him Devilla….
June 18th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I agree with Dr. Davila’s comment about Listservs and Blogs. He is talking about accountability that must be taken seriously.
He has made it clear that any people who use Gallaudet’s property are expected to respect Gallaudet’s policies and institution. That applies to all. If you use my property and I expect you to take a good care of that.
In my opinion, anyone who disagree with that are out of their mind. It has shown that they have no respect for Gallaudet’s institution and education as well as Deaf community.
I have always believed that Gallaudet University is a place for Deaf people to come and learn many new things. They also make many new friends. Gallaudet University is part of Deaf community and of course Post Secondary community.
I am very pleased that Gallaudet Univesity has shown its leadership. I am now at peace with Dr. Davila’s leadership. Of course, we must keep our eyes on Gallaudet. Gallaudet University needs our help to enhance its quality of education that will benefit everyone.
Deafchip
June 19th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Yes, Bob is in the driver’s seat. I let him do his job. I have tried to tell Gally net. It is so tacky and so unprofessional the way posters commented about Bob. I tried to tell them he is the right man for the job.
Seimo whoever deserved to be terminated as he was “abusive” I tried to be blunt about what he posted etc.. he was doing it on “company time” so therefore he abused it.
Bob can do it so please let the chips fall where they may!
=)
June 19th, 2007 at 1:53 am
The people who work at Gallaudet need to be able to trust that their private personnel information will be kept safe and out of the public eye. Davila, as the president, must be able to guarantee this security for them. I fully support this move by him.
Davila is asking for a discourse that is done in a consecutive manner. Criticism is allowed because it is an essential part of an open discussion. However, personal attacks or illegal distribution of private information should not be tolerated. There are certain limits that should not be crossed.
I think the main theme behind this letter is that he’s not trying to stifle people from having a honest discussion but rather asking us to raise our level of discourse and think more critically.
Mishkazena, I think this is where you shine with your blog. I truly believe that the Gallaudet community has gained a lot from the issues that your blog has brought to light.
June 19th, 2007 at 4:15 am
Technically, all of your comments posted here are against Davila’s wishes. This blog is against Davila’s wishes.
Based on the comments here, I worry for the Deaf community. :o(
This kind of thing happened in 1988 with I. King Jordan… He was idolized and what happened?
Those in support of Davila are letting down their guard and not learning the lesson of the past.
Sincerely,
Erick
June 19th, 2007 at 4:38 am
Yeah, I agree that GallyNet should be down because there are too many negative. About Mishkazena, your blog is an excellence and more informative and positive about Gallaudet. Yes, I do know there are some negative.. however you did great job and you did right thing what you did, but for Slemo did wrong thing for what he did.
Off the point, I want to tell about Kitty Baldridge, she should not be in the MSCHE committee because for what she did teaching in PE majors studetns were awfully in the past. Also, she did keep all termpapers in her box in somewhere in basement in Field House. SHe never correct the termpapers from students in the past. I am former PE major myself. Four of us (former students) were complained against Kitty Baldridge and we did report to Dr Ronald Dreher about her, but he did not take action at all. We all were shocked about that and we were disappointed about it. Also, one professor found Kitty’s box where all papers were saving in the box in the storage at the Field House, and saw there were no touching of correct or giving some feedbacks to students at all.. or no gave grades on termspapers.. I also never got my termspapers back from her at all and plus my videotapes never returned from her. Four of us were trying to be nice to Kitty all the times, but she was not friendly to us. I explained to Chairperson of PE major how can we improve our termpapers like give us feedback and/or advices… How can we learn from termpapers?? Chairperson of PE major did not take action or did not take our words.. so we lost our cases. We were disappointed with Kitty B. She was focusing on baskebtall team while she was head coach for basketball team Gallaudet. She did not think about what important in the classroom, but she was thinking the most important to focus was basketball seasons. We were frustrated also when we were trying to make an appointment with her to meet her for our class proposes, but she tend to always say “I am very busy or no time to discuss with you, or I could not find your papers in my office.” That was NOT excused because she was professor to us! I dont think she is NOT professional teacher for Gallaudet University for all that! I was not sure if I should report to administrators or provost about her????
June 19th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Isn’t Davila suggesting that Slemo was fired because of the use of confidential information or personnel matters on a public listserv among other things?
If so, Davila’s doing the same thing here… publicly informing us of personnel matters (the reason why Slemo was fired), and that’s hypocritical.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:57 am
no no, amend that, you’re a idiot, and I’m gonna tell you why…
Davila never mentioned Slemo by name in the e-mail SO HOW COULD HE HAVE “PUBLICLY INFORMED” ALL OF US ABOUT PERSONNEL MATTERS?
Considering the timing of Slemo’s firing and the e-mail, you’re making an educated guess here and probably are right. I wont argue with you on the point.
But to say that Davila leaked personnel matters by making his position on vlogs and blogs public is idiotic at best.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:59 am
For sure, GallyNet is highly controversial and people either love it or hate it. GallyNet is privately owned. Few moderators, not just Slemo, claimed that GallyNet was moderated during their off-work hours. Many people here feel that this firing of Slemo is justified due to conflicts of interest. My question is why didn’t they go after him first as that would make more sense? But they went after GallyNet first which I find strange. I remain struck by the fact Jordan never interfered with GallyNet itself. In other words, was Jordan wrong in leaving GallyNet alone? What would have happened to the protest if Jordan did interfere? *pondering*
Not only is censorship a double edged sword, but also a slippery slope. It can be easily abused, hence my concerns. There are personal attacks on Gallaudet individuals by other blogs, which I will not name. Some of them may not be so nice. Personal attacks can be based on facts or just personal opinions. So does this mean they will be also fair game? We will see.
Snoopy, if you have problems with the PE Dept handling your academic grievances, you can go above to the next administrator. The first one would be the Adademic Dean of Liberal Arts and Science. If you still feel unsatisfied, then go above the Dean, which is the Provost, I think. This is a serious allegation which needs to be investigated. So I hope you will contact the Dean.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Schmuck: a bit testy, today, aren’t you? Take a chill pill.
Besides, it’s ‘an’ idiot, not ‘a’ idiot. Learn to use your indefinite articles correctly.
Furthermore, Davila made a mistake when he released that memo. It’s just more ammunition for Slemo to use, regardless of the fact it didn’t explicitly say Slemo was fired for the aforementioned reasons.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Response to Mishkazena,
Four of us were already graduated from Gallaudet… we were complained against Kitty B… was around year of 2000.. We were suffered go through with K.B.’s PE courses in the past. I dont know if it is too late for that to report to administrators or provost now.. because our time was between 1998 to 2002. I also lost contacted with my old classmates from PE majors who were also complained against K.B.
June 19th, 2007 at 10:30 am
SnoopyFreak, I am glad that you have speak out for Kitty B.. look nothing news to me that her way do in my past time in 1980’s I was played for women basketball 2yrs resigned for me my personel reason with my team who is only two straight well most who involed lesbians along with her coach well bad expereice for us front us of team shows me force to do something in showers Kitty does’nt care the rules. We did filed complained to director of Athletic not get my words well that it one girl and I were quitted. Kitty broke rules with sexual harresment policy from NCAA. Kitty begged me back on team I was refused it. Is worthy hell no! I have see other many universites do respect thier privacy but Kitty involed it couldn’t images what she does in Job postion really sicko of her wothless. I know Kitty doesn’t care about your grades old same stories what I heard my friend took her major PE. Oh well!
June 19th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Yeah! I remember during the women basketball at home game. One tall deaf lesbian hit so hard elbow against other team one tall girl got flew out her lost two front teeth were out air I saw whole thing two teeth hit floor front me fist row Wow! Tall girl pass out knock off you know what happened other team coach was pissed off and ran and yell at Kitty and they argued front of me my eyes were shocked I yell at kitty you knows better that not neccessary rough game fans booo to Kitty I won’t forget that happened also booo to Kitty teams most of lesbian well that problem our shameful Gally team not good sportmanship because women have shaved hair most of them. It embassed to me. Wanna know who did hit eblow?
June 19th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I think the reason why Davila went after GallyNet itself as well, because it was being illegally hosted.
Let’s put ourselves in John Yeh’s shoes. If you had a company, and one of your employees, without your knowledge and permission, hosted a list-serv, which will eat up resources on your server.
Then that list-serv has a famous reputation for a place where anonymous people could throw out accusations without giving any evidence 3/4ths of the time.
To top that, those typically unverified accusations are often against a business and its employees that you are a Trustee Emeritus of.
Would you tolerate that? Because I know 99.9% of businesspeople out there would not tolerate that.
MZ, in my opinion, as long you and other bloggers basically follow the Code of Ethics for Journalism, I don’t think you have very much to worry about. The GallyNet situation is completely different than our blog situation.
June 19th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
A Deaf Pundit—
Illegally hosted? What specific law did the hosting of the server violate? I’m referring to the specific act of ‘hosting’ a server, regardless of the contents contained therein.
June 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
I’m just going by what I know. An institution reputation can’t really be used as grounds to fire someone.
If I worked at Gallaudet, I would read a little further into this memo. Gallaudet or any other corporation does not have to ban websites, but they can dismiss people on grounds of abuse in the sense that you should be working, not browsing on the internet on company time. I don’t know if people out there have actually been fired for this “abuse.”
Lastly, because you use the internet on Gallaudet’s computers, you are essentially giving up the right to privacy. I have seen colleges post emails and website access on their website when it pertains to an investigation on an employee. I’ve seen instances where companies say they have the right to look at what you do in private emails such as gmail or yahoo mail, since you are using company computer/lines to access it.
I don’t mean to give people a privacy scare but as for tainting the university’s reputation, I don’t really see any standing in that. The university can put an emphasis to make the university look good, but cannot really enforce it. It’s like telling everyone to be nice, but if some people want to be mean, they can do so as long as nothing illegal is happening.
So Davilla’s email opens with saying he supports the freedom of speech/expression, but says he will step in if those lines are crossed. Everyone has the freedom of speech to even disparage Gallaudet within the legal limits. It appears that Davilla is trying to push back freedom of speech in that respect. If a person completely supports the freedom of speech, he has to allow even unpopular speech but he used the word “hurt.” Does hurt mean the harm principle or the offense principle? If Davilla is offended, does it mean he can take legal action on behalf of Gallaudet?
It’s a fine line saying legal means will be used, but people should watch their speech. He could simply say follow the rules, don’t do anything illegal and leave it at that. On a separate memo, he can post a guideline about speech/expression, but what’s the point of that when IKJ tried a similar thing, which seemed like an abuse of his position to create something favorable for his “cause” while trying to make it sound like there will be legal repercussions.
Once again the distinction between Gallaudet employees and students. Students appear to have much more freedom of speech than employers, in general. (At least I think so) Gallaudet has the ability and legal right to ban websites….during “work time.” That could get tricky since if a student tried to access something, they could raise a storm about it and say they are not employees. I’ve always thought it was a tricky line between students and employees at a higher education setting.
Just because employees blog from their homes about Gallaudet does not mean they do so under the employee “hat” since they can be a shareholder with a stake in the community, so that’s a different hat to wear. Things could get messier if they are a student too, then where does that line come into play, such as all the students who worked at Gallaudet during the protests.
I myself wouldn’t know what the clear boundaries are so I’d err on the side of caution, which could almost be a chill on my rights, then again I need to know what I can or can’t do in my role anyways.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Response to Former G-Player,
Who was former AD in your time? Just curious?? That was bad that Athletics Director did not take action or took serious for you… Shame!!!..
Same as Chairperson for PE major did not take action or did not take serious for students’ concerns.. Obviously those people who were favoritsm with Kitty B. in the past.. and also they were supportive with her all the way. That is SHAME!!!!
June 19th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
# 30 Agreed, I don’t remeber AD name forget his name wow already over 20 yrs ago! try look at Tower Clock Between 1983 to 86? Just hearing Tall man. Yes, those favoritism what I can do this rip off her? Nothing!
June 19th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Let me toss in a few words too…
The US Government, Gallaudet University and Pres. Davila OWN the network, most of the computers, and the servers that operate on campus. Therefore, if the President decides to block specific content from viewing on campus, that’s entirely his right. If staff, faculty or students decide to post inappropriate materials (as defined by Pres. Davila) on the Gallaudet network or any Gallaudet website, those materials can be legally deleted and the person(s) who placed them can be disciplined – up to and including fired in the case of an employee or if it’s a student, they can be dismissed. Indeed, if the posting is egregious enough, the offender can be prosecuted.
As much as we might like to believe otherwise, the Deaf Community does NOT own Gallaudet – the Federal Government “owns†it, and people who use Gallaudet for any purpose do so at the pleasure of the US Government. Of course Gallaudet can be “closed down†(it won’t happen, but its possible). Of course Federal Marshalls could be summoned to establish order on campus (lets pray THAT never happens). Even though we may dream and wish Gallaudet was a “Deaf only†world, its not. Deaf people love and revere Gallaudet, but it doesn’t belong to the Deaf, any more than the Supreme Court of the US belongs to lawyers.
As for the wonderful Mishka Zena website, there is little to fear! If Pres. Davila feels Gallaudet has been harmed by anything on the website, his only reasonable recourse is to ban access to MZ on the Gallaudet campus. Nothing slanderous or personally damaging has been posted (I hope), and even if someone considers a particular posting to be harmful, they would have a HUGE problem trying to prove that in court. The only time this becomes a real problem is when someone KNOWINGLY posts information that is false and slanderous. I don’t want to imply that a website owner is never liable for information on their blog, but generally speaking it’s safe if the owner exercises reasonable care and responsibility for the materials posted. If something REALLY outlandish, illegal or slanderous is posted, the website owner has an obligation to remove it at once. By way of disclaimer here, I am NOT a lawyer and this is NOT a legal opinion… Smile.
June 19th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I mean illegal in the sense of it violates widely-held business rules and ethics. It was a poor word choice. Sorry about that.
June 19th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Hm. On second thought, illegal is probably the right word really. It could be considered as hacking, which IS illegal. But I’m not an attorney. So my opinion on that is pretty much worthless.
http://www.2kweb.net/policies/aup.html
Illegal or Unauthorized Access to Other Computers or Networks — Accessing illegally or without authorization computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another individual’s system (often known as “hacking”). Also, any activity that might be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration (i.e. port scan, stealth scan, or other information gathering activity).
June 19th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I think it’s a slippery slope. It’s not unheard of for an employee to be fired for badmouthing their boss or the company they work for. But does Davila consider Gallaudet as being on a par with a business or the university it is? It appears he is missing the essential point: commentary cannot hurt Gallaudet as much as Gallaudet could hurt itself, and by trying to clamp down on public comment by listserve users, Gallaudet is just giving itself a black eye.
Wouldn’t it be much better if, rather than try to interfere with and shut down listservs such as GallyNet, the university instead addressed issues raised there? The relationship doesn’t have to be antagonistic.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Elizabeth in #22:
I realise that it is shocking that some people do not know how to distinguish between which is freedom of speech and which is NOT freedom of speech. The freedom of speech in the U.S. is not absolute. Never has been. Ever. Au contraïre, it has its certain limitations, or restrictions, for that matter. It is always gray about the freedom of speech, never black and white. For example, one would be jailed for defaming that Holocaust never occurred. Or be charged for saying falsely that there is “Fire in the classroom.” One of its limitations about the freedom of speech holds it that it is immoral, illegal, and unethical for one to release, or to leak, an individual’s confidential record; thereby, violating the said individual’s privacy rights. For the infringement of the Code of Ethics, a tenured professor can be malfeasanced or a staff member can be fired by a university president. More often than not would the offended individual file a lawsuit against the bad mouther for humilating her thereafter. It would, therefore, be best if the bad mouther be fired as soon as humanly possible before the lawsusit takes place so as to avoid any further embarrassment to the University.
Why did I mention “to leak” above? Leaks to newspapers and blogs concerning Valerie Plame’s name and the nature of her confidential work at the CIA in 2003 resulted in convicting a White House employee, namely, Irving “Scooter” Libby. Is the case over even following the jail sentence last week? No, several lawsuits are ensuing. Valerie Plame, for one, is filing a lawsuit against some leakers.
Tayler Mayer in #3:
What do you mean by “old-fashioned” people complaining to Dr. Davila? I do not, for one moment, believe that he would have stooped too low to disclose who the complaints were to you. Did Dr. Davila stoop too low to tell you that there were vigorously no “new-fashioned people complaining to him?
Jean
George Santanya puts it best: “He who doesn’t know his history is doomed to repeat it.”
June 19th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
What about the Pentagon Papers case, wasn’t Daniel Ellsberg justified in exposing government deception by leaking classified documents?
That is not true about people being jailed for defaming that Holocaust never happened, not in America. However, this is true in Germany.
No, it’s: Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
June 19th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I beg to differ….U.S. Government does NOT own Gallaudet. Gallaudet gets funding from the US Government, that is all. Gallaudet is not a federal property..because if it was, then when the murders happened, D.C. police would not have been involved! DPS wouldn’t be in existence. They would have used federal park police or some other federal law enforcement police.
When the protest happend, I got a response from one of my congressman who responded to my letter, he said that even though congress appropriates funds to Gallaudet, they do not have any control over what happens at Gallaudet. It’s out of their control. US Government does NOT own Gallaudet. I still have that email…will have to look for it, if anyone is interested in seeing it.
June 19th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
One more thing to add - Several things are clear, no one should have use their personal time during their work time. No one should share their employer’s memo or internal documents with outsider without their employer’s permission. If Selmo was doing that, then, he was in the wrong and I can see why he was terminated. But, it does not change the fact that Davila had no right to shame, threat, or what have you to YEH for hosting Gallynet. I personally rarely go to Gallynet. It is a matter of Principle (moral right) - If Gallynet is privately owned, then Davila had no business “strong arming” gallynet. I don’t know about many of you, but, looks like history is repeating itself.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:55 am
“I don’t know about many of you, but, looks like history is repeating itself.”
Bingo
June 20th, 2007 at 5:10 am
To Former G-Player and Fans basketball,
Just let you know that the AD is now available position… BUT possible that Kitty B… applies for the position of AD this coming fall… We dont want that, right??? I have already send an email to the administrator yesterday and I explained about her performance during classes and my opinion about her.. You can send an email to the administrator of MSCHE and tell them with your opinion and your experience about Kitty B. Just put subject “concern about an issue Kitty B.” I got email from administrator’s response back. I think they would like to hear from alumnus and currently students and maybe faculty, too. Just express your feeling and your opinion about Kitty B. It is up to you.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:44 am
“I don’t know about many of you, but, looks like history is repeating itself.â€
Indeed.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:46 am
A lot of responses here!
Ben, many thanks.
Deaf Pundit and others, that is it. Bloggers are not journalists. Even I am not a journalist, but just a blogger, even though I adhere to the journalism’s code of ethics to the best of my ability. However, as a blogger, I don’t have to and I am entitled not to. Even bloggers are within their rights to badmouth someone else, as long as these comments are ‘opinions’. How can these bloggers hurt Gallaudet’s reputation if it is already heavily tarnished? Where is the promotion of a healthy environment where academic freedom of exchanging information and ideas will take place, as MSCHE recommends? What would have happened to the protest if Jordan had tried to silence these deaf bloggers/vloggers and commenters, including GallyNet? We don’t see Bush going after these Internet sites even though there are some ardent anti-Bush sites and bloggers going full blast against him.
Why would a university president be going after listservs, blogs, and vlogs in the first place? If they want the bloggers, vloggers, and listserv to speak highly of Gallaudet, then perhaps they should work with the concerned stakeholders holding grievances instead of ignoring them as some alleged and also concentrate on cleaning up Gallaudet by working on raising academic rigors, bilingualism, audism, and racism, so forth. The recent actions on GallyNet had aggravated the disgruntled subscribers even further and they are making even more noises about this. Did Davila resolve the problem? Or had he made it much worse by knocking a nest of enraged hornets? I need to read the MSCHE letter again, but it’s my understanding it instructed Gallaudet to work with all stakeholder groups. Already an aggrieved stakeholder filed a complaint to MSCHE regarding Davila’s actions. Are there more people doing this, including sending this memo? How will the MSCHE feel about Davila’s recent actions? Will this hurt the accreditation process? I truly hope not, but only time will tell. But it seems more practical for Davila to meet with these groups and try to see if they can reach the middle ground. Davila is already doing so much productive work, steering Gallaudet in the right direction. He should try avoiding actions that will only stir up people because these people may not go away, silenced. They may get louder and louder, attracting unwanted attention. They may send letters to MSCHE, something we don’t want to see. : (
Dave, right, an university is operated differently than a business so we cannot expect the same ideals. University is supposed to encourage freedom of speech. I don’t think GT or GWU stakeholders will tolerate this well if this happens to their listserv, though I could be wrong.
Jean, Dave has some good points. We don’t have the right to yell fire because the consequences can hurt the people. But we do have the right to express our opinions, positive or negative. The release of confidential materials isn’t always bad. Remember how some people leaked to Washington Post about Kimmel’s grade fixing, AD’s use of illegal player(s), and Fernandes’s e mail threatening the BoT. Were they wrong to pass the information? Which would be worse? Keeping quiet and promoting the wrongs to be continued or reporting the wrongs, in hope that they will be stopped because these actions hurt Gallaudet, like cancer spreading through the institution. Some people feel these leaks were appropriate, but not others. It is a very delicate line.
What I am trying to say is that under the Bill of Rights, we do have the right to be jerks, blasting everybody right and left, though I hope nobody takes up my idea ;).
C, yes, some people sees a thinly veiled threat in his memo. Especially when one thinks how Davila went after GallyNet first rather than Slemo which would have been more logical. Will Davila go after me after I discuss people’s perception of his actions as censorship? I hope not, but who knows? Within the content of the memo, I could be damaging the ‘reputation’ of Gallaudet by exploring this topic of possible censorship. That memo is too broad. Keep in mind that the BoT does NOT want us to discuss Gallaudet issues on the Internet at all, as they instructed us in a different memo several months ago. Doesn’t that memo oppress our freedom of speech to discuss issues of our beloved alma mater? We want to hear what’s happening with Gallaudet and be able to explore our views on different topics. I thought the protest was to remove the old oppressive system crippling Gallaudet?
Snoopy, there is ’statute of limitations to be considered as it happened few years ago. It would be more productive if you contact the Dean and go from there rather than jump to MSCHE? Please give Gallaudet a chance to resolve this.
Sorry for the long winded response! I can be this way whenever I feel strong about an issue
June 20th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Dave in #37:
The case of Ellsberg is not the same as that
of a Gallaudet emoployee.
Santanya’s Spanish version has been variously
translated. Some people say “forget”; some
people say “cannot remember”. In my book, “The
Wit and Wisdom of Ages (1963) says “know”.
However, my former philosophy professor
(1976) tend to think that Santanya means
“forget” or “cannot remember what they have studied in history are wont to repeat
mistakes.” His students, myself included,
were in toto agreement with him about
both “forget” or “cannot remember”.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Jean, why did Davila interfere with GallyNet first? Why not fire Slemo first and leave GallyNet alone? What was his purpose of investigating to identify the server of GallyNet and contacting him?
June 20th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Googling “He who doesn’t know his history is doomed to repeat it†returns only a single hit, so whatever the exact wording was, that wasn’t it. (Interestingly, some think Santayana meant to say those who cannot remember history were doomed to fulfill it.)
A Gallaudet employee certainly would be justified in leaking confidential information if, and only if, to keep silent was the greater wrong.
The main point is that it was foolish for the BoT to attempt to impose some kind of ban or moratorium on discussion of Gallaudet’s problems. There are times when airing dirty laundry is a necessary part of the process in getting it clean.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:45 am
To Mishkazena,
Yeah you are right, I have already contacted one of administrator and I got email from them last night. He wants me to tell him how I felt or my opinion about Kitty B. So I did reply back to that person last night. I did ask the person who I had contacted to make sure if I am right the person to contact and want to express my feeling and opinion about one of professor from PE major so I got the right person who I supposed to contact. Thanks for advising me about how and who I supposed to contact.
June 20th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Snoopy, I am glad you contacted the administrator and received a response. I hope your grievance will be listened and taken care of, accordingly.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I think it goes like this: “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it”
June 20th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
A *VERY* reliable source informed me that she had the opportunity to sit with the Gallaudet BOT Chair Pamela Holmes at a friend’s private party not too long ago. Asked what happened with IJK and JKF, Pamela suddenly blamed RidorLIVE and few other blogs that caused the big time mess for Gallaudet.
“Damn these blogs particularly Richard Taylor” she exclaimed, “they spoiled everything; they hurt us. Damn them.”
I must concede that says a lot.
Wow!
June 21st, 2007 at 1:02 am
NoNamePlease: I’m glad that Pam Holmes blamed RidorLIVE.com for bringing the light on dirty dishes from day one!
Oh, by the way, I am not Richard Taylor. My real name is Ricky Taylor. Get this through your brain. I know who you are. Your obsession with me from day one is quite revealing.
MZ, your #43 comment is right on the target. Very few deaf bloggers get what it means to be a blogger and a journalist. I’m SO glad that you’re one of few deaf bloggers, MZ!
About GallyNet-L, I stopped subscribing the listserv last year in June, 2006 mainly because I can see the repeated patterns of attacks upon certain individuals. I believe that GallyNet has outlived its use regarding the issues at Gallaudet.
I do not know the exact causes that caused Gallaudet to terminate Slemo Warigon but there are always rumors that indicated Slemo used his time, computer and internet at work to do GallyNet. That is big ‘no-no’ — and I heard that he also broke some confidential information — if true, that is big ‘no-no’, too! But speculations does not help much unless you have verified information to back your claims up — something that I always used when I report things on RidorLIVE.com.
I completely support Dr. Davila’s position on what he has expressed. It is time for positive changes and I have seen so good changes at Gallaudet. Talking with students and faculty members, many are very upbeat and positive about Gallaudet’s changes. To me, that is good step. Of course, we must expect a small group of disgruntled fellas who would do anything to muster the positive changes that Dr. Davila has attempted to do at Gallaudet.
Once again, NoNamePlease, next time if you want to paraphrase Pam Holmes’ comments, be sure to address me as Ridor or Ricky — show some respect and class for a change.
R-
June 21st, 2007 at 6:49 am
NoName, yes, this is pretty much the attitude of Bot from multiple sources I’ve heard. It makes perfect sense when you keep in mind that memo when BoT instructed people NOT to talk about Gallaudet issues on the Internet. They felt we caused problems despite the fact that most of the blogs didn’t exist prior to the protest and the issues dating back for at least five years. Gallaudet, not us the bloggers, created these problems. It is very unfortunate that the BoT don’t promote transparency because the lack of transparency for many years is the reason Gallaudet is in a critical shape now, receiving IV blood. That kind of plaintation mentality has to go. Hopefully the new BoT will see the value of transparency and shared governance because, believe me, Gallaudet will not get better otherwise.
R, what makes you think I am speculating? Hint: people who read my blog knows I am very credible and if I bring up an issue, there is an excellent reason. By the way, the signs are also out there if people open their eyes
However, I want to point out that even bloggers, including you and I, are entitled to speculate.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:12 am
MZ, I did not mean to indicate that you’re speculating! I’m talking about the bloggers in general dwelling on speculations.
I also heard that Slemo took 2-hour lunch break while everyone has 30-minute break. It was said that his staff members resented Slemo for behaving like he’s God.
But that is a speculation, though. I’m glad that you existed, MZ. I need great team of bloggers. Not idiotic ones.
R-
June 21st, 2007 at 6:20 pm
R-
My apologies.
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