Anti-war prof in Charleston tries to stifle free speech by threatening student?

Anti-war prof in Charleston tries to stifle free speech by threatening student?

Some of you may have seen the emails and pictures at SC Hotline that were sent back and forth by anti-war professors at the College of Charleston. Two of these faculty members were Maxwell Shaw and Robin Bowers (free registration required). Also click here for a Post & Courier article on Bowers.

Earl Capps, a student at the college who helped organize the Rally for Freedom, responded to the messages (to Shaw specifically) and let others know about how the professors had been using state-owned computers and e-mail servers.

1) That you have abused the College email system to push your petty agenda on the rest of the college. Our tax dollars; or 2) You put so much weight on a picture that you THINK was the fault of a coalition weapon (but you have no way of knowing if this is truly what happened), but so little on the thousands who were tortured and slaughtered by the Hussein regime that was removed by soliders from the democratic nations of the coalition.

Capps also said: Sorry, Professor. Every day is more innocent Iraqis tortured and murdered by the Hussein regime, not to mention deprived of their religious freedoms.

Are you one of those people they're finding to have been on the Iraqi payroll all along?

It's all about Bush to you, isn't it? I'm proud to have voted for him, and guess what? He's gonna get re-elected. Which I'm betting will make you madder than anything else.

Shaw responded to this dissection of his political views by threatening to trump up charges of Honor Code violations against Capps: From: Shaw, Maxwell [mailto:ShawM@cofc.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 9:08 AM To: wecapps@edisto.cofc.edu Subject:

At first I penned a response to your e-mail copied below, thinking that debate of an issue was opened. However, when I found out that you did not have the courage to use the proper e-mail, I knew you were a hit and run kind of guy. So, I have penned a different kind of response that perhaps you might want to talk about:

It has come to my attendion that a student in the Communications Department is using an illegal college e-mail address to send hostile and personal attacks to faculty members. By using the @cofc.edu server, he is masking his student status and pretending to be a staff or faculty member. Because he is neither, and the e-mail is invalid, a response is not possible, aand poorly reflects on his character.

This issue screams of dishonesty and such should come before the Honors Board as a violation of the Honor Code. As a major in Communications, integrity should be one of the criteria for certification in that profession and at the very minimum should be reflected in any letters of recommendation that the department might issue on his behalf in the future. I would think that the college administration should be concerned that his use of a staff or faculty identity might bring a disfavorable image on the college and such practice should be looked into, not to preclude disciplinary action for fraud and/or misrepresentation in the name of the College of Charleston.

Capps responded (phone numbers redacted): From: Earl Capps [mailto:wecapps@cofc.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 9:49 AM To: 'Shaw, Maxwell' Subject: RE: honors violation?

Hit and run? I made no effort to hide my identity, as my name was on the email. In no way did I make any claims to be a member of staff or faculty. That it did not have the proper return address when it was sent out was not my fault. Since you figured out who I was, including the department of my major, I could not have been making too much of an effort to hide myself.

As much as you say that I did not give others the means to contact me for a response, I did get response emails. However, if it would make you feel better, please feel free to distribute my two email addresses via the campus email system for those with responses:

Obviously, you do not agree with my opinions. In a free country, you are not obligated to share my views, nor to approve of them. Nor am I obligated to share or approve of yours. We also have the equal right to disagree with each other, so long as I do not interfere with your ability to teach your class. My one public email challenged Dr. Bower's publicly stated, and did not discuss you at all. I simply responded to what he been said, offering an alternative opinion, and resources to back up my point of view.

I have considerable questions as to if it is appropriate to use the college email system to broadcast opinions, and have discussed this with several legislators I know.

To file a complaint over a simple technical issue sounds a little like you are overreacting to me.

I will make no apologies for my public support of our President and our Troops, through that email, as well as through my efforts to organize the recent Rally for Freedom.

You are more than welcome to call me at my office at (843) XXX-XXXX during the day or on my mobile at XXX-XXXX to discuss what grounds you feel may need to be addressed. However, due to the busy nature of my job, I do not have time for an extended political debate. Considering our two distant positions, I am fairly certain it would accomplish very litte.

The Honor Code specifically forbids lying, cheating, attempted cheating, stealing, attempted stealing and plagiarism. Students at the College are bound by honor and by their acceptance of admission to the College to abide by the Code and to report violations.

As members of the College community, students are expected to evidence a high standard of personal conduct and to respect the rights of other students, faculty, staff members, community neighbors, and visitors on campus. Students are also expected to adhere to all federal, state, and local laws.

Faculty members are required to report violations of the Honor Code or Code of Conduct to the Office of Student Affairs.

A flow chart shows how the honor system works while the Honor Code itself is found in the Student Handbook.

Included in Shaw's biography (right in the middle of his assignments in the US Navy) is the following: Prior to that assignment, Shaw was assigned as Executive Officer [Number 1 for Star Trek fans] aboard the USS Exultant MSO441, homeported in Charleston.

Shaw's baby-boomer teaching philosophy includes: This course will ultimately present you with many more questions than answers. You are the upcoming generation. My generation has created many of the problems of the planet but it will be your generation who will solve them, perish from them, or pass them on to the next generation.

Shaw needs to re-read his classroom etiquette guidelines and key in on the following: We will treat each other with respect and dignity. We will have differing opinions and perspectives on many issues during the course, but we will never lose our temper or treat another with contempt, disrespect or personal attacks.

He is either ignorant of how e-mail works or he is treating Capps with contempt and disrespect. Shaw would be guilty of violations of acceptable use policies at most universities for his spamming of anti-war messages and apparently has reacted violently to Capps pointing this fact out. So, besides being guilty of ethical problems as a state employee, Professor Shaw is abusing his power by accusing Capps of an Honor Violation. Shaw is apparently guilty of what would be a violation of the code if he were a student - "abuse of the judicial system" via "falsification, distortion, or misreprensentation" or by "institution of a judicial proceeding knowingly without cause."

Shaw's attempts to persecute Capps apparently stem from the fact that Capps has dared to speak his opinion that is opposite of that held by the professor. The Taliban would be proud of Professor Shaw.

To ensure that academic freedom is preserved, feel free to contact the following and let them know your opinion: Lee Higdon, President E-mail: higdonl@cofc.edu (843) 953-5500 Fax: (843) 953-5811

Dr. Jeri Cabot - Senior Vice President for Student Affairs / Dean of Students E-mail: cabotj@cofc.edu (843) 953-5522

You can also contact Shaw's department: e-mail: POLISCI@cofc.edu Department of Political Science Telephone: (843) 953-5724 Fax: (843) 953-8140

Shaw is depriving his rights as legally as if I said "don't say such things or I'll tell your mother." Is that illegal too?

Could be, if mom is known to be an illegal physical abuser, in which case such an action may not only be illegal, but failure to report your knowledge that the vicious theoretical mommy dearest may be so abusing the kid can also be a criminal act, in some cases, a felony. All 50 states have passed some form of a mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting law in order to qualify for funding under The Act was originally passed in 1974, has been amended several times and was most recently amended and reauthorized on October 3, 1996, by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-235). All states require certain professionals and institutions to report suspected child abuse, including health care providers and facilities of all types, mental health care providers of all types, teachers and other school personnel, social workers, day care providers and law enforcement personnel. Many states require film developers to report, and a number of states have broad statutes requiring "any person" to report.

You can find many of the toll-free numbers for the offices for reporting such acts in most states *here*.

In this instance, however, I think the folks at the website here have a better track record in dealing with such civil rights violations, and accordingly, I cc'd a copy of my thoughts on the matter to President Higdon to them, along with one to my old boss at World Net Daily.

Stay tuned for further developments....

-archy-/-

You can play but you will lose.

Don't bet your university's federal funding on that.

It's pretty stupid to get into mudslinging contests with someone who's had a fruitful career in a racket where they buy ink by the drumload, even if cleaner electronic pixels have now mostly replaced that messy old stuff. And a lot of us in this line take the defense of the First Amendment real seriously- even for snotty college kids.

-archy-/-

How odd... Was just looking at the resume... Dr. Shaw is a BYU grad, and therefore overwhelmingly likely to be a Mormon himself, as well as a former naval officer with wartime service. And his studies have been in geography, a reasonably 'hard' science. And he was administrator of a battlefield preservation trust. Men like this don't usually take loony leftist positions in public.

Furthermore, it is worth reading his web page on his teaching philosophy. Not much there I can argue with. It's nice to see a professor enforcing standards.

Sample: "Most of you have spent the last few years wanting to be treated like an adult. You have finally reached that goal and will be treated as such. Please remember that lame excuses, whining, and avoidance of the consequences of your own actions are a part of your past behaviors and subsequently, I will have little patience for them."

Read it all: Teaching Philosophy

I want to know more details before I dismiss Dr. Shaw out of hand. He seems like my kind of guy.

-ccm

This course will ultimately present you with many more questions than answers.

If education were sold like a product on the free market, like most services are, this professor wouldn't be attracting too many students, imo. Only within the hallowed confines of our socialist education system can students be told they will learn nothing useful, that they faced nearly insurmountable world problems (mostly our fault), then be sent forth to do battle with 'social justice', not productivity, as their highest ideal -- and continue to draw a nice professor's salary. Who would take lessons from a ski instructor who admits he can't ski, or let a mechanic who sees overwhelming problems he can't begin to sort out work on his car? If it weren't for the hard sciences, I'd say 'NUKE the UNIVERSITIES!!'

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