There might be some inadverent typos herein, and formatting differences:
Christopher Philippo to Communication department advisor, August 30, 2011 3:43 PM: "I think [COM 265] will be a very frustrating class. Barberich got there late, then let class out after ten minutes [thereby engaging in theft of services]."
Communication Department secretary to Christopher Philippo, October 6, 2011 11:43 AM: "Your request for a DARS exception for COM 265 [that would permit you to drop the course and receive your degree without it] is DENIED. If you have any questions/concerns, you can make an appointment with our department chair, Dr. Jeanette Altarriba"
Christopher K. Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, October 6, 2011 12:07 PM: "I am having a great deal of difficulty with Professor Barberich in Introduction to Communication Theory to the point that I was hoping it might be possible to be granted a DARS exception (I have taken a higher-level theory course, which perhaps could be used in its stead). I would like to meet with you about that, if that would be possible."
Monday, October 10, 2011 10 AM: Meeting with Jeanette Altarriba in person she thanked me for my integrity for reporting Michael W. Barberich's academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and more. She didn't care much about anything I reported except for Michael W. Barberich's sexual harassment, which she claimed to be extremely troubled by - but she still refused to let me drop the course, instead requiring me to remain in it continuing to be subjected to Michael W. Barberich's offensive behavior as a condition of receiving my degree and graduating. She assured me she would not tell him who had reported his sexual harassment, while I assured her I was certain he would know it was me. She again assured me she would not tell him who had reported his sexual harassment, while I again assured her I was certain he would know it was me. She encouraged me to let other students know that they could likewise approach her about such problems, though she knew I didn't know anyone in the class, and that being an adult learner in a lecture hall of 160 or so teenagers was somewhat difficult, and that I had some social anxiety and depression. She claimed that my report to her on Barberich would go in his file, and that it would be referred to in the future if other similar reports were made, and that it would be referred to when his employment was up for review. Given how things developed, she'd given me a load of BS, basically (except for her excusing Barberich's perennial lateness and other things: that much seems to have been her actual position).
Christopher Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, October 11, 2011 12:30 PM: "I feel somewhat better about the situation after meeting with you, even though I expect it will continue to be a stressful course. [...] Happily, my other class and my independent study lack the same stressors" (bold emphasis added)
Christopher Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, October 21, 2011 9:35 AM: "There are those who've said to me just keep my head down and graduate, but the thought that nobody would care or do anything about egregious problems is too distressing to me to tolerate silently as I might have done in the past. The distress of taking it to this point, of meeting with you, keeping you informed as you requested, is actually far less by comparison" (bold emphasis added)
Jeanette Altarriba to Christopher Philippo, October 21, 2011 11:08 AM: "Thank you for your observations, I do appreciate them."
Jeanette Altarriba to Christopher Philippo, November 9, 2011 3:55 PM: "Thank you for writing, as you have every right and have been encouraged, to do so [...] Do not consider that you have become any kind of 'target' [for retaliation] as some have suggested, that's simply not the case" (bold emphasis added)
Christopher K. Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, November 9, 2011 5:11 PM:"There are, as I said, other issues, but... I don't know. It doesn't seem to serve any purpose to bring them to your attention as far as I can see, as nothing in the course has changed for the better thus far, beyond him not making any more sexual jokes. He did recently joke in class about how we could shock one of his TAs until she screams, some bizarre hypothetical example he had that of course we could NOT in fact do, but maybe I'm just unreasonably expecting perfection from him in thinking that was completely inappropriate and somewhat sadistic. Most professors manage to avoid saying such things, though, for what little that's probably worth" (bold emphasis added)
Christopher K. Philippo to Clarence L. McNeill, November 18, 2011 9:52 AM, "Violation of Academic Integrity Report": "[Michael W. Barberich's] not even particularly nice to his teaching assistants either, joking one day about how 'we [the class] could hook up [one of his teaching assistants whom he named] to electrodes and shock her until she screams.' [...] I've complained to the Communication chair [Jeanette Altarriba], but she said I should remember professors are 'human' and that I should not expect 'perfection' from them."
Clarence L. McNeill to Christopher Philippo, November 22, 2011 1:54 PM: "I appreciate the email. Can you and I meet next week to discuss resolution options? I have also taken the lead in forwarding this description on to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education [Sue R. Faerman] for her records. Have you shared this information with the Chair of the COM Department?"
Christopher Philippo to Clarence L. McNeill, November 22, 2011 5:20 PM, "I could meet with you, though I am just a student."
Clarence L. McNeill did not respond to the November 22, 2011 5:20 PM e-mail about setting up a meeting. I had to go into his office and ask his secretary, who said he was waiting to arrange a meeting with me and she had no explanation for why he hadn't responded. Clarence L. McNeill would not meet with me about the academic dishonesty and sexual harassment I'd reported to him on November 18, 2011 until December 5, 2011 by which time problems I'd reported had grown worse due to his inaction and Vice Provost Sue Faerman's inaction.
Christopher K. Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, November 21, 2011 10:24 AM:"On Nov 9, 2011, at 5:11 PM, Christopher K. Philippo wrote:
"There are, as I said, other issues, but... I don't know. It doesn't seem to serve any purpose to bring them to your attention as far as I can see, as nothing in the course has changed for the better thus far, beyond him not making any more sexual jokes. He did recently joke in class about how we could shock one of his TAs until she screams, some bizarre hypothetical example he had that of course we could NOT in fact do, but maybe I'm just unreasonably expecting perfection from him in thinking that was completely inappropriate and somewhat sadistic. Most professors manage to avoid saying such things, though, for what little that's probably worth."
"I must say, I'm disappointed that I did not ever get a response about that. [...] He made this joke after you had promised to talk to him about the sexual penetration joke I'd complained to you about earlier in the semester, after he was on notice that he's being scrutinized. I sincerely hope that he is not himself lately, that there is some reason for all of this that when properly addressed would clear everything up for the better.
"However, people are human, as you said, somewhat circular as that might be. People certainly are imperfect. For example, I am angry at myself for not having spoken up in class in the TA's defense when he had made that joke, and I think it was an error for me not to have done so.
"There's been a couple other sexual jokes, not quite as egregious, but still tending towards the sordid or pornographic. [...]
"If he gave permission to a student or students to record the class, or if he or any of his TAs do so, you could hear his jokes for yourself if you have any doubt about what I'm telling you. It seems to me you must doubt it, or otherwise it seems to me you would have acted more decisively to put a stop to what he's doing.
"Some people have said to me that perhaps you are in fact doing something about it, but that you're doing it quietly and don't feel at liberty to tell me. I hope that's true, but I also think that that would be unfortunate, since it creates for me (along with the lack of change in Professor Barberich's behavior and the continuing poor quality of the course) the impression that you have [the] power to do something but are choosing to do nothing.
Your last e-mail indicating to me your belief that I expect perfection, when I do not, I believe tends to support my interpretation of your lack of response over those couple people who have suggested the other possibility. That makes me rather sad. As I'm sure I'd said to you when we first met [on October 10, 2011 at 10 AM], the thought that there are people who can do something about wrongdoing but don't can sometimes hurt more than the wrongdoing itself" (bold emphasis added).
Jeanette Altarriba to Christopher Philippo, November 21, 2011 10:30 AM: "As Chair of the Department of Communication, I do not take lightly any comments or reports from in-class behaviors that offend students or otherwise make them uncomfortable. As you brought issues to my attention, they have been addressed through internal mechanisms to do so. I wish you a restful break and a successful end to your semester" (bold emphasis added)
Christopher K. Philippo to Jeanette Altarriba, November 21, 2011 10:39 AM: "Given that nothing's changed, have the issues been sufficiently addressed through internal mechanisms, I wonder? My thought is that the lack of change indicates the issues can't possibly have been addressed sufficiently yet" (bold emphasis added)
Jeanette Altarriba, of course, did not respond to indicated how she'd supposedly "addressed" Michael W. Barberich's academic dishonesty and sexual harassment through "internal mechanisms".
Red emphasis added:
* Clarence L. McNeill to [Nonresponsive] Jeanette Altarriba, December 5, 2011 6:42 PM “I am instituting a cease and desist order between Philippo and [untenured visiting assistant professor Michael W. Barberich who Christopher Philippo reported for academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and retaliation]" (page 214 of 281)
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, December 6, 2011 2:30 PM: "I'm following up on the 'cease and desist' order alluded to below. [Untenured visiting assistant professor Michael W. Barberich who Christopher Philippo reported for academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and retaliation] has asked if there have been any developments regarding the issuing of this order at this point in time.” (page 214 of 281)
* Clarence L. McNeill to Jeanette Altarriba, December 7, 2011 9:26 AM Subject “Cease & Desist” (page 47 of 281) [Clarence L. McNeill changed the subject of his December 6, 2011 9:51 AM e-mail to me from “Good Morning” to “Cease & Desist” and did not inform Jeanette Altarriba he’d done so]
Clarence L. McNeill's "Good Morning" recommendation that I voluntarily choose to refrain from reporting Michael W. Barberich's academic dishonesty and sexual harassment ran contrary to a lot of things, e.g.:
"Victims shall [...] Be free from unwanted pressure from campus personnel to [...] Refrain from reporting sexual assaults for any reason, including the fear of unwanted personal publicity." http://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/sexualviolence/statement.shtml
"The University at Albany expects all members of its community to conduct themselves in a manner befitting this tradition of honor and integrity. They are expected to assist the University by reporting suspected violations of academic integrity to appropriate faculty and/or administration offices. Behavior that is detrimental to the University’s role as an educational institution is unacceptable and requires attention by all citizens of its community" (bold emphasis added) “Undergraduate Academic Regulations.” http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin_archive/2011-2012/regulations.html
“Every member of the community, including […] students, shares an interest in maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity […] Maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity insures the value and reputation of our degree programs; these standards represent an ethical obligation for faculty intrinsic to their role as educators, as well as a pledge of honor on the part of University at Albany students. If a violation of academic integrity occurs, […] students all share in the responsibility to report it.” “Community Rights and Responsibilities.” http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/standards_of_academic_integrity.php
"What you can do if you feel you are a victim of, or if you observe acts of, sexual harassment: [...] Contact University people or community agencies that can help you. [...] Students may wish to talk with a member of the counseling center staff, a residence hall director, an academic advisor, a residence assistant, a faculty member, or a supervisor.” http://www.albany.edu/diversityandinclusion/sexual_harassment_policy.php
"Students are encouraged to report all incidents of sexual assault/sexual violence to the police or a member of the University in order to receive help in accessing support services and in referring the sex offender, if a student, to the on-campus student conduct system. The decision to report must be made by the victim and shall be respected by all members of the University.” http://www.albany.edu/counseling_center/sexualviolence/report.shtml
McNeill, being both incompetent and a habitual liar, represented to Jeanette Altarriba that he'd sent me a "Cease & Desist" when he had not, and that he'd informed me that he'd contacted the "Chief's" [sic] when he had not.
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, December 7, 2011 5:10 PM "Clarence, are you at a phone number where I might reach you right now? Jeanette” [I see nothing in the response to the FOIA request giving descriptions of substance of telephone conversations, even though it ought to have been included according to the Data Request from OCR]
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill and [Nonresponsive], December 8, 2011 8:46 AM: "This behavior must cease immediately."
* Jeanette Altarriba to Estela M. Rivero, Clarence L. McNeill, Sue R. Faerman, and others, December 8, 2011 12:09 PM: "As you may know, the student was issued a 'cease and desist' order earlier this week, which you shared with me and with Professor [Nonresponsive - probably untenured visiting assistant professor Michael W. Barberich who Christopher Philippo reported for academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and retaliation] [...] The message below and the attached message are in direct violation to that order [...] As of last Friday [December 2, 2011], I indicated to both Professors [Nonresponsive and Nonresponsive: probably Christopher Philippo's department advisor and independent study advisor] to cease all communication to Christopher at that time” (page 146 of 181 and page 157 of 281)
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, Estela M. Rivero, Sue R. Faerman, and others, December 8, 2011 1:30 PM: "In light of this student's failure to adhere to the 'cease and desist' order [...] I am not opposed to barring this student from access to campus [...] We are at a critical level of safety concern within the Department of Communication and Professor [Nonresponsive - probably untenured visiting assistant professor Michael W. Barberich who Christopher Philippo reported for academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and retaliation], in particular, is feeling maximum discomfort with the current situation.” (page 156 of 181)
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, Sue R. Faerman, Estala M. Rivero, and others, December 8, 2011 2:06 PM: "let me confirm the message that I have communicated with each of you individually:
Please refrain from further communications with Christopher Philippo at this time.
* Jeanette Altarriba to [Nonresponsive], December 8, 2011 2:41 PM: "We have an issue with an undergraduate student. If you could, please give me a call in my office"(page 120 of 281)
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill and [Nonresponsive], December 8, 2011 4:31 PM: "Clarence, Please do inform me of the manner and the date in which Christopher will be barred from campus, if indeed this action will be taken by the University."
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, December 8, 2011 9:40 PM, “We are waiting for some action to occur as a result of the violation of the order to cease and desist” (page 119 of 281)
Christopher K. Philippo to Clarence L. McNeill, December 8, 2011 10:15 PM, "retaliation?": "I've been trying to live up to this all along:
"'Every member of the community, including both faculty and students, shares an interest in maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity [...] If a violation of academic integrity occurs, faculty, deans and students all share in the responsibility to report it' (emphasis added) [...]
"I told you I'd reported sexual misconduct, namely sexual harassment" [...]Any threat of retaliation or other attempts to prevent the reporting of sexual misconduct will be prohibited and is subject to disciplinary action. Reports of retaliation should be made to the Director of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility [which is Clarence L. McNeill]
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, Sue R. Faerman, Estela M. Rivero, and others, December 9, 2011 12:09 PM, "RE: FW:RE: Could you give me a call": "Again, I urge you to call the number below as soon as you can so that you can resolve the issue of this student's need/no need to be on campus again. Please let me know the progress of this action."
Clarence L. McNeill to Christopher K. Philippo, December 9, 2011 12:44 PM, "RE: retaliation?": "This would not be reported to me."
* Jeanette Altarriba to Clarence L. McNeill, Estela M. Rivero, [Nonresponsive], Sue R. Faerman [Nonresponsive], December 9, 2011 11:59 AM:”Christopher Philippo [...] was issued an order to 'cease and desist,', violated that order twice [underlining and bold emphasis of "twice" in original]" (page 123 of 281 and page 126 of 281)
* Jeanette Altarriba to Estala M. Rivero, Clarence L. McNeill [nonresponsive], December 9, 2011 4:00 PM: “Note that the second file above was one of the two documents that is in direct violation of the ‘cease and desist order that had been administered to Christopher by Clarence McNeill. The second item that violated that order is also attached here” (page 122 of 281)
Jeanette Altarriba to John M. Murphy, Christine Bouchard, Clarence L. McNeill, and others, July 10, 2012 2:12 PM, "FW: UAlbany seems a pretty hopeless case: should one bother at all?": I am concerned that faculty members will declare these mailings as a form of harassment (or perhaps in some cases, defamation of character) and will seek further legal action, internally or externally, and that this could lead to larger issues for the institution."
* John M. Murphy to Jeanette Altarriba, Christine Bouchard, Clarence L. McNeill, and others, July 11, 2012 9:16 AM: "We are doing are best to manage his foil requests as well as other issues relating to a cease and desist order that prohibits him from entering the Social Science Building where the Communications [sic] faculty reside." (page 56 of 281)
Defamation: "communication to third parties of false statements about a person that injure the reputation of or deter others from associating with that person"Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. http://dictionary.findlaw.com/definition/defamation.html
Michael W. Barberich engaged in academic dishonesty, sexual harassment, and retaliation. That's not defamation because it's not a false statement.
Jeanette Altarriba required me to remain in Michael W. Barberich's class, continuing to be subjected to his offensive behavior, as a condition of receiving my degree and graduating. That's not defamation because it's not a false statement.
Jeanette Altarriba, however, by falsely claiming that I had been sent a "'cease and desist' order" when I had not, by falsely claiming that I had violated that non-existent cease and desist order, and by injuring my reputation and deterring people from associating with me (indeed, telling them not to do so)... that sure seems to fit the definition perfectly.
No comments:
Post a Comment