The one who did, Janelle Hobson, characterized attempts to report sexual harassment as “revenge” rather than an essential right of victims to justice, and she advised me to “let it go and move on” and that by dropping the complaints I would be the “bigger person.” I.e. the "bigger person" than middle-aged white male untenured visiting assistant professor Michael W. Barberich who I’d reported for academic dishonesty and sexual harassment, who had joked about having the class hook up his petite young Asian foreign national teaching assistant to electrodes and shock her until she screams - the one TA out of his five who might not have been writing his lectures and lecture notes for him that he was presenting in class and online as his own work, etc.
Ms. Hobson also wrote that when students report sexual harassment and “feel some kind of retaliation, then drop the class and report the incident to his department chair.” I told her I couldn’t drop the class because the chair of the department refused to grant me academic accommodation and instead forced me to remain in the class continuing to be subjected to the professor’s unprofessional, offensive, and alarming behavior as a condition of receiving my degree and graduating. She evidently wasn’t bothered that a department chair at SUNY Albany would do that, beyond her wishing me “good luck” with it.
Feminism at SUNY Albany: dead? "We CAN't do it!"
My Communication department advisor Jennifer Stromer-Galley suggested that Michael W. Barberich was not a misogynist, but that he was just pandering to the worst elements in the class in an attempt to be liked - which would really not be any better if true. She also warned me that Michael W. Barberich might stoop to anything to keep his job were he reported (quite true), and she warned me that department chair Jeanette Altarriba was friends with the Dean (I think Undergraduate Dean Sue Faerman was meant, not College of Arts & Sciences Dean Edelgard Wulfert) and that if I reported Barberich to the Dean “it’ll go how it’ll go” (i.e. it would not go well for me - and indeed, it did not). Dr. Stromer-Galley preferred that I drop the complaints about Barberich's academic dishonesty and sexual harassment and concentrate instead on further reporting another serious problem at SUNY Albany: how Institute for Teaching, learning and Academic Leadership (ITLAL) was offering professors monetary bonuses to adopt a proprietary group-learning system, a system that SUNY Albany doesn't even use properly, a system which is being used to artificially inflate students' grades and make students, professors, departments, and the university look better than they actually are.
My independent study advisor in the Communication Department William Husson told me that while he was not friends with Barberich (who possibly could be?), he was friendly with him and that he didn’t want to hear about Barberich's academic dishonesty and sexual harassment as he didn’t want to feel like he had to take sides. Except the university essentially requires professors to take the side of students who report sexual harassment to them: "The best thing you can do for the student is to listen to and believe them. [...] The student has the option of having their name released to the Office of the Vice President for Student Success. This report opens the door for the student to receive academic and/or residential accommodations. It does not oblige the student to press criminal or judicial charges. The release of their name is only to provide additional support from the University. If the student is not willing to have their name released, it is still your obligation to contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Success, 518-956-8140, to report that an assault has occurred as well as the general time, date and location of the assault." Professor Husson did not tell me about my options (nor did any other member of the faculty I turned to for help), and as far as I know he did not report Michael W. Barberich's sexual harassment to the Office of the Vice President for Student Success.
Aside from the above issue, a middle-aged white female Communication professor had joked in a class that the class knew that a young, African-American male undergraduate student was prone to premature ejaculation. I guess professors at SUNY Albany can get away with things like that because if it ever gets reported then the person who reports it is too often ignored or threatened.
Another professor in the Communication department let a hijabi Muslim student in the class engage in an off-topic rant about how 9/11 was an inside job, the US government is implanting microchips in infants, and the people in class should all watch the anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist "documentary" Zeitgeist. She let students mock an Australian student's accent and nationality, and laugh at other students who spoke up in class.
Another professor in the Communication department had open book tests - even for the final. On top of them being open book, students could retake the tests if they were unsatisfied with their grades on them!
Distinguished Professor, History Department John Monfasani to CKP, August 1, 2012 at 12:54:35 PM:
"Communications is one of the depts. I view as a real problem. There are others, but the only way things will turn around is if we have an administration that once them to turn around."
Sadly, SUNY Albany has an administration that is pro-sexual assault, pro-academic dishonesty.
John Monfasani to CKP, August 6, 2012 at 3:56:19 PM:
"I would welcome them challenging me about you. I think I could turn this into a cause célèbre, which would be mightily embarrassing to them for the very reasons you give and cause them to throw in the towel."
John Monfasani to CKP, March 17, 2013 at 6:33:45 PM:
"I explained your case to two colleagues, David Hochfelder, who heads Local/Regional History, and Susan Gauss, the chair of graduate students. They both were superficially sympathetic, but made it clear that they had no interest in getting involved. Both are clients of Hamm and probably talked to him, wondering if I was trying to get them into trouble, even though I explained that my purpose was to right a wrong and begin a process which would force McNeil et al. to justify publically and therefore open themselves to questioning as to why you are blocked from even applying to the doctoral program. I was much disappointed, but not surprised, by their self-serving platitudes. I now plan to try a different avenue to get your case looked at again since my colleagues proved to be such cautious time-servers."
John Monfasani to CKP, July 24, 2013 at 12:13:39 PM, after he'd evidently been bought or threatened or given up the interests he once had in academic integrity and justice:
"People tell me that you have been using my name and quoting me in emails you sent out and on websites. Please stop. I tried to help you and what you are doing now can only harm me."
As a member of the pro-sexual assault, pro-academic dishonesty administration he's not helped me and isn't helping anyone else. What good does he imagine he did me other than to make promises to help and not deliver on them?
John Monfasani to CKP, June 26, 2012 at 1:54:06 PM:
"I'm on the Senate Excecutive Committee this coming year. Perhaps, there is something that can be done in respect to profs and administrators."
John Monfasani to CKP, August 8, 2012 at 2:41:14 PM:
"Strange happenings at UA. To my total surprise, I have been offered the position of associate dean of CAS, and I accepted when Dean Wulfert made it clear that she was on the same page with me on improving the scholarly quality of the place. Now this actually means that I have less liberty of action in speaking publicly about you and daring McNeill to do something about it. On the other hand, behind the scenes I am better positioned to ask questions, perhaps get answers, and steer people in the right direction. I'm in harness 1 September on. So it will be early fall before I can seriously start nosing about."
John Monfasani to CKP, March 30, 2013 at 1:58:13 PM:
"I’ve talked to some people here about your case. Will have an important meeting next week. Will you know afterwards where things stand."
John Monfasani to CKP, April 8, 2013 at 9:40:33 PM:
"I’m getting some reaction to my prodding. We’ll see where this goes."
John Monfasani to CKP, April 17, 2013 at 8:34:48 PM:
"Give me a call when you have a chance. I can tell the results of my meeting with McNeil, Murphy, and Reilly"
The results: I was told the University viewed me as a risk because I liked Alfred Hitchcock movies, and that I could apply to the graduate program in history if I asked Clarence L. McNeill's permission to contact that department. I.e. John Monfasani did not change anything and got permission for me to ask Clarence L. McNeill (who responded to my reporting academic dishonesty, sexual harassment and retaliation to him by sending me and my mother threats) for permission to apply for graduate studies at SUNY Albany when John Monfasani and Clarence L. McNeill both know I can't afford graduate studies, would not feel safe on the SUNY Albany campus, and have little faith in academic integrity at SUNY Albany. That's "help"? That's "improving the scholarly quality of the place"?
"SUNY System Administration and each SUNY campus has designated a Title IX Coordinator. No later than March 31, 2014, SUNY will provide certification that each SUNY campus has continued to revise relevant publications disseminated to students and employees to notify all students and employees of the name and/or title, office address, electronic mail (email) address and telephone number of the person(s) designated to coordinate its efforts to comply with Title IX. SUNY System Administration will notify all employees of the same information"
http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/suny-new-york-agreement.doc
There's a good chance the certification SUNY provides will be as much of a fraud as the agreement itself, as much of a fraud as SUNY Albany's Title IX Coordinator Tamra Minor.
From: "Christopher Philippo" [...]
Subject: ODI responses; retaliation reported to ODI?
Date: July 23, 2012 1:46:54 AM EDT
To: odi@uamail.albany.edu, tminor@uamail.albany.edu, ggabriel@uamail.albany.edu, ljones@albany.edu
Cc: presmail@uamail.albany.edu, nbelowich@albany.edu
You should recall I'd written ODI last year seeking help.
• Can you explain the response I received at that time?
Also, "Community Rights & Responsibilities" ( http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/Community%20Rights%20FINAL%20CLEAN%2010-28-11.pdf and http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/appendix-j.shtml ) states:
"Reports of retaliation should be made to the Director of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility (518-442-5501) and/or the Associate Director of Residential Life/Quad Supervisor (518-442-5875) who will assist in filing a complaint for university disciplinary action."
However, the Director of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility wrote me that it "would not be reported to [him]." He claimed instead, "That would be ODI."
• Is that correct, that reports of retaliation should NOT be made to the Director of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility, but should be made to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion instead?
Mr. McNeill didn't subsequently update the "Community Rights & Responsibilities" to read that way, so I'm not entirely sure what to make of it all...
I should note that Mr. McNeill must never contact me again; see to it that he does not. Mr. McNeill must also never contact any member of my family again; see to it that he does not.
He'd cc'd my retired mother on an intimidating e-mail with a very intimidating document attachment that he'd e-mailed to me on December 9, 2011. I have not been contacted by him since December 2011, which is a good thing.
However, the December 9, 2011 "'cease and desist' order" that he e-mailed to me and to my retired mother [...] remains in effect in perpetuity, since he did not put an expiration date on it. That remains a problem, as does the University at Albany having a judicial administrator who would to write a student: "This is your final warning. You need to forget [the professor you reported to me for faculty ethics violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation]."
I still don't know if UPD really were notified of the order as it claims, or if they will really "respond accordingly" (whatever that means) if I violate the order as it claims, or if it was really cc'd to Chief Wiley, to the professor I reported for faculty ethics violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation (when the order has the street address I share with my mother on it), or to my Student File as it claims. UPD did not send me the order in response to my Freedom of Information Act/Freedom of Information Law/Personal Privacy Protection Law request, even when I had two separate officers double-check, and when I asked Chief Wiley himself, and when I expressed my belief that the order was "fake."
Additionally, after getting past the hurdle of Associate Registrar Maria Brown claiming my Student File was University property and could not be copied for me due to "copyright implications", I viewed my Student File in the Registrar's Office and the order was not in it. After I got past the hurdle of Registrar Karen Chico Hurst claiming that my Student File could not be copied for me because of FERPA, when she sent my Student File to me after I sent a 1998 Advisory Opinion from the New York State Department of State Committee on Open Government to her, my Student File still did not have the order in it.
Clery Act Compliance Officer John M. Murphy claims that Mr. McNeill now claims he didn't actually CC the order itself to the professor I'd reported to Mr. McNeill for faculty ethics violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation. Mr. Murphy claims that Mr. McNeill now claims he'd only informed the professor I'd reported to him for faculty ethics violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation (while letting me, my mother, my other family, and my friends believe that he had CC'd the professor I'd reported to him for faculty ethics violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation, something we believed because he'd stated unambiguously in black and white on the order that he had CC'd the professor the "'cease and desist' order" itself).
My thought is that the December 9, 2011 "'cease and desist' order" appears to be entirely against University at Albany policy, illegal, and unconstitutional. What do you think?
I must close by noting: I must not experience any further retaliation.
I am very anxious to hear your responses.
Sincerely,
Christopher K. Philippo
None of them responded, of course. Tamra Davis' job as Chief Diversity Officer, Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, and Title IX Coordinator seems to be to help suppress complaints of sexual harassment. The quality of her work prior to being hired by SUNY Albany is debatable, as are her credentials:
"[Knowles] further testified that Human Resources Consultant Tyrome Alexander ('Alexander') told him, during the first few days of his tenure, that several OMA executive staff members, specifically, Tamra Minor ('Minor'), Maurice Shipley ('Shipley') and Rose Wilson-Hill ('Wilson-Hill'), were overpaid and undermotivated and that Knowles would have difficulty holding them accountable. He testified that Alexander told him he should get rid of all of them and start over. Knowles checked with Rudd, who told him that Minor was not trained in the area in which she was working. [...]"Minor Appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Diversity at UNCW." June 29, 2006. http://www.uncw.edu/articles/2006/06/minor-appointed-associate-vice-chancellor-for-institutional-diversity-at-uncw/"[Laurie Johnson] observe that several executive staff members, specifically, Minor Wilson-Hall and Shipley, would always resist and challenge Knowles by either not completing something that he had asked them to do, or by disagreeing with him."
Knowles v. Ohio State Univ., 2006-Ohio-6732. http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/ohio/tenth-district-court-of-appeals/2006-ohio-6732.pdf
"Associate Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Tamra Minor, has resigned complaining about a lack of support from the administration. But you probably don’t know that she, like DePaolo, has been promoting anti-black racism on our predominantly white campus. [...]
"[A] student, who we will call 'Omar,' received a letter from Dr. Minor shortly before she left UNC-Wilmington. In the letter, Minor congratulated Omar for getting a GPA of '3.00 or higher during the 2006-2007 academic year.' This was followed by the revelation that 'the Division of Academic Affairs recognizes students of color at our university who excelled in academic performance …' The main problem with this last sentence is the phrase 'excelled in academic performance.'
"Over the last few years in America, obtaining a GPA of 3.0 [generally equated to a B or 85%] has, unfortunately, come to mean something other than that a student has 'excelled in academic performance.' For example, by the mid-1990s, Harvard University saw 80% of its students graduate with the 'honors' distinction. Later, more than 90% of Harvard students would graduate with 'honors' in a given year. [...]
"Omar pointed out another condescending portion of Dr. Minor’s letter, which invited him to an 'Annual Academic Awards Program.' It also encouraged him to 'invite (his) family or other guest to celebrate with (him).' Omar was stunned that the university would throw a party to 'celebrate' the slightly-above-average performance of black (and partially black) UNCW students. He asked why the university could not spend all of the party money on scholarships for the region’s poor"
Adams, Mike. "A (Half) Black Man Can." Townhall. August 6, 2007. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2007/08/06/a_half_black_man_can/page/full
(Townhall.com is the sort of right-wing website I wouldn't ordinarily cite, and I don't care for a lot of the author's rhetoric, but the above criticisms seem valid.)
"Tamra Minor Named UAlbany's Assistant Vice President and Director of Diversity and Affirmative Action" July 12, 2007. http://www.albany.edu/campusnews/releases_372.htm
"Minor received her [...] master’s in Animal Science from Ohio State University, and bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Missouri - Columbia." http://www.albany.edu/administration/tamra_minor.php
"Minor obtained her [...] doctorate in consumer/family economics, from The Ohio State University." http://www.albany.edu/campusnews/releases_372.htm
No degree in education administration, diversity and affirmative action, or anything else relevant to her job? It recalls what was stated in the lawsuit in which she was named: "Minor was not trained in the area in which she was working." Wouldn't someone with degrees relevant to diversity, affirmative action, and Title IX have been a better candidate for Chief Diversity Officer, Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, and Title IX Coordinator? That's not to say that she might not have obtained some kind of certificates or experience in those areas. However, what compelling reason(s) were there for preferring her application over candidates with degrees in subjects relevant to the job?
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