July 21, 2008, 1:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. (Regents to meet soon over letter/s), 8:20 p.m. (Press-Citizen's 26 questions);
July 22, 2008, 7:00 a.m. (Tim Dwight's comments, Regents' President Miles "two questions," other updates), 9:00 a.m. (link to full text of Tom Evans report to Regents last month), 12:15 p.m. (Regents' agenda item), 1:40 p.m. ("My Take" on all this), 4:25 p.m. (Mason apologizes), 9:25 p.m. (Barta's statement);
July 23, 2008, 8:15 a.m. (papers' wrap up stories; my conclusions);
July 24, 2008, 12:35 p.m. (Ferentz breaks silence, answers nothing; mother's second letter revealed; advisory committee's process unclear; trial date -- coincidence?; events bring State29 briefly out of retirement), 2:15, 6:45 p.m. (additions to "July 24" section, below);
July 25, 2008, 7:45 a.m. (President Mason's involvement in Purdue controversy; P-C has more questions), 8:45 a.m. (more from Ferentz), 9:30 a.m., 12:20 p.m., (President Mason and Coach Ferentz veer from "That's my story and I'm sticking to it" and begin revelation of details), 4:10 p.m. (Mason didn't read UI's reports; Parrish says UI denied his client a lawyer);
July 26, 2008, 7:30 a.m. (how to prevent a train wreck);
July 27, 2008, 8:25, 9:15, 10:00 a.m. (Pierre Pierce revisited, Tom Evans' Report, Regents' search, Gazette continues praise of football players & UI President);
July 29, 2008, 7:30, 8:50 a.m. (Regents pick Stolar firm as investigators; inherent conflict for Regents; mother says first investigator never contacted them; accused's lawyer going after alleged victim; UI's lax alcohol control produces another top party school ranking);
July 30, 6:00 a.m., 5:30 p.m. (Skolar reviewing Regents' investigation; legislature may get involved; Ohio State 24, Iowa 1; pay for Skolar firm; scope of investigation; judge says UI can give Regents subpoenaed documents);
July 31, 5:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. (UI to pay Skolar; UI's alcohol tolerance increases crimes; Parrish wants room photos; players ask "why is this happening?");
August 1, 2008, 5:20 a.m. (Iowa Legislature enters case; Gazette questions need for outside counsel); August 2, 2008, 7:20 a.m. (hearing on UI documents; who pays Skolar?);
August 3, 2008, 8:45 a.m. (the high price of over-emphasis on sports goes well beyond the criminal court system);
August 4, 2008, 7:25 a.m. (Iowa as "Party State," constructive suggestions), 6:00 p.m. (Parrish wants bill of particulars; Ferentz wants to change subject);
August 5, 2008, 7:30, 8:20 a.m., 3:00 p.m. (Ferentz didn't consider dorm room "crime scene," three Iowa coaches say Satterfield "not guilty");
August 7, 2008, 7:10 a.m. (what's Regents' "governance model"?; put President Mason evaluation on hold awaiting second investigation; how military handles rape issues);
August 8, 2008, 9:20 a.m. (judge orders documents index; UI president review on hold; former Johnson County Attorney's view)
August 10, 2008, 8:00 a.m. (Register's overview of UI's EOD office responsibilities and process)
August 12, 2008, 10:00 a.m. (another athlete arrested)
August 14, 2008, 9:00 a.m. (trial to be postponed; all UI faculty to take sexual harassment training)
August 17, 2008, 11:50 a.m. (defendant and alleged victim exchanged text messages; defendant's lawyer wants bill of particulars; Forbes no UI friend)
August 20, 2008, 3:00 p.m. (alleged victim, family, finally interviewed; Gov. Chet Culver's staff reaction to case; UI President Mason opposes lowered drinking age; Register questions her performance)
August 21, 2008,4:00 p.m. (accused's lawyer objects to reference to "victim")
August 29, 2008, 4:45 p.m. (defendant's lawyer seeks suppression of accused's "involuntary confessions")
August 31, 2008, 7:00 a.m. (Register's report of athletes, coaches, university administrators, lawyers, victims, accused, and the impact of media coverage)
September 11, 2008 6:00 a.m (Press-Citizen gets requested "index" of withheld documents; lawyers differ on severing issues, defendants, in forthcoming trial)
September 13, 2008 11:30 a.m. (Stolar report, Regents meeting, Pres. Mason review, Judge wants defendants)
September 17, 2008 9:00 a.m. (index reveals 3200 pages documents; some turned over, 10 months late, many still withheld; revelations of UI officials' concerns about procedure used; UI paid public relations consultant for advice on handling case; UI to have week or more to repond to Stolar report; with a couple basic documents)
September 18, 2008 3:15 p.m. (Stolar Partnership Report to Iowa Board of Regents)
September 19, 2008 8:00 a.m. (commentary on Stolar Report)
September 20, 2008 7:00 a.m. (commentary and links to stories about presentation to Iowa legislators and calls for firings)
September 23, 2008 8:00 a.m. (another Hawkeye arrested; Mills and Jones staying home; UI prof takes UI Pres to task; the case for victim advocates)
September 24, 2008 9:00 p.m. (nine stories, mostly relating to Mills and Jones dismissals and related issues; also court approval of Pierre Pierce, on probation, leaving Iowa to play basketball in France)
September 25, 2008 8:00 p.m. (Regents meeting; Mason's pay raise; Athletic Department's lying basketball ads; Mills and Jones hire lawyers; former American Council on Education general counsel says UI to face wrongful termination liability; Stolar's playing defense; is Mason just "good soldier" for Regents?)
# # #
Daily Entries
September 25, 2008
Which Would be Worse?
[9:50 a.m.. Brief, early report on Regents' meeting consideration of Stolar Report, just concluded (as the Board went into closed session, as predicted, for the final session evaluating the performance of President Sally Mason with regard to those events): As predicted, Mason began with an apology, following which no criticism was leveled at Mason. The Board approved a resolution essentially adopting the proposals of the Stolar firm. Discussion of whether the crime of rape should always be reported to the police by UI officials (as distinguished from the alleged victim being required to press charges) was postponed. The athletic department was proclaimed to be exemplary. The Gazette's running blog/textual notes of meeting are posted. Here's the Register's early report of the session: Lee Rood, "U of I president to regents: We'll do better," Des Moines Register, September 25, 2008; and "Mason Apologizes to Alleged Victim, Family," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 25, 2008.
11:45 a.m. Mason's Pay Raise: The Regents, as predicted, held UI President Mason's base pay steady, while giving her more money, thereby assuring headlines like the Press-Citizen's: "Mason Gets No Raise in Base Pay," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 25, 2008. How does that work? Well, the base pay is a mere $450,000 a year. Given the high cost of living in Iowa City, where a football coach needs at least $2-4 million a year to survive, the University president requires both an additional "deferred compensation" package of $60,000 a year (more that a good many university employees get for their "entire compensation" package), plus an "incentive package." Although an incentive to what has never been defined by the Board, she was awarded the $50,000 for the first year automatically -- so we have to presume the way she handled the sexual assault was a part of what the Regents were trying to provide an incentive for her to do. Moreover, although the Board has still left undefined what it will be paid for, the incentive has nonetheless been increased from $50,000 to $80,000 a year -- on top of the $60,000, on top of the $450,000. Never mentioned, as is the usual practice with public disclosure of the pay packages of CEOs in the top 1% of the nation's wage earners, are such things as the value of the free housing in one of Iowa City's grandest homes, car and other travel allowances, additional expense accounts, retirement, health and other benefit packages, and so forth.]
So, what happened yesterday? Oh, not much, just . . .
o UI Vice President Phil Jones -- a 40-year employee who was planning on retiring next spring anyway, and was peremptorily fired Tuesday -- is appealing that decision to the Board of Regents as "wrongful termination," and released through his lawyers a statement of the reasons why, e.g., "It is indeed ironic that Phillip E. Jones is being terminated and criticized for failing to act when the university's athletic department was doing everything in its power to keep this matter 'informal' and prevent the dean from acting on a formal complaint based on an EOD investigation."
o The letters from President Mason to Jones, his lawyers' letter to the Board of Regents, along with a number of attachments, are now available online.
o "Sheldon Steinbach, a Washington, D.C., lawyer and former general counsel for the American Council on Education, said he had read the Stolar report and believes Jones and Mills were scapegoats, fired to protect Mason's job and to move on from the controversial story. . . . Steinbach said he believes the university has exposed itself to wrongful-termination lawsuits."
o UI General Counsel Marc Mills -- a 20-year employee who was also fired Tuesday, and who sent a 10-page letter of protest to the UI president and Regents -- has now hired his own lawyer.
o James Bryant, the Stolar lead investigator, has been thrown into defensive mode as he endeavors to respond to Marc Mills' criticisms of the firm's Stolar Report.
o The University, and the Board of Regents, are both refusing to release a copy of the Mills' letter to the media notwithstanding the media lawyers' assertion it is a "public record" under Iowa law that cannot legally be withheld and that "Mills said Wednesday that when he sent the memo he gave permission for it to be made public."
o Mark Schantz, a former UI General Counsel (1992-2005), says Mills was "thrown under the bus."
Schantz said he is upset about how Mills was treated and called the Stolar report "quite wrong" in some places and that some omissions with regards to Mills testimony were made consciously. Schantz particularly had issue with the rapid terminations. . . ."This is not the way the university usually proceeds. I haven't heard of anyone being summarily dismissed short of a felony without at least telling their side of the story."o Former law school dean Bill Hines is quoted as saying that for President Mason to peremptorily fire two long-term employees three business days after the Stolar Report appeared, for "an episode that began last year . . . seems like an almost indecent speed to find someone to blame things on."
o Meanwhile, before resolving any of the above, the Regents are going ahead with their special meeting today to review the University's response to the Stolar Report, and to conclude this portion of their review of President Sally Mason's first year on the job. (It should be available in streaming video from the Des Moines Register and The Gazette sites -- unless, of course, the Regents insist on closing the meeting to the media and taxpayers, as is a possibility.)
o A blockbuster buried in
Brian Morelli's story is "I believe the decision was made by the regents,
at least in the case of some, before they even saw the report," he [Mark
Schantz] said." Of course, I cannot know (a) if Schantz said that (I wasn't
present when he was interviewed), or (b) if his assertion is true. How
could I know? But neither do I have any reason for believing that it's
not true. And it is confirmed in some ways by former UI interim President
Gary Fethke, who supports President Mason's firing of Jones and Mills:
"I don't know there was any other alternative at this point," Fethke said. "I think she made the choice she had to make at this point. . . . I think she had to go to the meeting with something, a credible and forceful response," he said. "Either she makes the decisions or they will be made by someone else.""I believe the decision was made by the regents." "Either she makes the decisions or they will be made by someone else."
Source for quotes: Brian Morelli, "Jones appeals to Board of Regents; Says AD officials tried to keep assault allegations informal," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 25, 2008, p. A1.
And see, Editorial, "More Questions to Answer, More Policies to Fix," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 25, 2008, p. A9 ("Suddenly, rather that having faith in the Stolar report's conclusions, we're experiencing a new round of he said/she said.");
Lee Rood and Erin Jordan, "New lawsuit, firings face Mason amid work review," Des Moines Register, September 25, 2008 ("Sheldon Steinbach, a Washington, D.C., lawyer and former general counsel for the American Council on Education, said he had read the Stolar report and believes Jones and Mills were scapegoats, fired to protect Mason's job and to move on from the controversial story. 'In the heat of passion, with the spotlights of the media and public on you, the easiest thing to do is fire somebody,' Steinbach said. 'It's a desire to smooth the water and get off the front page of the newspaper. That's all fine except for the people summarily executed.' Steinbach said he believes the university has exposed itself to wrongful-termination lawsuits.").
Commentary: Which Would be Worse?
Why do I say those quotes from Schantz and Fethke constitute a blockbuster?
One of the biggest, and so far largely unaddressed, issues in all of this is yet another "which would be worse?" dilemma.
Earlier, in Nicholas Johson, "Rational Responses to Stolar and Global Finance," September 20, 2008, I wrote "Would it be worse that neither the University president, nor anyone else in administrative positions, has thought to review its organizational structure and procedures for handling football players' sexual assaults over the past six years? Or would it be worse that a review was conducted during President Mason's first year in office but no one thought of any of the obvious remedies proposed by Stolar?"
Now we have another.
Was President Sally Mason, in effect, ordered by one or more members of the Board of Regents to fire Marc Mills and Phil Jones? If so, that would of course raise all kinds of governance questions about the propriety of the Board intervening in that way, questions I've written about so often and at such length that I'm not even going to provide the links to those discussions once again.
But put those serious concerns aside for a moment and focus on President Mason.
Let me preface this discussion by noting that my former beloved University of Texas Law School Dean, Page Keeton, made quite a reputation for himself standing up to a very tough Board of Regents, threatening to resign over matters of principle when he thought they'd stepped over the line. He never had to resign.
Now let us consider which would be worse: (1) That President Mason, after one year on the job, personally and unilaterally chose to peremptorily fire two University vice presidents with more than 60 years service to the university between them -- over a matter that has far more to do with the University's organizational structure and procedures (and football culture) than the behavior of any given individual (as even the Stolar Report concedes) -- or that, (2) being inappropriately told to do so by the Regents, she simply "followed orders" and took actions she knew to be wrong and did not personally support, rather than standing up to the Regents and threatening to resign if they persisted?
As Senator Joe Biden said in Iowa City during the primary season, "There are some things worth losing elections for." Well, there are some things worth losing one's job for. This may very well be one.
Permit me to note that I have not joined the chorus of those suggesting that firings are the answer to this -- firing some regents, the UI president, the football coach. I haven't suggested anyone be fired.
But I would note that a common response of those who defend the firing of Mills and Jones in the face of the assertions of others that this is not the way we handle such things (e.g., Mark Schantz, above: "I haven't heard of anyone being summarily dismissed short of a felony") is to cite cases of firings at other universities.
For example, The Gazette concludes its story this morning,
The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported in recent years on such situations at other universities. The University of Colorado at Boulder eventually lost its athletics director, football coach and President Elizabeth Hoffman — now the provost at Iowa State University — after two women claimed they were gang raped by football players and recruits at a 2001 party.Diane Heldt and Erika Binegar, "Former Dean Says He Was Wrongfully Fired," The Gazette, September 25, 2008, p. A1, available as earlier online version, "UI Official Says He Was Wrongfully Fired," September 24, 2008, updated 11:46 p.m.And Eastern Michigan University lost three leaders, including the president, over the handling of a rape and murder of a student in 2006.
I would simply note that at least in each of these two cited cases the university president was also fired. (And see the comments of Sheldon Steinbach quoted in the Register's story by Rood and Jordan, above.)
Iowa Athletic Department's Lying Basketball Ads
. . . And there's more to this blog entry, because the Athletic Department has been ruled out of bounds once again in a major way with regard to a series of decisions totally unrelated to this mess. Having been found by Stolar and the Regents to have behaved in an exemplary fashion when handling football players charged with sexual assault, it's now time to move on to the next allegation.
The UI Athletic Department, having long since decided to give the NCAA a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and continue the football program's ties to organized gambling by advertising to students and fans a local gambling casino on its enormous scoreboard at the Kinnick football stadium, while the casino's high rollers' package deal includes game seats in a luxury Kinnick skybox with an alcohol service (forbidden elsewhere in the stadium), has now decided that as an alternative to actually winning basketball games it might simply lie about having won games in order to sell tickets.
Iowa's first full-page ad showed Hawkeye forward Jarryd Cole dunking the ball, claiming Cole's dunk brought the Ohio State Buckeyes to their knees and brought a sellout crowd to its feet. The problem is that Cole did not play against OSU last year.Jim Ecker, "College professors slam Iowa's basketball ad," Gazette Online, September 24, 2008, 9:53 p.m.; hardcopy version as "College Professors Slam Iowa's Basketball Ad," The Gazette, September 25, 2008, p. C3.Iowa's second full-page ad featured a picture of Hawkeye guard Jeff Peterson, claiming his steal against Illinois sparked a 14-0 run. There's a problem with that one, too. Peterson played against Illinois but was not credited with a steal, and Iowa never had a 14-0 run.
Rick Klatt, the director of Iowa's marketing department and an associate athletic director, told The Gazette that neither ad was a mistake. He said the ads are fictional examples of how "slam dunk" and "steal" can be used in a sentence. . .
Steven Helle, a journalism professor at Illinois and an Iowa grad himself, sent an e-mail to Iowa President Sally Mason to complain about the ads. . . .
"To defend a slam-dunk that never happened not only as not a mistake but merely as 'an example of how the word 'slam-dunk' could be used in a sentence' turned my stomach. He added disingenuousness to prevarication." . . .
Bourne Morris, a journalism professor at Nevada, had similar thoughts. He teaches advertising and media ethics and spent 25 years in advertising in New York and Los Angeles.
"Writing a false story in an ad injures the credibility of the Iowa sports program and may make folks wonder what other bits of 'information' they made up, or might make up, just to sell tickets," he wrote in his e-mail to The Gazette. . . .
Sam Becker . . . served as chairman of the department of communications studies, wrote six textbooks and is the Samuel L. Becker whose name appears on the Communications Studies Building at Iowa. "I think it's a mistake to mislead people," he told The Gazette, referring specifically to the ads. He does not agree with Klatt's explanation. "I think he's wrong. I think especially at a university they should be truthful," Becker said.
September 24, 2008
Diane Heldt, "Committee Cites 'Lapses' in UI's Handling of Sexual Assault," Gazette Online, September 19, 2008.
"Assault victim's name inadvertently made public," Gazette Online, Updated September 19. 2008 10:27PM
Diane Heldt, "UI's Mills responds to being fired; Jones defers comment; Mason Fires Two Administrators," Gazette Online, Updated September 23, 2008 10:08 p.m.
Editorial, "Mason must clean up U of I's image," Des Moines Register, September 24, 2008 ("When the alleged victim's mother called Mason, Mason reportedly told the mother she 'didn't typically handle these things.' That leaves the impression she was out of touch. But when someone runs the state's largest university, earning a half-million dollars a year, she is expected to come to the job ready to handle any situation from day one. She can't be out of touch -- or perceived as being so. And now, she has no choice but to 'handle these things.'").
Tom Witosky, "Justices: Pierce can go to France; But the Iowa attorney general's office filed an appeal Tuesday," Des Moines Register, September 24, 2008 ("Pierce served nearly a year in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his assault of a former girlfriend in January 2005 in West Des Moines. Pierce has two years left on four years of probation from a burglary charge. That was part of a plea bargain in which he also pleaded guilty of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, false imprisonment and criminal mischief. Those charges resulted in Pierce being dismissed from the Hawkeye basketball team. It was the second time he was convicted of assaulting a woman during his years as a basketball player at Iowa. . . . Basketball player Pierre Pierce won a round in the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday, but the Iowa attorney general's office is still fighting to keep him in the United States while he's on probation. A three-member panel of Iowa Supreme Court justices on Tuesday morning issued a ruling that would allow the former University of Iowa Hawkeye to go to France, where he hopes to play professional basketball this season.").
Erin Jordan and Lee Rood, "Assault probe fallout: U of I fires 2," Des Moines Register, September 24, 2008 ("Mills said Tuesday night that he thought he had been unfairly singled out in the Stolar report. 'I believe I handled the matter to the best of my ability under the circumstances,' he said. Mills disagreed with the Stolar report's assessment of his actions. He said he did not have a conflict of interests in acting as U of I general counsel and serving as liaison with the alleged victim's family. Mills said investigators did not allow him to give his version of six phone conversations he had with the alleged victim's father. He also disagreed with the law firm's assessment that he should have asked a judge to permit the U of I to release documents pertaining to the report. 'I'm disappointed that the president and the regents didn't have an opportunity to get a fuller view,' Mills said. He said he gave Mason his response to the report Tuesday morning and learned via letter that afternoon that he had been fired. . . . Dr. Amir Arbisser of Davenport, a regent from 2001 through 2007, said he regretted the board's loss of Jones and Mills, whom he described as 'excellent individuals.' But Arbisser also said that 'it appears circumstances got out of control, and that there is an expectation that the people who are administrators have to adhere to certain rules.' He added: 'I do regret the loss of both individuals who served the university so well.' . . . David Ridpath, a former wrestling coach at Ohio University and past president of the Drake Group, a national nonprofit group that advocates for reforms in college athletics, said he didn't think Jones and Mills were "the only ones with dirt on their hands.' . . . The dismissal of two top administrators is unprecedented in the University of Iowa's recent history, one regent said Tuesday. 'I can't recall anything that has reached this high up in the institution,' Downer said.").
Marc Hansen, "U of I's lesson is to tend to the victim first," Des Moines Register, September 24, 2008 ("The first and fatal mistake at the University of Iowa, going back almost a year now, was failing to grasp -- again -- the seriousness of the situation. . . . The first obligation shouldn't be to hide information or shift into damage control. The first obligation is to look after the needs of the victim and make sure the residence halls are safe.").
Brian Morelli, "Mason fires Mills and Jones; Officials refused to resign," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 24, 2008 ("Mills said he did not think he should have been fired and said he wrote a 10-page detailed response contesting allegations against him, which he gave to Mason and the Iowa state Board of Regents on Tuesday morning. He was fired in the afternoon, he said. 'I think that I am being unfairly singled out, yes,' Mills said. 'I have serious fundamental disagreements with some aspects of the Stolar report, particularly with regards to my role in it.' Jones declined comment. 'I don't want to duck you, but I don't want to say anything at this time. I will be saying something but not at this time,' Jones said. . . . On Tuesday, Mason downplayed her role in the case saying she trusted her senior advisers. 'I am disappointed, ashamed, embarrassed for how this case was handled,' Mason said. 'I was two-and-a-half months on the job. I trusted my senior advisers to be doing what was supposed to be done. I followed as closely as I could." . . . Mills contested the allegations, saying that UI decided not to turn over the documents because they thought the family did not want them to and because the family did not want the letter to become public. Mason said she thought hard about what her options were before deciding Mills and Jones should part ways with UI. 'I thought extremely hard and talked with Marc Mills and Phillip Jones about what their plans might be and gave them the opportunity to resign,' Mason said. Mills said he declined to resign because he thought he had acted properly. 'I felt for my own personal integrity I would be unable and unwilling to resign without presenting my side of the story,' Mills said. Mills said Tuesday that he could not answer whether he would seek re-employment at UI if officials concur with his version of events or if he would seek any legal action against UI, the regents or Stolar.").
Brian Morelli, "Mills says Mason knew what was happening," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 24, 2008 ("University of Iowa President Sally Mason was aware of how an alleged sexual assault investigation was being handled, a former UI executive said. Marcus Mills said, "Yes, absolutely," when asked Tuesday if Mason knew what was happening in the investigation. . . . Mills said he and Mason initially discussed student privacy concerns regarding the letters, but ultimately that did not preclude them releasing the letters to the regents. The letters were not turned over because the regents didn't ask for documents during its investigation and because 'we had the perception that whoever sent the letter, the family, did not want it to go to the regents and did not want it to be made public,' Mills said. Mills said he and Mason received a letter from UI public safety director Chuck Green, which Mills said he took to indicate Mason was aware of the family's concern about the letters becoming public. Mills declined to comment further on this. Mills rejected his portrayal in the report as having the lead role in UI's investigation of an alleged sexual assault that involved two former UI football players Oct. 14, 2007, in Hillcrest Residence Hall. 'I didn't feel that I was overseeing the investigation. There wasn't an investigation in that sense. Different departments were heading up different aspects of the investigation,' Mills said. Mills also said Stolar failed to ask for his version of certain events and omitted parts of his testimony from their report, such as his side of conversations with the alleged victim's father. Mills also said UI's actions were affected by county attorney subpoenas, the criminal case against the former UI football players and a lawsuit filed by the Iowa City Press-Citizen. 'I think I handled this to the best of my ability with integrity under the circumstances,' Mills said.").
September 23, 2008
"Iowa linebacker suspended for 4 games," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 22, 2008 ("Iowa football player Dezman Moses was suspended for four games after being arrested early Sunday for public intoxication. Iowa City Police arrested Moses, a 19-year-old sophomore linebacker from Willingboro, N.J., at 2:15 a.m. Sunday at The Union Bar, 121 E. College St.").
Kembrew McLeod, "Recent events at UI embarrassing, disgusting," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 22, 2008 ("Sally Mason and her administration sent a signal that UI cares more about its precious cash-generating sports teams than the health and safety of its female students. These signals trickle down to students. For instance, after UI recently beat Iowa State in football, I overheard two drunk guys in downtown Iowa City joking that they didn't care how many women the football team rapes, as long as it keeps winning. There are a lot of things about the university that should make us proud, but everything about this most recent series of events makes me sad, embarrassed and disgusted.").
Guess who's not coming to dinner: Erin Jordan, "Regents, Mason to discuss probe; Two U of I officials who handled the assault report weren't invited," Des Moines Register, September 23, 2008 ("'This is basically a meeting to finish up President Mason's evaluation and to hear her response to the Stolar report,' said [a UI spokesperson], who added that Jones and Mills 'don't routinely go (to regents meetings).' Mason will attend the meeting with Provost Wallace Loh, Vice President for Finance Doug True and Mark Braun, the U of I's state relations officer . . .."). Brian Morelli, "Mills, Jones to skip regents meeting," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 22, 2008 ("Two embattled University of Iowa officials will skip a meeting this week where UI President Sally Mason will answer for their and others’ actions during a sexual assault investigation . . . Vice President for Student Services Phillip Jones and Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel Marcus Mills. [They] will not accompany [UI President Sally] Mason to an Iowa state Board of Regents meeting in West Des Moines on Thursday, . . .. Mason has asked Provost Wallace Loh, Vice President for Finance Doug True and UI’s State Relations Officer Mark Braun to join her at the meeting . . .."); hardcopy: "UI's Mills, Jones Won't Attend Regents Meeting," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 23, 2008, p. A1 ("Mason told the regents in July after the letters surfaced that documents were withheld because of a misinterpretation of federal student privacy laws. Mason relied on Mills for that information . . .. However, Stolar officials said Mills offered no explanation or legal precedent during their investigation for not turning documents over to the regents other than that he made a mistake. . . . The regents have withheld assessments about the report so far. During Thursday's meeting, they also are expected to conclude Mason's performance review, which has been postponed pending the outcome of the Stolar report. Mason earned $560,000 last year, her first at UI.").
Editorial, "University Must Provide Trained Victim Advocates," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 23, 2008, p. A9 ("[A]dvocates would be the only people, other than the victim, who would see the process through from beginning to end . . . charged with ensuring that the investigators and the accusers don't speak past each other. They would be able to recognize and to mediate any irrational bureaucratic turf wars. They would help calm what otherwise might build into the type of 'perfect storm' the special counsel was called in to investigate.").
September 20, 2008
Commentary:
"'The Case for Mills and Jones'?!" you exclaim.
Well, yes and no.
No, I'm not defending the behavior of either as presented, and criticized, in the Stolar Report. But I did get your attention, didn't I? And, yes, I don't think peremptory firings are appropriate -- for the reasons set forth below.
Normally I find myself in agreement with much that appears on the Register's editorial page from its editorial board and columnists. But this morning, see below, they went to bat twice and struck out both times in my opinion when they suggest that Mills and Jones should be fired and that it is the Regents who should be drafting new procedures.
A desire for self-preservation
is only human. But it often interferes with our ability to understand systemic
institutional failures when the most popular response is to scapegoat someone
-- other than oneself, of course.
o FEMA's Michael Brown was not the sole reason for the institutional disaster that followed the Katrina disaster.o Ralph Nader was not the sole (or even primary) reason for the failure of the Democratic Party's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
o And Marc Mills and Phil Jones were not the sole reason for the University of Iowa's disorganized and chaotic response to the alleged sexual assault of last October 14.
The
Gazette's morning editorial acknowledged "[the] university’s mistakes,
miscommunication and inconsistent actions [and the] lack of understanding
and leadership [that] made a terrible situation worse [as] too many university
leaders did too little to make sure the [situation] was handled humanely
and efficiently." Editorial, "Inquiry Must Lead to Swift Changes," The
Gazette, September 20, 2008, p. A4.
And, as he so often does, the Press-Citizen's classy editorial cartoonist, Bob Patton, captures it with a stroke of his pen this morning under his heading of, "The Heat is On." [Credit: Bob Patton and the Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 20, 2008, p. A21.]
The drawing shows the "Stolar Partnership" "Investigation into U.I. Handling of Sex Assault Case" as a magnifying glass focusing the heat -- like a small boy using a magnifying glass to cremate ants on a summer's day -- on Mills and Jones, while UI President "Mason" and "Rest of UI Administration" stand on the shady sidelines.
So, what's wrong with focusing on Mills and Jones?
1. It's unfair. As The Gazette acknowledges, and Patton portrays, there's plenty of blame to go around to all of those "too many university leaders."
2. Orderly and balanced personnel review. The Regents set the example: President Mason's performance review was bifurcated, as the Regents first considered (on September 17) her accomplishments and failings separate and apart from her handling of this sexual assault case, and will subsequently consider the latter.
Every employee's performance can be reviewed periodically. And when Mills and Jones next come up for review they should be entitled to no less consideration than President Mason: how they performed with regard to this case (however seriously deficient it may, ultimately, be found to be) should be considered within the context of their overall performance.
Peremptory dismissals -- the petulant, retaliatory, scapegoating firing of employees -- are as counterproductive as they are inappropriate and unfair.
3. The back story. Neither Marc Mills nor Phil Jones have had an opportunity to fully and candidly tell their side of the story.
Is it possible that Mills was not on a "frolic and detour" of his own, but was in fact doing either what President Mason directly told him to do, or what he assumed, based on prior experience, she would want him to do? Is it possible that Jones had a prior experience with the football culture that permeates the University, and experienced what happens to those who dare to challenge it, and knew it would be counterproductive as well as personally risky to challenge the Athletic Department's "informal procedure" in this case?
I'm not suggesting for a moment that either -- or other possible scenarios -- are true. How could I know? All I'm suggesting is that there may be some explanations for their behavior other than the knee-jerk conclusion that "both are ignorant, incompetent, unfeeling SOBs who must be blamed for all that happened and peremptorily fired."
And note that both are "damned if they do, and damned if they don't" reveal their back story.
Based on the refusal of virtually all administrators to speak to the media about this case and the UI's procedure for handling it since last October, one possibility is that they've been instructed by President Mason not to. If that's the case, for them to tell their side of the story either to the Stolar investigators or the media -- especially if their story involves putting more of the responsibility on her -- would not bode well for their continued employment by the University. And even if they were to wait to speak out until after being fired, that would scarcely endear them to any potential future employer.
4. "Take me to your leader." For The Gazette to talk about the University's "lack of leadership" suggests that the University has a leader. Indeed it does. It is the President of the University of Iowa. Whatever happened to "the buck stops here"?
Patton is right. President Mason has been given "a base on balls" by Stolar, the media, many members of the public, and the Regents (so far).
I'm not suggesting "this is all her fault" -- any more than it is all anyone's fault -- or that she should be severely punished in some way.
What I am suggesting is that both (a) in terms of what happened and why, and especially (b) what now to do about it, the Regents and their universities would have much to gain by understanding what was, and was not, done by the UI President's office to review, redesign and refine the University's procedures for handling sexual assaults by football players both prior to October 14 and since that day.
Especially is this so given what must have been known by all regarding the University's handling of the Pierre Pierce case. As the Press-Citizen editorialized this morning, below, "more than six years after the first sexual assault allegations against former Hawkeye basketball star Pierre Pierce, the University of Iowa still hasn't figured our how to handle such situations correctly."
Following October 14, what "management information reporting systems" did she have in place to track the Unviersity's handling of the case? What procedures does she have in place for monitoring not only crises, but the operation of the University generally?
After all, most of the Stolar Report's recommendations are kind of no-brainers: crimes should be reported to the police; alleged victims should have assigned advocates throughout the process; there ought to be a single office/clearing house; it should not be the University's general counsel; the function should not be merged in EOD with its responsiblity for sexual harrassment generally.
That's not to say we're not in the firm's debt for pointing them out. It's only to say that, once they do so, one's response tends to be, "Why, yes, of course. And why weren't we already doing that?"
It's one of those "which would be worse" choices. Would it be worse that neither the University president, nor anyone else in admnistrative positions, has thought to review its organizational structure and procedures for handling football players' sexual assaults over the past six years? Or would it be worse that a review was conducted during President Mason's first year in office but no one thought of any of the obvious remedies proposed by Stolar?
5. Diversion of focus. So a final reason why it's a mistake to focus on Mills and Jones is that it diverts the attention of the public, media journalists and editorial writers, Regents, and Regents' universities' administrators from the systemic, managerial and administrative problems that must be addressed if any meaningful progress is to be made.
Governance and Drafting the New Procedures
At the top I mentioned two Register editorials this morning with which I disagree. The second proposes that it is the Regents that should draft a new set of procedures for how the Regents' universities' handle athletes' sexual assaults.
I have written often and at length about the subject of board governance (board-CEO relationship) in general, Nicholas Johnson, "Board Governance: Theory and Practice," and with regard to the Iowa Board of Regents in particular, Nicholas Johnson, "An Open Letter to Regents on 'Governance,'" April 17, 2007 (with links to additional material of relevance to Regents' governance). And I'm not going to repeat all of that here.
The point, in this limited context, is that under a governance policy in which a board limits itself to setting what John Carver calls "ends policies" (and the rest of us might call "measurable goals") (and leaves it to the CEO to select the means for reaching those ends/goals), creating the specific structures, procedures, hiring practices and training programs -- or whatever else a CEO might choose -- for dealing with sexual assaults is the choice of the CEO, not the Board. The Board focuses on the results produced by the CEO in reaching the Board's ends/goals -- which constitute both the CEO's "job description" and the basis for his/her performance evaluation.
That's not to say, in this instance, that it would be inappropriate for the Board to express its dissatisfaction with what happened at Iowa this past year, only that the expression of that dissatisfaction should take the form of "ends policies" rather than specific procedures.
Moreover, rather than come up with a one-size-fits-all set of organizational structures and procedures, the Regents might at least want to consider starting with both present structures/procedures, and proposals, from each of the three universities. At a minimum, that kind of approach might come up with some creative ideas that would otherwise not be considered; and it might just be that there are very good reasons for having variations between the schools.
Brian Morelli, "Report: UI officials did nothing despite qualms; Leaders say UI's reputation is tarnished," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 20, 2008 ("[On Friday, September 19, Stolar Report lead investigator James] Bryant and his colleagues from the St. Louis-based law firm, accompanied by five members of the Iowa state Board of Regents, presented the report to the Iowa Legislative Government Oversight Committee. . . . Two University of Iowa officials criticized for their response to sexual assault allegations thought the investigation was being mishandled [i.e., "that the athletics department should not be conducting an informal, in-house investigation"] but did nothing about it, [Stolar] officials . . . said.").
"Legislators get Stolar report," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 19, 2008 ("Several legislators asked questions of Stolar and the four regents who were present, but little new ground was broken. But one thing was clear: The legislators not only want a new sexual assault policy and procedure to emerge from the current debacle, but they want some repercussions and penalties as well.").
Brian Morelli, "Legislator: Iowans will expect dismissals; Lawmaker says state will want action taken," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 19, 2008 ("'I think honestly people expect people to be dismissed,' Sen. Mike Connolly, D-Dubuque, said Friday, noting he was not calling for such action. 'I think there will be firings over this.'").
Lee Hermiston, "AD investigation was 'less than thorough,' report says,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 19, 2008 ("The UI Athletic Department 'was also less than thorough in its internal investigation' of the alleged Oct. 14, 2007, sexual assault involving football players, particularly regarding the temporarily vacant Hillcrest Residence Hall room where the alleged assault happened [according to the Stolar Report].").
Editorial, "Regents, UI need to find a way to move forward," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 20, 2008, p. A21 ("The Stolar report released Thursday says that more than six years after the first sexual assault allegations against former Hawkeye basketball star Pierre Pierce, the University of Iowa still hasn't figured out how to handle such situations correctly.").
Editorial, "First step for Mason: Fire two top officials at University of Iowa," Des Moines Register, September 20, 2008.
Editorial, "Regents Should Revise Policy on Sex Assaults," Des Moines Register, September 20, 2008.
Lee Rood, "Legislators take U of I to task for 'lapses,'" Des Moines Register, September 20, 2008 ("An independent panel's criticism of two high-ranking University of Iowa officials who mishandled an alleged rape case has lawmakers questioning whether more than confusing policies will be changed.")
September 19, 2008
Commentary on Stolar Report:
For the most part, this morning's [Sept. 19] newspaper coverage of the Regent's meeting and the Stolar Partnership Report are not significantly different from the online coverage yesterday -- reports about "The Report." That full document is probably the best source for anyone really interested in the details. The Stolar Report [a pdf file uploaded by the Press-Citizen].
Indeed, the Report is so relatively well done, candid and thorough (while attempting to avoid accusatory and mean-spirited language, e.g., "no cover-up"), that there is very little to add to it by way of anyone's commentary, including mine. (Of course, not everyone bought the "no cover-up" conclusion: "'The general counsel [Marc Mills] failed to turn over documents for no justifiable reason,' [Regent Michael] Gartner said, seeking clarification from Stolar. "What is a cover-up if there was a regents investigation by Tom Evans and there were relevant documents not turned over for no justifiable reason?' [Stolar lead investigator James] Bryant replied, 'I don't call it a cover-up, but it was certainly inappropriate.'" Source: Morelli and Hermiston story, below.)
So I'll keep it short.
There's one, last line in the paper this morning that I do not recall seeing in the Report itself: "'What this case reminds me of is a perfect storm. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,' [Stolar Report lead attorney James] Bryant said." Brian Morelli and Lee Hermiston, "Report: UI mishandled assault case; Firm rejects idea of a cover-up," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 19, 2008, p. A1.
On the one hand it's a cute and clever line. But if you think about it, it captures a useful analytical approach to understanding UI officials' behavior over the past year.
Like the governments' (plural) response to Katrina, there are often two categories of problems when things go very, very wrong with an institution's response to crisis: (1) the behavior of individuals within the system, and (2) the system itself.
1. Individuals' behavior. In the movie "War Games" a government official, frustrated over the possibility that someone responsible for launching a missile might freeze up and refuse to do it, proposes to "get the human out of the loop."
As long as there are humans in the loop one can make every effort to minimize ineffective and unbecoming human behavior, but never successfully eliminate all of it.
Whether picking a president of the United States or others in positions of responsibility in business, universities and other institutions, one can look for qualities: common sense, good judgment and wisdom as well as intelligence, knowledge and information; an ability to learn quickly ("a quick study") enough about new responsibilities and bodies of information to enable one to know what they know, what they don't know, how to frame the questions of experts to find out, and the ability of a "judicial mind" to hold judgment in suspension until all the fact are in; a demonstrated capacity for empathy, respect, compassion and sensitivity for "the least of these" as well as the most powerful; action based on an awareness of the difference between data and diatribe, information and ideology; a basic honesty and sense of ethics, willingness to confess error and change one's mind; an advocate for institutional honesty, democracy, transparency, and candor -- and so forth. You get the idea.
The other thing an institution can do, having hired such people, is to provide them whatever additional training may be useful.
2. "The system" and procedures. One of the major tasks for which administrators get the big bucks is proactively anticipating a variety of possible crises (as well as more mundane day-to-day challenges and operations), designing systems that will enable the institution to deal with them most efficiently, effectively and fairly, and then running drills to make sure they work, and tweaking the procedures so that they will work better.
Upon discovering years ago that a major corporation found it could save 30% on its winter heating bill for an industrial plant by having the employees close a large sliding door, I was prompted to observe that any bright 10 or 12-year-old could probably walk through any manufacturing operation that had not been overseen by a good industrial engineer for the last 5 or 10 years and do equally well in coming up with savings; the opportunities are so obvious.
Lest you assume I'm disparaging the quality of the employees, quite the opposite is my intention. Workers often have much more creative insights when it comes to efficiency than managers. But they also haven't been asked, have full time jobs that require all their attention -- and such suggestions for improvements as they may have offered in the past are as likely to have been rebuffed or ignored as implemented.
Every University administrator has, of course, responsibility for their own behavior -- regardless of the system within which they must function. But it is not the responsibility of the football coach, or the director of EOD, the University's general counsel, or the Vice President for this or that, to address, let alone redesign, the procedures for handling sexual assaults by athletes -- or others. They have full time jobs operating under the system (or rather the lack of a system) that is currently in place. Even if they had the time, they might well have been criticized for undertaking such a redesign, and been charged with having meddled in something that "is none of their business."
Nor is this -- under a proper and effective system of "governance" -- the responsibility of the Board of Regents. See, e.g., Nicholas Johnson, "An Open Letter to the Regents on 'Governance,'" April 17, 2007.
Indeed, on August 7 of this
year I wrote:
I'm not prepared to make a judgmental declaration as to what the Regents and UI administration "should" have done. But I am willing to suggest that much if not all of what's involved in "Story One" (events of last October 14), "Story Two" (what UI administrators did thereafter) and "Story Three" (the Regents' response and first, and now second, investigation of Stories One and Two) could have been prevented, and would have been avoided -- up to and including the current, postponed evaluation of UI President Sally Mason -- had more attention been given to the formulation (and application) of a workable "governance model."I have written about the subject of board governance (board-CEO relationship) in general, Nicholas Johnson, "Board Governance: Theory and Practice," and with regard to the Iowa Board of Regents in particular, Nicholas Johnson, "An Open Letter to Regents on 'Governance,'" April 17, 2007 (with links to additional material of relevance to Regents' governance).
From Nicholas
Johnson, "UI Sexual Assault Update," July 19-August 8, 2008.
Systems design and procedures are, in the first and last analysis, the responsibility of an institution's CEO. And whether one's primary concern is for the institution's (and one's own) public relations, or a genuine compassion for victims, a university's systems and procedures that deal with sexual assaults by athletes would seem to be one of the first and most predictable of the potential crises that could be dealt with proactively by any major American university with multi-million-dollar semi-pro athletic teams.
So there it is as my guide as to what to look for while reading through the Stolar Report -- because it deals with both: Ask yourself, Is this part of the Report dealing with the (a) behavior of given individuals operating within the current non-system, or is it (b) describing that non-system, or making recommendations as to how an appropriate system might be designed? They are, as I've noted, questions that might equally well be asked with regard to Katrina -- or our current global financial crisis.
Also this morning: Erin Jordan, "U of I probe: Errors, no cover-up," Des Moines Register, September 19, 2008.
September 18, 2008
The Stolar Partnership, hired by the Iowa Board of Regents to conduct a second investigation of the University of Iowa's handling of an alleged sexual assault last October 14, as scheduled and promised provided its report at the Regents meeting today. Here is a copy of that report (uploaded by the Iowa City Press-Citizen as a pdf file).
For initial newspaper summary/stories: "Report: UI Mishandled Probe, But No Cover-Up," Iowa City Press-Citizen Online, September 18, 2008; and . And see, John Naughton, "Investigators: Flaws in in how U of I handled case," Des Moines Register Online, September 18, 2008, 2:01 p.m.
September 17, 2008
Brian Morelli, "UI releases some documents 10 months after request," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 17, 2008, p. A20 ("The Iowa Attorney General's office, acting on behalf of the University of Iowa, released 785 pages of documents Tuesday -- more than 10 months after some of the documents originally were sought under Iowa's open records laws. The Attorney General's office is continuing to withhold another 2,400 pages of documents. . . . The Press-Citizen filed records requests in November, January and June seeking related documents. . . . 'I don't understand why UI only released 18 pages to us in December, has fought so hard against our lawsuit and now, without a judge ordering it to, is releasing some of these documents,' Press-Citizen Executive Editor Jim Lewers said.").
Lee Hermiston and Brian Morelli, "UI officials raised questions; Documents show concern about assault response," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 17, 2008, p. A1 ("University of Iowa officials, including the director of public safety, expressed in notes and e-mails concerns about UI's internal response . . .. 'My sense is that the parties are perceiving the process to be slow because Athletics conducted an "informal" investigation, which is not typical for this type of allegation, and that delayed the initiation of the formal investigation process,' . . . , assistant dean for operations and finance in the College of Nursing, wrote in a Nov. 5, 2007, e-mail to Associate Provost for Diversity . . .. 'This is unfortunate in my opinion, but I am not willing to rush to judgment now in order to mitigate the effects of this procedural irregularity.'").
Brian Morelli, "UI used consultant for public response," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 17, 2008, p. A1 ("University of Iowa officials relied on a media consultant for creating its public response to an alleged sexual assault . . .. UI President . . . , UI spokesman . . . and Steve Allen of Sheehan Associates in Washington, D.C., developed a three-pronged message or 'triangle message' for its media approach to the situation, according to an Oct. 22, 2007, e-mail from . . . to Athletics Director . . .. The 'central nugget,' in this case, according to the e-mail, was 'Our No. 1 priority is doing what is best for our students.' . . . UI paid about $10,000 for Allen's visit, and an additional $400 for consulting . . ..").
Lee Hermiston and Brian Morelli, "Index: Probe yielded 3,200 pages of documents; UI withholding notes, e-mails, summary, others," Iowa City Press-Citizen , September 16, 2008, p. A1 ("The University of Iowa withheld hundreds, if not thousands, of pages documents in response to open records requests . . .. UI provided an index of more than 3,200 pages of documents it collected in response to media inquiries to the Press-Citizen on Monday.").
The Press-Citizen has also provided pdf files of some of the related, basic documents:
Document IndexBrian Morelli, "UI to have week to ready response," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 16, 2008, p. A1 ("University of Iowa officials will have at least a week to prepare before they respond to a [Stolar Partnership] report detailing how they handled an alleged sexual assault involving Iowa football players on campus last year. . . . UI officials will respond to the report and answer questions during a special regents meeting.").(also available as a MS Excel Spreadsheet)
and Defendant's Brief Re Documents Sumitted for In Camera Review," Press-Citizen Company v. University of Iowa, Case No. CVCV068910, Johnson County, Iowa, District Court
September 13, 2008
Lee Hermiston, "Judge orders ex-Hawks to court," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 13, 2008, p. A3 ("Abeberell Satterfield and Cedric Everson have been told by a judge to personally appear at a Sept. 25 hearing, according to an order filed Friday by Judge Denver Dillard. The hearing is scheduled to resolve several motions filed by attorneys for Satterfield and Everson.").
Brian Morelli, "Regents will call special meeting; Investigation report, Mason's review on agenda," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 13, 2008, p. 3A (The second investigation of the University of Iowa administrators' handling of the alleged sexual assault of October 14, 2008, contracted out to the Stolar law firm, is due to be presented to the Board of Regents -- and presumably the media and public -- as the last item of business on Thursday, September 17, with a special Regents' meeting for its consideration to be held sometime later. "The report will detail how Mason and other UI officials dealt with an alleged sexual assault in October 2007 at Hillcrest Residence Hall involving UI football players . . . a full day after the regents begin [UI President Sally] Mason's review, which will be conducted in a closed session Wednesday afternoon. Mason earned $560,000 this past year. 'The performance discussion that we are going to have on Wednesday will be about all other elements of her first year other than the handling of the sexual assault,' [Regents President David] Miles said.").
Lee Hermiston, "UI investigation report nearly done; Firm will present findings to regents Thursday," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 12, 2008, p. A1 ("[Lead investigator for Stolar Partnership James] Bryant wouldn't go into what will be specifically addressed in the report, but he said it will contain conclusions on 'common allegations that have been made throughout the process by people concerned with the process.' Bryant said the team relied on the two letters the mother of the alleged victim sent to UI officials . . . [and] the original regents' report that found UI responded appropriately to the allegations of assault. That report did not draw upon any information from the family of the alleged victim or the letter the mother sent in November. . . . The report is anticipated to be presented in open session, Bryant said. Regent Bonnie Campbell, who originally was charged with investigating UI's response, wasn't certain how the report would be presented . . ..").
September 11, 2008
Lee Hermiston, "Index provides some insight into UI probe; Investigation included 268 pages of documents," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 11, 2008, p. A1 (the Press-Citizen's efforts to obtain, if not the relevant documents withheld by the University and the County Attorney at least an index of them, has finally produced a court-ordered 12-page index that provides some revelations of investigations (plural) and who met with whom and when; the story provides some history of the quest for documents, what they reveal, and what's yet to come).
Lee Hermiston, "Attorney Wants Trial Split Three Ways," Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 9, 2008 ("Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish filed a motion and supporting brief Monday [September 8] requesting that Abeberell Satterfield's charges of third-degree sexual abuse and second-degree sexual abuse be severed. Parrish previously has requested that Satterfield be tried separately from his former teammate and co-defendant Cedric Everson, who is facing a charge of second-degree sexual abuse. . . . According to his motion, Parrish thinks the three counts should be severed 'because they are separate and distinct based on time, participants, facts, circumstances, and intent.'").
Lee Hermiston, "Prosecutor wants Satterfield, Everson tried together,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 4, 2008 ("Accused former Hawkeye football players Abeberell Satterfield and Cedric Everson should be tried together, an assistant Johnson County attorney said in a motion . . . Assistant County Attorney Anne Lahey filed a resistance on Wednesday [September 3] to Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish’s motion to sever a trial between the two men. In his motion, Parrish alleged that a joint trial would prove to be prejudicial for his client Satterfield and would be too long and confusing for a jury. 'The issues in this case are not complex,' Lahey states. 'One trial would not result in an overly long trial or confusing scenario of the issues.'”).
Lee Hermiston, "Parrish wants separate trials in UI sexual assault case,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, September 2, 2008 ("Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish, who is representing Abeberell Satterfield, requested in a motion filed Tuesday [Setpember 2] that a judge sever the case so Satterfield and former teammate Cedric Everson can be tried separately.").
August 31, 2008
Lee Rood, "Does Muting Trouble Give Athletes Unfair Edge?; Defense Lawyers Say They Try to Keep Allegations Out of the Media, but Victim Advocates Say Transparency Would level the Playing Field," Des Moines Register, August 31, 2008, p. A1 ("At a time when college football programs like those at the University of Iowa and Penn State are working to put public, off-the-field struggles behind them, others are working behind the scenes to make sure new allegations involving athletes and criminal behavior never make news.").
August 29, 2008
Lee Hermiston, "Attorney: 'Involuntary confessions' to UI officials should be tossed," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 29, 2008, 4:31 p.m. ("[Abeberell] Satterfield’s attorney, Alfredo Parrish, wants . . . conversations between his client and the athletic department officials ["coach Kirk Ferentz twice and Associate Athletic Director Fred Mims once"], as well as other 'involuntary confessions' he made to two other University of Iowa officials to not be used in the criminal proceedings.").
August 21, 2008
Lee Hermiston, "Parrish: Don't call accuser a 'victim,'" Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 21, 2008 ("In a motion filed Thursday, Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish requests that when the court is not referring to the alleged victim of the Oct. 14, 2007 sexual assault by her proper name, that they refer to her as 'the complaining witness,' 'accuser' or another term without 'prejudicial connotations.' Parrish is representing former UI athlete Abeberell Satterfield.").
August 20, 2008
Brian Morelli, "Investigators question alleged victim, family members," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 20, 2008 ("James Bryant, the lead investigator from the Stolar Partnership, said on Wednesday that the victim and members of her family are among about 40 people interviewed so far. Stolar will conduct five or six more in-person interviews before the interview portion of the investigation wraps up, he said. Interviews are expected to be complete by Saturday, he said.").
Lee Hermiston, "Culver's office buzzed about UI withholding letter," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 20, 2008 (“'Wow,' wrote Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer. His response was sent in an e-mail to Patrick Dillon, Gov. Chet Culver’s chief of staff. . . . The e-mails, a majority of which are generated by members of Culver’s staff, are mostly reactions to new knowledge involving UI’s handling of the Oct. 14, 2007, sexual assault investigation -- specifically a letter from the mother of the alleged victim criticizing the response.").
Erin Jordan, "U of I president opposes lowering drinking age," Des Moines Register, August 19, 2008, 4:56 p.m. ("University of Iowa President Sally Mason said, '[O]ne-in-five of our students reports being assaulted by a drunken peer. One in three reports being the subject of an unwanted sexual advance. This is simply unacceptable and I do not believe that these statistics would change in the current cultural environment with a lowered drinking age,' Mason wrote.").
Editorial,
"Regents right to delay review of U of I president," Des Moines
Register, August 18, 2008 ("The Iowa Board of Regents was wise to delay
the job review of University of Iowa President Sally Mason until after
completion of a second investigation into how the school handled an alleged
sexual assault by football players last October. . . . Mason's oversight
appears to have been at arm's length. . . . [I]t's odd she did not make
sure U of I officials - who report to her, after all - fully briefed her
every step of the way. Perhaps the most glaring problem is the university's
failure to turn over to the Iowa Board of Regents two letters from the
alleged victim's mother, dated Nov. 19 and May 16, criticizing the university.
Regents President David Miles called the omission a breach of trust, and
Mason apologized. . . . Someone who earns more than half a million dollars
a year representing a premier state institution is expected to meet high
expectations.")
August 17, 2008
Lee Hermiston, "Attorneys: Ex-Hawk, alleged victim traded texts," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 14, 2008 ("The alleged victim of the Hillcrest Residence Hall sexual assault and accused former Iowa football player Abeberell Satterfield exchanged text messages the morning after the alleged assault, attorneys on both sides of the case said Wednesday.").
Jim Lewers, "Documents may provide answers," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 16, 2008 ("District Judge Mitchell Turner's recent ruling that the University of Iowa must provide an index of documents it has related to the alleged sexual assault of a female athlete by Hawkeye football players gives Iowans a chance at knowing the truth. . . . For 10 months, many of the key questions have gone unanswered. And some of the answers just plain aren't good enough.")
Lee Hermiston, "Lawyer wants details on charge; Prosecutor files a resistance to Parrish's request for information," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 16, 2008 ("Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey on Thursday filed a resistance to Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish's request for a bill of particulars. Parrish is representing accused football player Abeberell Satterfield. . . . Parrish requested a bill of particulars be produced related to his client's charge of second-degree sexual abuse aiding and abetting.").
Forbes magazine has been ranking colleges and universities -- and their football coaches. Forbes is no friend of the University of Iowa. It ranks the University 331 out of the 569 ranked schools. Hana R. Alberts, Michael Noer and David M. Ewalt, eds., "America's Best Colleges,"Forbes, August 13, 2008, 6:00 p.m.
And while "We're Number One!" "We're Number One!" in at least one category, we'll probably want to consider postponing any public celebrations of the honor.
Forbes ran a kind of comparative benefit-cost analysis of what every college football coach is being paid, and what they are producing for the money. The University of Iowa came in number one in the nation for "most overpaid coach."
Peter J. Schwartz, "The Business Of College Football; The Best (And Worst) College Football Coaches For The Buck," Forbes, August 13, 2008, 6:00 p.m. ET ("But the best bargain was Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, who scored a 122. Tressel has led the Buckeyes to the last two national championship games (losing to Florida in 2007 and Louisiana State in 2008) and was paid $2.6 million last season, less than eight of his peers. . . . The most overpaid coach is Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who made $3.4 million last year despite lackluster results on the field, for a score of 71. Just how lopsided is Ferentz’s deal? During the last three years he’s pocketed $10 million, including a record $4.7 million in 2006, but has led the Hawkeyes to just a 19-18 record."). But see, Jim Lewers, "Forbes Lowballs Ferentz," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 20, 2008 (Without identifying either Forbes' methodology or his own, Jim Lewers concludes, "At the very least, the magazine's methodology is simplistic. But I'll go further and say that anybody who concludes Ferentz is the most overpaid in college football is just plain wrong.").
If the Press-Citizen's
Pat Harty is to be believed, it doesn't look all that much better for the
2008 football season. Pat
Harty, "Lack of competition for starting jobs is alarming," Iowa
City Press-Citizen, August 17, 2008, in this morning's paper as, "Offense
Up in the Air; Lack of Desire is Alarming," p. B1.
August 14, 2008
Update from the courthouse regarding "Story One":
"Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey said after a hearing today in Satterfield's case that the trials will likely be delayed because of numerous pretrial motions and because attorneys involved have busy schedules.Erin Jordan, "U of I sex abuse trial likely postponed, attorney said," Des Moines Register, August 13, 2008. And, Lee Hermiston, "Attorneys: Ex-Hawk, alleged victim traded texts," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 14, 2008, p. A1 ("The alleged victim of the Hillcrest Residence Hall sexual assault and accused former Iowa football player Abeberell Satterfield exchanged text messages the morning after the alleged assault, attorneys on both sides of the case said Wednesday.").Judge Marsha Beckelman said during the 30-minute hearing she will order the state to give [Abe] Satterfield's attorney, Alfredo Parrish, records relating to prescription medications of the alleged victim. . . .
Parrish also asked the court to require prosecutors to turn over all of the alleged victim's phone and text message records for 30 days after the incident. Beckelman restricted the request just to messages between Satterfield and the alleged victim.
Beckelman said she will schedule another hearing to determine whether the state should pay for a private investigator and depositions for Satterfield. Parrish said he thought $3,000 would be adequate for a private investigator; Lahey said $1,000 seemed appropriate.
Satterfield, who was suspended from the U of I football team last fall, listened in to the hearing by phone from the football field of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he now plays."
And, although not directly
related to "Story One," the athletic program, or problems associated with
undergraduates binge drinking, of some relevance to UI administration and
faculty sensitivity to sexual harassment generally: Brian
Morelli, "Mason Says All Will Do Training; Harassment Classes a Must,"Iowa
City Press-Citizen, August 14, 2008, p. A1 ("In the aftermath of an
alleged good grades for sexual favors scandal, University of Iowa President
Sally Mason wants all UI faculty and staff to receive sexual harassment
training.").
August 12, 2008
Is this now the third UI
athlete who's been arrested for offenses involving the excessive use of
alcohol -- before the fall semester even begins? Lee
Hermiston, "UI recruit charged with DUI, eluding," Iowa City Press-Citizen
, August 12, 2008, p. B3. ("A University of Iowa wrestling recruit and
former junior college champion was arrested Sunday morning for drunken
driving and eluding police, then suspended indefinitely by the team Monday.")
Also, Associated
Press, "Iowa wrestling recruit charged with OWI, eluding," Des Moines
Register, August 11, 2008.
August 10, 2008
The Register offers a lengthy, page-one mostly supportive piece reviewing the UI's Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, with its responsibility for ensuring a campus environment of safety and comfort regarding everything from unwelcome glances to rape, while the action is diffused through dozens of principals outside of its office. Lee Rood, "Few Complaints Reach U of I; Sex Crim Reports, as Well as Formal Investigations by the School, are Scant, Despite Efforts to Clarify Procedures,"Des Moines Register, August 10, 2008, p. A1.
Scott Dochterman, "Motion
to seal documents denied in UI rape case," The Gazette, August 9,
2008, p. B3 (no direct link available; for details see Lee Hermiston story
of August 8, immediately below).
August 8, 2008
Most significant development: Judge orders UI and JC Attorney prepare indexes of withheld documents for Press-Citizen. Lee Hermiston, "Judge says to deliver indexes; County office, UI have month to furnish assault-related lists," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 8, 2008, p. A3.
Former City Council member Bob Elliott discusses differences between his perspective, and that of former Johnson County District Attorney Pat White, regarding "Story Two" (UI administrators' reactions to events of October 14, 2007). Bob Elliott, "Another View of Response," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 8, 2008, p. A13.
As reported here yesterday,
the Regents approved raises for the Iowa State and UNI presidents but are
holding back their review of UI President Sally Mason's performance until
they receive the report of the second investigation (due September 18).
Erin
Jordan, "ISU, UNI presidents get bonuses from regents," Des Moines
Register, August 8, 2008; Diane Heldt, "Pay raised 6 percent for UNI,
ISU presidents," The Gazette, August 8, 2008, p. A1, for earlier
online version see, Diane
Heldt, "Iowa State, Northern Iowa presidents to get raises," The
Gazette Online, August 7, 2008, updated 7:55 p.m.
August 7, 2008
I'm not prepared to make a judgmental declaration as to what the Regents and UI administration "should" have done. But I am willing to suggest that much if not all of what's involved in "Story One" (events of last October 14), "Story Two" (what UI administrators did thereafter) and "Story Three" (the Regents' response and first, and now second, investigation of Stories One and Two) could have been prevented, and would have been avoided -- up to and including the current, postponed evaluation of UI President Sally Mason -- had more attention been given to the formulation (and application) of a workable "governance model."
I have written about the subject of board governance (board-CEO relationship) in general, Nicholas Johnson, "Board Governance: Theory and Practice," and with regard to the Iowa Board of Regents in particular, Nicholas Johnson, "An Open Letter to Regents on 'Governance,'" April 17, 2007 (with links to additional material of relevance to Regents' governance).
What occurred last academic year, from October 14 until today, is an almost textbook classic case study of what happens when these principles are not followed. As sad as Stories One, Two and Three may be, the saddest realization is that they all could have been prevented.
Erin Jordan, "Regents put job review for U of I president on hold," Des Moines Register, August 7, 2008 ("The Iowa Board of Regents will delay its job review of University of Iowa President Sally Mason until the completion of an investigation of how the U of I handled an alleged sexual assault involving athletes."). Brian Morelli, "Regents waiting to decide Mason's raise; Want alleged assault inquiry finished first," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 7, 2008, p. A1 ("The Iowa state Board of Regents plans to get to the bottom of the University of Iowa's handling of an alleged sexual assault on campus last year before deciding on this year's raise for UI President Sally Mason. . . .Mason earned $560,000 -- $450,000 in base pay and $110,000 in incentives -- last year, her first at UI. Regents said at the time of her hire that her incentive package would kick in automatically the first year but that it would be determined by her ability to meet expectations in future years.").
While it should offer us
no comfort, a couple of the Register's recent editorials deal with
the difficulties that institutions beyond collegiate football programs
have in responding to sexual assaults -- in this case, the military. Editorial,
"Military not taking sex assaults seriously," Des Moines Register,
August 6, 2008 ("'Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely
to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.' That
troubling statement was included in the testimony of Rep. Jane Harman of
California during a congressional hearing last week on sexual assault in
the military."), and Editorial,
"Hearing No-Show is Telling," Des Moines Register, August 6,
2008.
August 5, 2008
I've repeatedly drawn a distinction between "story one" (what happened the early morning of October 14 -- now a criminal prosecution) and "story two" (what UI administrators did thereafter). The issues, and fact finding, overlap with regard to the preservation of a potential crime scene.
Clearly, the consequence of Coach Ferentz ordering a football player to move back into the player's "vacated" dorm room (and scene of the alleged crime) was the destruction of evidence. But it's an enormous leap from that consequence to a conclusion that it was the Coach's intention and motive to destroy evidence.
One can argue -- and I'm sure many will -- that every collegiate coach should be provided training in the preservation of crime scenes, that they should have a checklist (or university policy) for dealing with potential crime scenes, or that common sense (or at least the lessons learned from watching crime shows on TV) should alert anyone to the need to preserve evidence.
On the other hand, he had other things on his mind at the time, conducted his own investigation, immediately took the action he was authorized to take by dropping two players from the team, and could fairly say with regard to criminal investigations "that's not my department." "Should" he have done more anyway? Do we have a right to expect that of him? I'll leave those judgments to others.
Whatever the reasons, and whoever may bear primary responsibility, clearly the alleged victim's legal rights have been very seriously set back by what was -- and was not -- done by UI administrators. Here's today's addition to the story:
"According to search warrant documents, [Derrell] Johnson-Koulianos told police he later moved into the previously vacated dorm room [where the alleged sexual assault reportedly took place] and threw out a used condom he found behind a bed and a mattress cover with an 'orangish-reddish color' substance on it. UI police later said preserving the evidence in the room was an issue in the investigation. . . . Ferentz has said he was notified of the alleged sexual assault the morning of Oct. 15 [and] . . . launched his own investigation. While gathering information, Ferentz learned Hillcrest N207 was vacated earlier by Iowa defensive back Lance Tillison and ordered the freshman to move back into the room because he did not have permission to move out of the dorm. Ferentz said he did not consider the consequences that could have on an investigation of any alleged crime scene."
Andy Hamilton, "Ferentz Didn't Ask About Hawk's Actions," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 5, 2008.
Scott Dochterman, "New coach stands behind ex-Hawkeye football player," The Gazette Online, August 5, 2008, 9:37 a.m. ("Indiana (Pa.) Coach Lou Tepper told the Erie (Pa.) Times-News on Monday he has no reservations about keeping former Iowa cornerback Abe Satterfield on his roster. . . .. Tepper told the newspaper, . . . 'I spoke to three coaches at Iowa. What they told me was the case was going to be dropped. That they did not feel as if he was guilty.' . . . [Cedric] Everson is a member of the Alcorn State (Miss.) football team. In a May interview with The Gazette, Alcorn State Athletics Director Darren Hamilton stood behind Everson . . .."); available in hard copy edition as Scott Dochterman, "Tepper: No issues with Satterfield," The Gazette, August 6, 2008, p. C1. Scott Dochterman, "Hawk living arrangements discussed," The Gazette Online, August 4, 2008, 11:32 p.m.
And see, Ben
Fornell, "Football player's lawyer wants details on charge," Des
Moines Register, August 5, 2008 ("[D]efense attorney Alfredo Parrish
asked prosecutors to specify details of the second-degree sexual abuse
charge against Abe Satterfield"), and Sean
Keeler, "Weight of expectations falls squarely on shoulders of O-line,"Des
Moines Register, August 5, 2008 ("About the only thing the Hawkeyes
have done consistently over the last 18-20 months is run afoul of the law.
That's not going in the media guide. . . . With a bowl-less winter, a two-year
record of 12-13, a sexual assault investigation involving two former Hawkeyes
in the headlines, and the bitter aftertaste of watching Western Michigan
dominate at Kinnick Stadium still on the tongue of many fans, Ferentz opens
his 10th season under more scrutiny than he's ever faced before. . . .
[W]hen folks think Iowa football, they might start thinking of something
else: A change at the top."). Lee
Hermiston, "Investigator: Regents probe going smoothly," Iowa City
Press-Citizen online, August 5, 2008, 12:15 p.m.
August 4, 2008
UI as Top Rated "Party School"? Hell, we're a party state!
[F]or the 12 months ending June 30, Iowans . . . Liquor sales grew by 6.4 percent, . . . Beer sales . . . rose by 1.8 percent, while wine sales increased by 3 percent. . . . The average adult Iowan consumed 37.23 gallons of beer, 1.98 gallons of liquor, and 1.69 gallons of wine over the 12-month period.William Petroski, "Iowans' tippling boosts state coffers," Des Moines Register, August 4, 2008.
I've never quite understood how and when alcohol became a synonym for "party." It is, after all, the nation's number one hard drug by any measure -- seriousness of medical consequences, the proportion of all crimes with which it is associated (give or take 50%), the multi-billion-dollar economic losses, the millions of addicts ("alcoholics") and the multiples of that number they impact (e.g., family members and co-workers), the sexual assaults, drunk driving, vomiting and falling down drunk, college students' lower grades and increase in drop-outs, deaths from suicide, homicide and accidents, and so forth. Doesn't sound like a "party" to me. But there it is.
It shouldn't be a surprise that a "party state" has "party schools" -- and the predictable consequences one would expect. And now we have one more arrest involving a UI athlete. Dan McCool, "Iowa Wrestling: Hawkeye arrested after confrontation," Des Moines Register, August 4, 2008.
And Lee Hermiston reports, "Parrish wants sex abuse charge specified," Iowa City Press-Citizen online, August 4, 2008, 4:19 p.m. ("In a motion filed Monday, Des Moines defense attorney Alfredo Parrish, who is representing Abeberell Satterfield, requested that a bill of particulars be produced related to his client’s charge of second-degree sexual abuse aiding and abetting.").
And what does Coach Ferentz want? He just wants to change the subject, "Ferentz Optimistic About 2008," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 4, 2008.
For a well balanced bit of
constructive questioning, criticism, and suggestions for improvement see
Constance
Berman, "Need for improvement all around," Iowa City Press-Citizen,
August 2, 2008 ("[A] mishandling on many fronts. . . . In the 20 years
I've been at Iowa, I've had colleagues who felt pressured by the athletic
department because an athlete earning failing grades was indeed failing.
. . . I'm appalled to be teaching at an institution that cannot have Friday
classes because 'happy hour' starts on Thursday. I'm deeply ashamed of
a city run by barkeepers who condone underage entry to bars (effectively
underage drinking). And I am deeply ashamed to be teaching at an institution
that is right up there at the top as a 'Party School' . . ..").
August 3, 2008
This ever-expanding blog entry is focused on one example of the pressures, challenges and conflicts confronting the administrators (and overseers) of America's institutions of higher education when confronted with the abuses created by (or at least accompanying) multi-million-dollar athletic programs.
But the consequences of that emphasis go well beyond the sometimes criminal behavior that can grow out of adults' years-long contributing to young athletes' sense of entitlement (from the time they are in junior high school) -- with the accompanying exploitation of those athletes, who often leave college with neither a good education nor prospects of a professional sports career.
The over-emphasis on the major college sports (primarily football and basketball) infects the entire educational establishment, which along with educators' seeming unwillingness to do anything meaningful about the accompanying alcohol and drug abuse, is having an impact on America's ability to compete in the global economy, as David Brooks recently pointed out in such clear and dramatic detail. David Brooks, "The Biggest Issue," New York Times, July 29, 2008 ("Between 1975 and 1990, educational attainments stagnated completely. . . . America’s lead over its economic rivals has been entirely forfeited, with many nations surging ahead in school attainment. . . . America rose because it got more out of its own people than other nations. That stopped in 1970. Now, other issues grab headlines and campaign attention. But this tectonic plate is still relentlessly and menacingly shifting beneath our feet.").
It's just one more case of "we have found the enemy and it is us." It is we, the adults, who shout insults at the umpires of Little League games, encourage our children in high school sports in hopes of saving a little on college costs with sports scholarships, provide the fan base for college teams, elect the representatives who tolerate and encourage making a football coach the highest paid public employee in the state, protect our athletes from the consequences of their behavior and find high-priced defense lawyers for them when our cover-ups fail, and give a wink and a nod to wide-spread binge drinking.
And that's why this observation of a local business person caught my eye. She's pretty much summed it up. "Every school system, whether it's in Des Moines or whether it's in Mumbai ... is a reflection of the values of the communities that it serves .... It's very clear that we've gone with sports, and an enormous amount of energy is put into that, although your average employer isn't looking for someone highly skilled in football." -- Rowena Crosbie of Tero International, speaking at Des Moines Register panel of business leaders on our educational institutions preparation of Iowans for a global economy Editorial, "Better Prepare Students for World Economy," Des Moines Register, August 3, 2008. And see, "World-Class Schools: Transcript of Discussion," Des Moines Register, August 3, 2008, and especially the confirming, Linda Lantor Fandel, "Core Issue: Do We Value Education?" Des Moines Register, August 3, 2008 (interview with Bob Compton, executive producer of documentary, "Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination;" sample: "What the film shows is that we have a cultural issue . . . larger than . . . the schools. India and China revere, recognize and reward academic achievement. U.S. culture reveres, recognizes and rewards athletic achievement. . . . Until . . . the adults in this country decide intellectual achievement is as important as athletic achievement, when parents turn out for football games but not math competitions, . . . schools will not change. The core issue is our value system . . .. The solution has to happen in each community [as we] raise awareness and appreciation of our academic and intellectual stars the way we do with our athletic stars. Twenty percent of our population is going to do OK. But 80 percent is not. It's such a waste of human potential.").
And if that "waste of human
potential" is not enough to move us to change for humanitarian reasons,
hopefully our greed and selfishness will provide the incentive as we begin
to see the link between the teams we cheer for Saturday afternoon and the
job we don't have on Monday, the mortgage we can't pay, the overseas trip
we can't take with dollars worth a fraction of what they once were, and
the $40 trillion in unfunded government obligations we're leaving our grandchildren
instead of a modest inheritance.
August 2, 2008
"You can't tell the players without a program" used to be the shout-out of those selling programs at baseball games. So it is with this "case."
First off, it's useful to recognize the distinctions between what I call "Story One" (what happened October 14, 2007), "Story Two" (what UI administrators did about it), and now "Story Three" (what the Regents did about what the UI's administrators did).
But then each of those stories has its sub-stories. Story One is now being played out in the beginning motions of a criminal trial currently set for November 3. Yesterday there was a hearing involving what documents will, and will not, be available to public and media. "The hour-long hearing came after a several-month-long tug-of-war between the University of Iowa, the Johnson County Attorney's Office and the Iowa City Press-Citizen over documents related to the alleged Oct. 14, 2007, sexual assault at Hillcrest Residence Hall involving UI football players. "Turner heard arguments from attorneys representing the three parties concerning two cases. First, the Press-Citizen's open records lawsuit against the UI; and second, the newspaper's request that subpoenas and documents related to the investigation be unsealed." Lee Hermiston, "All sides heard for UI documents; Judge says he will come to decision as soon as possible," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 2, 2008.
Writing a week ago, "Now What? -- July 23, 2008," below, I noted,
"So, the Regents' investigator didn't have access to the letter. So shame on the UI administrators for not turning it over. But how, if even half of what it contained is true, would none of that come out in a thorough investigation -- even without access to the letter? Were penetrating questions not asked? Were they asked, but not fully and truthfully responded to? Whatever the reasons, the Regents aren't looking all that good this morning either."
The Press-Citizen
editorializes this morning about the significance of that observation to
the question of who should pay for the Skolar investigation. The answer
involves the distinction between "Story Two" and "Story Three." Any identifiable,
incremental costs associated with the Regents' first investigation could
rationally be said to have been occasioned as a result of actions attributable
to UI administrators. But the $250,000 cost of the Skolar investigation
-- as to which Regents' "advisory committee" chair Bonnie Campbell says
"The taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for this -- period" --
are costs occasioned not by UI administrators' failures but by failures
of the Regents' first investigation. Read the editorial: Editorial,
"Regents passing the ($250,000) buck to UI," Iowa City Press-Citizen,
August 2, 2008. And for a quick overview of the whole mess: Olivia
Moran, Chris Patton, and Lauren Skiba, "Semester in review: River, questions
about UI assault case rise/After a hectic summer, regents reopen probe
into UI's role in sex assault," The Daily Iowan, August 1, 2008
(brief summary of May-July 2008 events in case).
August 1, 2008
"[Iowa] Sen. Thomas Courtney, D-Burlington, and Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City [respective chairs of the Iowa Senate and House Government Oversight Committees], urged [Iowa Board of Regents President David] Miles to contact them 'if at any time you believe you are not receiving the full cooperation of the University of Iowa employees and others' so the committee could use its power to subpoena witnesses to testify before the committee. . . . Courtney and Lensing also asked Miles to appear before the panel Sept. 19, the day after the regents receive a report from a St. Louis law firm handling the U of I probe." Erin Jordan, "Subpoenas offered for probe at U of I," Des Moines Register, August 1, 2008; Rob Daniel, "Legislators offer help on investigation; Committee says it will use its subpoena power," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August 1, 2008; Diane Heldt, "Legislators Join in on UI Sex Assault Case," The Gazette, August 1, 2008, p. B3, earlier online version available as Diane Heldt, "Legislators want regents meeting on UI sexual assault investigation,"The Gazette Online, July 31, 2008, updated 6:04 p.m. (includes text of letters exchanged between Government Oversight Committees and Regents); Rachel Goodell and Olivia Moran, "State lawmakers offer support to regents' investigation,"The Daily Iowan, August 1, 2008.
The Gazette editorializes,
"[W]e wonder if outside counsel is necessary. Wouldn’t the Attorney General’s
Office, as the legal representative of state government, be the appropriate
public agency for this important task?" Editorial,
"No Other Option?" The Gazette, August 1, 2008, p. A4. Lee
Hermiston, "Lawyer wants to see room; Parrish files motion to photograph
alleged site of sexual assault," Iowa City Press-Citizen, August
1, 2008 (the hard copy version of the online story linked from this blog
yesterday,
below).
July 31, 2008
Lead stories this morning follow up on yesterday's reports in this blog about terms of Skolar contract and hourly rates. Chair Campbell says UI, not taxpayers or tuition, to cover costs. Erin Jordan, "U of I to Bear All Cost of Probe," Des Moines Register, July 31, 2008. Diane Heldt, "Tax dollars won’t fund UI inquiry; Lawyers hired by board to investigate handling of rape allegations to be paid $150 to $375 an hour," The Gazette, July 31, 2008, p. A1 ("Regent Bonnie Campbell, of Des Moines, asked Regents Executive Director Robert Donley on Wednesday to inform UI officials that the university will be expected to reimburse the regents’ office for the cost of the investigation without using taxpayer or tuition dollars."); available as Diane Heldt, "Should taxpayers have to fund UI investigation?" The Gazette Online, July 30, 2008, updated 10:04 p.m. Rob Daniel, "Firm to be paid $375 an hour; Office releases contract between regents, Stolar," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 31, 2008.
Meanwhile, the Register's Marc Hansen has just spotted a drunken elephant in the living room. Do UI administrators mean business or not, he asks. If so, he and the Harvard study have lots of suggestions as to proactive steps that would make a difference.
Absent in the conversation about the University of Iowa and the football players gone wild is any serious discussion of alcohol's role in campus crime. By any measure, it's considerable. The university police department filed 535 charges against students in 2007. Four hundred sixty-seven -- 87 percent -- were alcohol- or drug-related. . . . When you're talking about alcohol-related "incidents" on campus, the number topped 1,000 for the fifth year in a row in 2007. . . . If you look at the 18 football players arrested since April 2007, nine of the 23 charges were directly related to alcohol. How many others were indirectly related? . . . [T]here is such a thing as the culture of alcohol getting out of hand, harming lives and damaging the reputation of the university. . . . [I]t's time for a serious discussion. Let's look at some findings from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which says . . . that campus environment can affect student behavior. . . . If . . . conditions are ripe for heavy drinking [and] "If colleges can change those conditions, they can reduce binge drinking among their students." . . . Do this [the Harvard and Hansen list of proactive steps] to show the students you mean business. Unless, of course, you don't.Marc Hansen, "Alcohol plays a big role in campus crime," Des Moines Register, July 29, 2008.
Meanwhile, on the trial front, the headline tells the story. Lee Hermiston, "Satterfield lawyer wants to photograph room," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 31, 2008, 2:28 p.m. ("The attorney [Alfredo Parrish] for one of the former Hawkeye football players [Abeberell Satterfield] accused of sexual assault wants to photograph the room where the attack allegedly occurred.").
For some serious, and for
the most part constructive and respectful discussion by what appears to
be former Iowa football players, take a look at, "Why
is this happening guys??? Tell me!!!" Forums:Hawkeye Sports:Football,
Iowa
City Press-Citizen, July 30, 2008.
July 30, 2008
For the economics and scope of the Skolar Partnership investigation see Erin Jordan, "Lawyers Handling U of I Probe to be Paid $375 an Hour," Des Moines Register, July 30, 2008:
The scope of the investigation, as outlined in the contract, includes:Jordan also reports "Johnson County judge [Douglas Russell] has ruled the U of I is free to give the regents internal university reports about the alleged sexual assault Oct. 14 . . . clarifying a Nov. 14 order in which he sealed all documents related to the case . . .."
1. Reviewing specific allegations in the Nov. 19 and May 16 letters from the alleged victim’s mother.
2. Interviewing the alleged victim and her family, if they are willing.
3. Interviewing U of I employees including, but not limited to, those involved in the past investigation.
4. Interviewing, as necessary, people with expertise in sexual assault victims’ advocacy and rights.
5. Determining why the letters and other documents were not provided to the board.
6. Reviewing U of I policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, sexual assault and harassment.
7. Reviewing policies and procedures relating to state and federal laws, such as the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act, which protects student records, and the Jeanne Clery Act, which requires universities to report campus crime.
8. Discussing the impact of laws and court orders upon the U of I’s response to the alleged assault.
9. Revieiwng all past investigations and recommendations evolving out of the 2002 Pierre Pierce case.
10. Writing a report for regents assessing whether U of I procedures were followed, identifying problems in the system and making preliminary recommendations of changes.
Yesterday I noted the inherent conflict of interest the Board of Regents has when investigating (or contracting for an investigation of) possible UI administrators' misbehavior, below. Brian Morelli's story this morning reports Skolar's James Bryant indicates he may be looking at that very issue. Brian Morelli, "Firm will review regents' investigation; Board's initial investigation found no UI wrongdoing," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 30, 2008 ("The Iowa state Board of Regents will go under the microscope as part of an independent investigation . . .. [that] will examine an initial investigation conducted by the regents that found no wrongdoing in how the University of Iowa responded to the alleged sexual assault. 'We will look at what they did in their investigations, too,' said James Bryant . . .. 'We will look at all the data available. I suspect our finding, by necessity, will look at that. We will state whether it was complete, if it was true or false.' . . . The Legislature might conduct its own review of the case. Some representatives are flirting with possible oversight hearings.")
And see, Editorial, "Make sure rape-case inquiry is thorough - and acted on," Des Moines Register, July 30, 2008; and "Hearing to be Monday in UI case," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 30, 2008 ("A hearing on a motion filed Monday seeking prescription drug and telephone records of the alleged victim of an alleged sexual assault by two former Iowa football players . . . has been scheduled for Aug. 13.").
Oh, and "Ohio State 24, Iowa 1." Andy Hamilton, "Hawks trail pack in 2009 recruiting," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 30, 2008.
I have formerly referred to what should be a distinction in the media's reporting of "Story One" (what happened October 14?) and "Story Two" (how did UI administrators respond?). We now have a "Story Three" (how thoroughly and appropriately did the Regents respond?) -- to be followed in September with similar issues surrounding the James Bryant report.
There is actually a fourth set of issues that goes beyond what the UI administrators did, whether policies and procedures were or were not followed, whether they inappropriately withheld the mothers' letters from the Regents, and whether the Regents' investigators should have done a better job with or without the letters.
And that is the treatment
of the alleged victim -- not from a legal point of view, whether laws,
regulations, policies and procedures were followed or broken -- but just
from a common sense, human and humane, caring, courteous and sensitive
perspective. President Mason and Coach Ferentz say that her welfare and
sensitive treatment were always foremost. The mother's letters allege otherwise.
It would be a shame if those issues were to go unaddressed in our focus
on legalisms.
July 29, 2008
The Regents' "advisory committee" has selected the "Stolar Partnership" as the law firm, specifically James Sears Bryant, to conduct the Regents' second investigation of UI administrators' handling of the alleged sexual assault case. Brian Morelli, "Regents hire law firm to look at UI; Stolar Partnership to conduct investigation," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 29, 2008. And see Erin Jordan, "U of I probe could cost $250,000, last 6 weeks," Des Moines Register, July 29, 2008 ("Besides Bryant, who heads the firm's higher education practice, the team will include Peter Goplerud III, dean of the Florida Coastal School of Law and former dean of the Drake University Law School. Doreen Dodson, who specializes in employment and sexual harassment law, and Charla Scott round out the team, [administrative partner for Stolar, Dick] Mersman said."). The Gazette and Daily Iowan also reported the story. Diane Heldt, "New UI rape inquiry to cost about $250,000; Missouri law firm hired to handle reinvestigation for state regents," The Gazette, July 29, 2008, p. A1 [and online version updated at 10:11 a.m., 3:45 p.m.); Olivia Moran, "Law firm takes over investigation of UI; defense requests drug files," Daily Iowan, July 29, 2008.
And Regents' President David Miles offered his own reassurance about all of this in an op ed this morning. David W. Miles, "Regents Will Do What is Necessary," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 29, 2008.
My limited contribution to this aspect of the story is primarily merely to provide links to, and quotes from, the firm's main Web page, the page for the relevant 13-lawyer "Areas of Practice/Higher Education" group Bryant heads, and the personal page of Mr. Bryant.
Both the "Higher Education" page and Mr. Bryant's page note that he "works closely with all types of institutions to prevent and defend claims arising out of institutional misrepresentations and other complex allegations [and] has special expertise in intercollegiate athletics, including NCAA matters, coaches’ contracts, intellectual property as well as the overall strategic management of institutional sports marketing."
His record of accomplishment includes, among many other things, his current positions as a member of the Board of Trustees of both Eureka College and Southwestern College, and authorship of the article, "Representing the Oklahoma Athlete in NCAA Investigations.”
Former Iowa Attorney General, and chair of the Regents' "advisory committee," Bonnie Campbell says of the selection, "I am hoping the complete independence of this team we are hiring, and coming in without a perspective, and not being invested in the result at all ... will allow us to reach our singular objective." And see, Editorial, "'New set of eyes' needed to look into UI's actions," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 29, 2008 ("We don't believe that [an out-of-state firm] is a panacea for all of the issues and questions the regents and UI face in this situation. . . . UI President Sally Mason says UI didn't provide those letters to the regents because it incorrectly interpreted federal student privacy laws. Is that true? And is that a good reason? Who specifically misinterpreted those laws? Also, did UI disclose that it knew of any concerns raised by the family? Did UI tell the regents it had documents it couldn't provide them because of federal privacy laws? And what questions did the regents' investigators ask, what UI officials did they interview and what documents did they see?)
I will not comment at length about this event, except to note that the Regents, as well as UI administrators, have an inherent conflict of interest in all of this -- not really of their own making, not a conflict that grows out of failures of their personal integrity, but one inherent in their position and job description. On the one hand, they are obliged to represent the people of Iowa in insuring the effective, ethical and efficient administration of their universities, and to investigate as thoroughly, independently and honestly as possible such controversies and possible malfeasance of their administrators as may arise. On the other hand, they are obliged to function as cheerleaders for those institutions, to put the best public face on them as can pass "the laugh test," to minimize their failings and publicize their achievements, and to lobby state and federal legislatures and agencies on their behalf. Thus, the better they do their first obligation the more destructive it may be of their goals with regard to the second.
Did the Regents' investigators contact the alleged victim's family or didn't they? Were they actually informed of the November 19 letter and failed to ask for it? Morelli reports:
[Regents' General Counsel Tom] Evans said that investigators asked to speak to the family for the first investigation but they declined. The mother of the alleged victim told the Press-Citizen that neither the victim, herself nor her husband were contacted as part of the first investigation. . . . The victim's mother said between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2007, she called the board office and requested to speak with the regent president. She said she could not recall the name of the person she spoke with but said she told the person about the letter she sent and her frustrations with the case.Looks to me like another major issue surrounding the Regents' first investigation -- at best (from the Regents/UI perspective), yet another "she-said-he-said."
UI Maintains Ranking as One of Nation's Top "Party Schools."
The Princeton
Review rankings are out again. The University of Iowa may be only
88 out of 99 in "quality of life" and 92 out of 99 in "financial aid support,"
but by golly we're up there in the composite "party school" ranking (12th)
and actually number 3 in "lots of hard liquor." (Photo credit: Press-Citizen.)
I guess that's the good news; we'll continue to get those students (and their tuition) looking for a good time. The bad news is that athletes aren't the only ones engaged in alleged sexual assaults and innovative public demonstrations of the offensive behavior fueled by binge drinking.
Of course, you can't create and maintain that kind of party school ranking without the support of the Iowa City City Council's creation of 50 or so bars within walking distance of the campus, and the UI administrators. Brian Morelli, "UI Named One of Top Party Schools," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 29, 2008.
The "Second Rape." As I've so often written, there are two media stories here: (1) the events surrounding the morning of October 14, 2007, and (2) UI administrators' response to those events. This blog entry has focused, and will continue to focus, on "Story Two." Nonetheless, there is a "Story One," and the criminal proceedings resulting from that story, and it has now begun. A rape trial is often characterized as the "second rape" of the alleged victim. A reason why is illustrated by this story: Lee Hermiston, "Satterfield seeks alleged victim's phone, prescription records,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 29, 2008.
It's one of the law's many dilemmas: every accused is entitled to a vigorous and effective defense; on the other hand, it seems fundamentally unfair to place such heavy burdens as that does upon the accused's victim -- or to require as a prerequsite of legal proceedings that those burdens be assumed.
July 27
Lee Rood (with contributions from Erin Jordan and Randy Peterson) has two useful, lengthy stories in this morning's Register that combine a wrap up of last week's news, a history of the Pierre Pierce case and its aftermath: the supposed "reforms" at that time that appear not to have been followed now, five years later. Lee Rood, "Latest case at U of I reveals old problems," Des Moines Register, July 27, 2008 ("I am furious," Roxanne Conlin, the Des Moines attorney who acted as a mediator between the victim and the university in the 2002 Pierce case, said last week. "It appears officials did everything in their power to keep this thing quiet, and they did it in a way that was reprehensible."); Lee Rood, "Current dispute recalls 2002 case," Des Moines Register, July 27, 2008.
See, in this connection, Thomas Evans, "Report on the University of Iowa's Compliance with Policy and Procedures While Investigating a Sexual Assault Complaint," Iowa Board of Regents, Agenda Item 17, June 11-12, 2008, complete with 7 recommendations and the 23 attachments in a 162-page, 7MB pdf file. (The Report is primarily a summary of the UI policies and procedures, plus federal and state laws and regulations, that are provided in full text in the 23 attachments. A timeline of UI administrators' actions has been removed from the public document on grounds it qualifies as a confidential student record. And the ultimate conclusion, as widely reported, is that "it is clear that University officials fully complied with internal procedural requirements [and] offered the victim appropriate accommodation . . .." Report, p. 8.)
The Press-Citizen has its own review, along with some new information about what the Regents' "advisory committee" says it's looking for when hiring an investigative firm to conduct its inquiry. Rachel Gallegos, "Regents look at firms to probe UI actions; Downer: Board will hire firm focused on higher education," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 27, 2008.
And The Gazette? Having
headlined yesterday that there are "Plenty of Good Guys on Hawkeye Roster,"
it puts on page one of its Sunday edition a glowing story -- complete with
flattering quotes and really charming photos -- about what a spectacular
job UI President Sally Mason does handling floods. Diane Heldt, "Water
Logged; Record Flood Defines Mason's First Year," The Gazette, July
27, 2008, p. A1, available as Diane
Heldt, "Record flood defines Mason's first year as UI president," The
Gazette Online, July 26, 2008, updated 10:39 p.m. (with a carry-over
headline in the hard copy version, at p. A10, "Mason/Earning High Marks
from Faculty, Regents" -- against which one might wish to compare Regents'
President Miles' comment about "trust" upon learning the letters were kept
from them). In fairness, the paper does editorialize about this past week's
events; e.g., "It would be wrong to assume that any UI official
has not acted in what he or she believed was the best interest of all the
students involved." Editorial,
"Get the Facts, Improve the Process," The Gazette, July 27,
2008, p. A7.
July 26, 2008
Most of the stories in this morning's newspapers are simply the hard copy versions of what was posted on this blog yesterday from their online editions.
However, the Press-Citizen makes some new editorial suggestions about how this public relations disaster might well have been prevented had the University handled it differently. "Regents should look at whether UI could have prevented mess," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 26, 2008:
Soon after the allegations of the sexual assault in a UI dormitory became public, then-Regent President Michael Gartner made this statement in an e-mail to UI President Sally Mason: "The alleged crime itself is outrageous, if true, and is damaging to the reputation of the University and its athletic department. But if the policies are inadequate or the processes weren't followed, the damage is multiplied." We pointed out in a Nov. 20, 2007, editorial that "Gartner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, seems to have an idea of the massive public relations train wreck that is unfolding in Iowa City." Unfortunately, it seems no one else did . . .. Our view always has been that UI's best strategy was to release more information and to answer as many questions as possible . . .. What happened, though, was UI did not disclose the existence of the mother's letters to the Board of Regents, even though UI's policies -- and common sense -- make it clear that the Regents should have access. . . . To quote Regent Gartner, "the damage is multiplied."Actually, I was writing about the same things at about that same time, and providing the similar questions and warnings to the administrators of my beloved University -- over, and over, and over -- with precisely the same results:
[T]here are really two stories here, not one. . . . "Story Two" has almost literally nothing to do with "Story One" [the alleged sexual assault]. Story Two is the story of what University of Iowa officials were involved, and when, and what they did. Not the names of students. Not students' reports of events. Not which students, by name, spoke with officials. But which officials talked to which other officials and when . . .. If it turns out that the University has had something to hide regarding its administrators' actions in this case, it will pay a very, very high price indeed for its secrecy and willingness to sweep under the rug of "being sensitive to the victim" what those administrators did, or failed to do. . . . [I]t also puts a very heavy tarnish on whatever statements may be offered in the future when the University may have very legitimate reasons for secrecy and the public is left with no more trust in the truth of what it is being told than the trust it has in the statements of a White House press officer. Despite the hundreds of lessons history offers as to the folly of attempting stonewalling and cover-ups of that which will, ultimately, become public, it may be only human to think that, "for me, on this occasion, I'll be better off to duck and cover than to come clean."See, e.g.: Nicholas Johnson, "Culling the Flock; How About Them Hawks?" November 15, 2007;
Nicholas Johnson, "Trouble in River City; Locker Room Update: What Can We Know, and When Can We Know It?," November 16, 2007 ("What I don't fully grasp are the reasons for refusing to respond to questions regarding the behavior, not of the athletes or their accuser, but of the University's and athletic program's administrators. What did they know and when did they know it? What did they do about it? Did they comply with the procedures they themselves created for dealing with a situation like this?");
Nicholas Johnson, "Football Story Has Muscular Legs; If UI Won't Talk, Regents Will," November 18, 2007 ("The UI's spokesperson is quoted in this morning's Register as saying, 'We know the time will come when we need to have the public understand what happened, but now is not the time.' . . . Obviously, I disagree. I think now is the time; indeed, it is past time.");
Nicholas Johnson, "Stonewall's Mortar Crumbles; Now the Governor; UI, This is Not Good," November 20, 2007 ("Regardless of what the reasons may be [for the UI's administrators' taking an oath of silence], until the questions regarding their behavior are answered, or explanations are offered for their silence, the hole they have dug for themselves just gets deeper by the hour.");
Nicholas Johnson, "The Greatest 'Story Two' Never Told" in "Not Getting Answers," November 21, 2007 ("So long as officials are asked general questions, for which the answers need not, but could, compromise the integrity of the investigation and possible trial as well as the privacy interests of the accuser and the accused, they can properly refuse to answer. It is only when it is made abundantly and unambiguously clear from the questions that they only deal with the 'second story' that their refusal to respond does, indeed, constitute stonewalling."); and
Nicholas Johnson, "To Err is Human, To Keep it Secret Even More So," December 14, 2008 (the source of the excerpt above).
The other noteworthy addition to this story is Erin Jordan's report that Regents' "advisory committee" chair has announced that a totally independent outside firm will be conducting the Regents' second investigation of UI administrators' handling of these events. This strikes me as at most a very wise and commendable step (one of the first in this months-long disaster), and at a minimum at least a response to all the "Now what?" questions regarding precisely how the three advisory committee members intend to proceed with their investigation. Erin Jordan, "Outside Firm to do U of I Probe," Des Moines Register, July 26, 2008.
And The Gazette? Nothing on page one. What? Surely the story of the additional box of documents withheld from the Regents would be reported somewhere in the paper. Oh, here it is, back on page B3. I wonder what they have in the sports section. Looks like Coach Ferentz is listening to his publicist. The lead headline, top of the fold in the sports section: Marc Morehouse, "Plenty of good guys on Hawkeye roster; Olsen, Kroul, King take pride in being Iowa football players," The Gazette, July 26, 2008, p. C1 (here's a link to the story in yesterday's Gazette Online).
And July 25 . . .
This afternoon [July 25] we learn that there's a bit of a difference of opinion regarding what the University was able to do with its internal reports under a court order.
Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said a subpoena protecting documents related to the University of Iowa’s investigation of an alleged sexual assault was not intended to keep those documents from reaching UI officials. In a copyright story published Friday by The Des Moines Register, UI President Sally Mason said she did not read two of the UI’s reports about its handling of the case. Mason cited UI’s interpretation of a seal by a Johnson County judge. “Ultimately, I have not seen any of the reports that were written,” Mason told the Register. Lyness said that wasn’t the purpose of the seal.Lee Hermiston, "Lyness: Sharing of documents was UI’s call," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 25, 2008, 3:24 p.m.
Yesterday, below, I noted the Daily Iowan had made reference inside one of its stories about UI administrators' handling of the sexual assault case to a controversy at Purdue, and that State29 had gone into more detail about it. Today we have more from Lafayette on that conflict. Brian Wallheimer, "Sides square off on Purdue researcher's misconduct case,"Journal & Courier, July 25, 2008, reprinted in this morning's Press-Citizen as Brian Wallheimer, "Purdue Research Controversy Continues," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 25, 2008.
And the Press-Citizen has now added some more questions to its prior list of 26 (itemized below), in Editorial, "UI, regents must answer growing list of questions," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 24, 2008.
President Mason has started to fill in some details and respond to some of the mother's assertions. Erin Jordan, "U of I Admits More Was Withheld," Des Moines Register, July 25, 2008 (later available from the Press-Citizenonline as well at 9:38 a.m.).
My comment: The individuals involved in the UI's news and public relations operations are, in my opinion, professional, ethical and competent. But they are, by virtue of the nature of their jobs, obliged to do and say what they are told -- or make their best effort to guess -- their superiors want. So I can only assume the decision to have UI's administrators persist in their positions that, to quote Coach Ferentz from yesterday, "everything was handled extremely well," must have come from those administrators rather than their public relations advisers.Meanwhile, Coach Ferentz simultaneously insists "everything was handled extremely well" and "It may not be fair, but anybody who violates our team rules this coming year, the consequences are going to be a little more severe than they've been in the past." Andy Hamilton, "Ferentz draws line in the sand; Focuses on 2008 roster, new standards of discipline," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 25, 2008. (And see Andy Hamilton, "Hawks Looking to Future," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 26, 2008.)As I have written throughout this blog entry, and as Pat Harty writes today [July 25], below, "[W]hat makes this case so maddening and hard to comprehend [is that in] order to believe the mother's version of what happened you almost have to believe that some UI officials are corrupt and dishonest." He's right; and for the administrators to persist in professing that "everything was handled extremely well" is to shoot themselves in the foot every time they repeat that public statement.
They have been ignoring the advice that, "When you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is to stop digging." They've just been digging themselves in deeper and deeper.
It's all a little too reminiscent of the story told in a country song. As the husband comes into the house early one morning the wife asks where he has been all night. He replies, "I fell asleep in that hammock in the yard." When she points out that she put the hammock in the attic a week or so ago he replies, simply, "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." (From "That's My Story.")
For UI administrators, once the mother's letter became public, to continue to say they behaved in an excellent manner was simply not credible -- it made them look worse rather than better -- not unlike the errant husband in the song they appeared to be insisting "that's our story and we're sticking to it."
So President Sally Mason's tentative diversion from that path in this morning's story by Erin Jordan is, in my judgment, a good one from her perspective. Ditto for at least some of what Coach Ferentz revealed yesterday. Unfortunately, it's now nowhere nearly as helpful to the University in general, and them in particular, as it would have been if they'd done it a week ago.
Hamilton's story continues, with regard to the opening game in the "Iowa Hawkeyes Football Criminal Season" (a great run across downtown Iowa City that took 8 police to catch one of our football players, a story that bodes well for the on-field season if not the off-field arrest record):
Riley Reiff might be the first to face the consequences of a more stringent program. The incoming freshman was arrested last weekend for public intoxication and interference with official acts after allegedly leading eight police officers on a 20-minute chase in downtown Iowa City. Ferentz said Reiff won't be dismissed from the team, "but it'll be a painful road back." "I think it's fair to say his incident will be treated a lot differently than it would've a year ago," Ferentz said. "I'd like to think we're educators, and I'd like to think we'll be fair to him, yet at the same time, he's been in Iowa City long enough to know, I would hope, that what he did was not only bad in itself but directly worked against the cause that I think everybody on our team is committed to taking the right path on."And see, Pat Harty, "Coach Defends His Actions in Inquiry," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 25, 2008 ("[W]hat makes this case so maddening and hard to comprehend [is that in] order to believe the mother's version of what happened you almost have to believe that some UI officials are corrupt and dishonest. . . . [T]he stench from this case will continue to linger, along with the two different versions of what happened."), and Scott Dochterman, "UI Rape Case: Ferentz met with alleged rape victim; Insinuation of cover-up draws angry response from UI football coach," The Gazette, July 25, 2008, p. A1, a somewhat shorter version from the day before, Scott Docterman, "Ferentz speaks about meeting alleged victim, family," The Gazette Online, July 24, 2008, 5:07 p.m.
And Abeberell Satterfield's
counsel, Alfredo Parrish, weighs in: Lee
Hermiston, "Alfredo Parrish: 'Take a deep breath,'" Iowa City Press-Citizen,
July 25, 2008, 10:26 a.m. (While Parrish said that he would probably take
the same action as the mother of the alleged victim . . . the mother only
represents one perspective of how the investigation was handled. “She’s
only hearing second- and third-hand about what happened,” he said. . .
. However, Parrish said he does take issue with part of the university’s
investigation. Parrish said his client should have had a lawyer with him
when he spoke with his coaches and university officials about the alleged
assault.).
Wrong Again; Story DOES Continue: July 24
Yesterday I predicted that day's news would be the last we'd see of media attention to it -- at least until the Regents' report of September 18. Well, I was wrong. Read on.
"Ferentz talks about assault investigation," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 24, 2008, 11:13 a.m. (Coach Ferentz tells ESPN (in a statement similar to that of President Mason yesterday), "everything was handled extremely well" -- without responding to a single specific allegation from the alleged victim's mother regarding his involvement or that of other UI administrators). Here's a link to ESPN's full report of the interview -- as well as readers' comments about it. Adam Rittenberg, "Kirk Ferentz speaks," ESPN.com, July 24, 2008, 9:42 a.m. And see, Andy Hamilton, "Ferentz 'takes exception' to notion of cover up," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 24, 2008, 3:14 p.m. (Kirk Ferentz's similar remarks today when opening the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon in Chicago), in the July 25 Press Citizen as Andy Hamilton, "Ferentz defends UI's actions Supports how his program dealt with the matter," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 25, 2008.
Lee Hermiston and Brian Morelli, "Mom to UI: 'Shame on you'; Says alleged victim was harassed," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 24, 2008 (the mother's second letter of May 16 is largely a repetition of her earlier (November 19) allegations regarding University administrators' abandonment of the alleged victim, leaving her to deal with harassment and related problems on her own). Here is the Press-Citizen's pdf version of the mother's May 16 letter ("Shame on all of you . . .. You all had an opportunity through her to make a difference and be different at your institution. From where I sit you all wasted that chance . . ..").
A draft of the mother's November 19 letter, in txt format, is contained within this blog entry, below.
Lee Hermiston, "Direction of Inquiry Unclear," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 24, 2008 (Regents' advisory committee chair, and former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell, says, "How we do this cannot be determined yet"). The report is due September 18, 9 days before the University of Iowa's Homecoming Day (and home game with Northwestern). (And see additional details in, Erin Jordan, "Interviews Will Be Redone in U of I Assault Inquiry," Des Moines Register, July 24, 2008, and the Register's thoughtful editorial, Editorial, "Board right to open U of I athletic probe," Des Moines Register, July 24, 2008.)
There is an additional bit of information in the last line of Hermiston's story that is perhaps worthy of comment.
Yesterday I wrote (below) about a potential issue of media manipulation in this story: the shift of focus (whether inadvertent or intentional) away from the allegations in the mother's November 19 letter, and onto the existence of the letter -- and the University's refusal to make it available to the Regents' investigator.
Well, here is another possible example. It's a common tactic of government agencies and other institutions to save major announcements that might reflect adversely upon them for the evening before major holidays, or forthcoming major news events, when they know there will be few journalists around to cover the story they'd like to kill. I first wrote about this in the Saturday Review , March 11, 1972, in Nicholas Johnson, "Why Ma Bell Still Believes in Santa." (I'd noticed that whenever the FCC was about to stick it to AT&T's customers with a very large rate hike they'd save the release of their decision to the evening before a holiday -- on this particular occasion, Christmas eve.)
So what's in the last line of Hermiston's story? After noting that "Abeberell Satterfield and Cedric Everson . . . have been charged with second-degree sexual abuse. Satterfield faces an additional charge of second-degree sexual abuse. Both men have pleaded not guilty," Hermiston concludes, "Their trials are set for Nov. 3."
Can anybody tell me what is significant about the following day (when the news would appear)? That's right. It's Presidential Election Day. So if you want to know what happens during those trials I suggest you do what folks did 75 to 100 years ago: get a seat in the Johnson County Courthouse court room that day, because there's not going to be a lot of empty space to fill with that news in the next days' papers. The Presidential Election, and all that follows our choice, will be to the news in early November what the floods have been to the news in June and July. Coincidence? Perhaps.
Yesterday's Daily Iowan story about the Regents' meeting contained the following paragraphs part way into the story:
During Mason's term as provost at Purdue University, that school was criticized for its handling of an academic misconduct case. The initial inquiry found a Purdue researcher innocent. The case was reopened, and the subsequent investigation, which closed on July 18, found that the researcher had, in fact, fabricated research results. The Purdue misconduct case reportedly gave members of the UI presidential-search committee pause, but those issues aren't playing a part in this controversy. "We're focused on the current situation," Miles told a DI reporter after the meeting.Alyssa Cushman, "Regents reopen rape probe: Top UI officials withheld documents,"The Daily Iowan, July 23, 2008.
I have no personal knowledge of the details referred to, or why they were inserted where they were in the story, and thus have only curiosity rather than comment.
However, State29, who retired
from blogging earlier this month, has no such reluctance and briefly came
out of retirement to post, State29,
"Sally Mason, Miss Coverup 2008," July 22, 2008 -- but before going
there: "Caution: Rough Blog Ahead; Enter At Your Own Risk; Must Be 18 Or
Over."
Now What? -- July 23, 2008
Thank goodness this is all behind us now, right? Well, not quite.
Each of the major news organizations and reporters covering the story have wrap up pieces this morning. Erin Jordan, "Regents reopen assault inquiry," Des Moines Register, July 23, 2008; Lee Hermiston, "Regents to re-examine UI's handling of assault case," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 23, 2008, p. A1; Gregg Hennigan, Regents to reopen UI rape inquiry; UI withheld letter to protect woman’s privacy; president apologizes to regents for omission," The Gazette, July 23, 2008, p. A1.
Have you noticed how virtually everyone -- Regents, UI administrators, and even the media -- have switched our focus?
When the mother's November 19 letter was revealed, the issues involved the contents of the letter -- how the alleged victim and her family members had been treated (or ignored) by UI administrators.
And what's the issue now? The existence of the letter! Why was the letter not made available to the Regents -- either last fall, when it was received, or during the course of the Regents first investigation? Were the administrators' reasonable and truthful in arguing that they were legally prohibited from turning it over?
Those are certainly interesting issues, worthy of being pursued. But they scarcely go to the heart of what this part of the case (i.e., the behavior of the administrators, as distinguished from the alleged behavior of the accused) is all about.
Whether intentionally or not, the result of yesterday's meeting is that the allegations in the mother's letter -- indeed, anything having to do with UI administrators' behavior -- will by tomorrow be nowhere to be found on the front pages of Iowa newspapers, and soon thereafter will have passed from the public's mind and memory.
The Regents won't be willing to talk about them because, well, that's now the responsibility of their "advisory committee." The UI administrators never have been willing to go into detail publicly. (And of course no one can talk about the other matter, the criminal proceeding against the accused.) That pretty well pulls the rug out from under the media, as well, once all the sources, and access to records, have disappeared.
One is also left to ponder how on earth the Regents' first investigation could have come up with the conclusion -- a position that President Mason continued to express even yesterday -- that (in her words, from The Gazette) "I have no reason, at this point, to suspect or expect that anyone did anything that was against policy or procedure."
Doesn't one's acceptance of her assertion necessarily require an accompanying conclusion that virtually all of the events, meetings, and conversations recounted in the mother's November 19 letter are lies?
Re-read her letter; it's included in this blog entry. Is it conceivable that any institution would have "policy or procedure" with which the behavior alleged would be consistent?
So, the Regents' investigator didn't have access to the letter. So shame on the UI administrators for not turning it over. But how, if even half of what it contained is true, would none of that come out in a thorough investigation -- even without access to the letter? Were penetrating questions not asked? Were they asked, but not fully and truthfully responded to? Whatever the reasons, the Regents aren't looking all that good this morning either.
It's all a little too reminiscent of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld's reaction to the photographs from Abu Ghraib. As Secretary Rumsfeld characterized the problem in his testimony before the U.S. Senate, "It is the photographs, the people running around with digital cameras." The problem, in short, was the public relations impact on American citizens (and possibly the president's re-election), and on Iraqis' "hearts and minds." The problem was not our pre-interrogation techniques, the problem was the pictures of those techniques. No cameras, no problem.
So it is with the University's response to this alleged sexual assault. The problem is not the behavior of UI administrators -- so long as there are no pictures or contemporaneous records of what they did. The problem is that a contemporaneous record has surfaced. No letter from the mother, no problem.
I hasten to note that I stand by everything I wrote yesterday as a part of "My Take," below, and that I have great confidence in the integrity and ability of those appointed by the Regents to their "advisory committee." So I wait, patiently and hopefully, for what I assume will be a report of their findings regarding, step by step, each of the mother's allegations regarding the experiences of the alleged victim and her family members with UI administrators. It will be, presumably, a public document. It is due September 18.
NOTE: Regents' Meeting Today [Tuesday, July 22] . . .
. . . [Tuesday, 4:25 p.m.] Mason apologizes:
"Let me begin by expressing my profound and sincere regret for the failure to notify you of the letters that came to the University of Iowa from the mother of the UI student who reported being sexually assaulted last fall in Hillcrest Residence Hall. I apologize for this error and for not making certain that the board had access to all information relevant to this case." "The original thinking that federal law known as FERPA, designed to protect student privacy, prevented the letter from being shared with our Board of Regents leadership is just not tenable. There is no excuse for the failure to turn over those letter as part of the investigation that you directed the Board of Regents office to conduct in the wake of the report of the assault.""Regents reopen investigation; Mason apologizes," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008; her full statement to the Board of Regents is contained in "UI President Mason responds to Regents’ request," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008, 3:49 p.m.
Barta issues statement. "Barta 'Welcomes' Second Investigation," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa -- not to mention what will soon be hundreds of readers submitting comments on today's stories -- is not impressed with an "advisory committee," another Board of Regents investigation, and President Mason's promise of a review. Scott Dochterman and Gregg Hennigan, "Regents will reopen investigation of UI sexual assault," The Gazette Online, July 22, 2008, updated 4:24 p.m. (look for sub-head "ICLU calls for independent investigation").
And note, Lee Hermiston, "UI releases victim's mother's letter," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008, 12:17 p.m., and Erin Jordan, "Prosecutor: No U of I obstruction in sex abuse case," Des Moines Register, July 22, 2008, 11:36 a.m. ("Accusations that University of Iowa athletics officials tried to keep sex abuse allegations in-house don't amount to obstruction of justice charges, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said today.").
. . . [Monday, 7:30 p.m.] "The board will meet [Tuesday, July 22] at 3 p.m. in Room W401 of the Pappajohn Business Administration Building." "Regents to Meet at UI to Discuss Assault Investigation," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 21, 2008.
Here is a link to Regents' General Counsel Tom Evans' earlier report, characterized by Lee Hermiston, below, as a "13-page report released by the regents in their June 11-12 meeting agenda." Lee Hermiston, "Regents to Reopen Sex Assault Investigation," Iowa City Press-Citizen online, July 22, 2008, 11:32 a.m. ("The Iowa state Board of Regents plans to reopen the investigation of the University of Iowa’s compliance with its policies and procedures while responding to the alleged Oct. 14, 2007 assault involving UI football players. According to the agenda for today’s 3 p.m. regents’ meeting at the university, the regents will discuss the establishment of an advisory committee to the Board of Regents.") For comments about all of this from a former Hawkeye, and subsequently professional, football player with some class -- along with how Coach Hayden Fry dealt with the challenges -- see Pat Harty, "Dwight troubled by UI legal woes; Former Hawk says some players' misconduct embarrasses program," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008.
And see, Lee Hermiston, "Regents investigator not aware of letters from victim's mother,"Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 21, 2008 -- in next day's hard copy edition as Lee Hermiston, "Letter Not Included in Investigation; Regents' Attorney Never Given Mom's Criticism of Response to Alleged Assault," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 22, 2008, p. A1:
“I wasn’t made aware of the existence of either letter,” Evans said, adding UI General Counsel Marcus Mills told him of the letters Friday morning. . . . According to Evans’ [13-page report released by the regents in their June 11-12, 2008, meeting agenda], after a “comprehensive review of the facts … it is clear the University officials fully complied with internal procedural requirements.” However, Evans’ comprehensive review seemingly did not include any input from the victim or her family. “We asked to speak to the family, and they declined,” Evans said.And, below, the 26 questions to which the Press-Citizen thinks the Regents should obtain answers from University of Iowa administrators. Erin Jordan reports this morning [July 22] that Regents' President David Miles has boiled them down to two:
• Why did U of I officials not tell regents about letters the university received from the alleged victim's mother?Erin Jordan, "Regents to Evaluate U of I Action in Rape Case," Des Moines Register, July 22, 2008.• Do the mother's letters, which include allegations the U of I mishandled the case and tried to keep it in the athletic department, warrant reopening an investigation of how the incident was handled?
And I have another "media question." Given that the information was known on Friday, July 18, all over the Press-Citizen's front page on Saturday, July 19, and the Sunday Register's front page July 20 (not to mention the Chicago Tribune's Web site and those of numerous other newspapers and television stations Saturday [July 19] evening -- even USA Today had it on the 21st) why did the Gazette wait until this evening [July 21], in a story first posted around 5:00 p.m., and updated at 8:08 p.m., to touch it? Gregg Hennigan, "Regents Demand answers From UI About Assault Letters," The Gazette, July 21, 2008, updated 8:08PM -- headlined in the next morning's hard copy edition as Gregg Hennigan, "Board Demands Answers From UI; Letter in Which Mom of Alleged Assault Victim Claims Daughter Was Pressured Comes to Light After Inquiry," The Gazette, July 22, 2008, p. A1.
(a) If there was an initial concern that story was copyright, that was resolved when it became an AP story at 6:00 p.m. and others began going with it.Having now played my role as The Gazette's media ombudsperson let me go on to balance it a bit by referring you to its editorial this morning, as yet one more example of the outstanding local leadership the paper provides Eastern Iowa on a range of public policy issues -- this time having to do with future planning regarding local floodplains. Editorial, "Explore Where We Haven't Gone Before," The Gazette, July 22, 2008, p. A4. [Monday, 1:30 p.m.](b) If there was reluctance to make reference to a story that a competitor broke, that's worrisome. Readers ought to be able to rely on each individual paper for local news without having to read them all to see the scoops of its competitors.
(c) If there was reluctance to go with "allegations" (in the mother's letter) without confirmation of the alleged facts, once the letter was spread across the pages of the Press-Citizen no one's privacy could be preserved by The Gazette's reluctance to print. Besides it could always, as it ultimately did, report as its "news" not the letter, or the allegations it contained, but the mere fact that the Press-Citizen had published the letter and accompanying story.
(d) If a story is not a story until some official government body (the Regents) announces it is going to have a meeting about it, that's another illustration of this troublesome tendency of mainstream media.
Monday's Register reports there's a second letter; Regents to meet:
Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles said he is shocked University of Iowa officials did not tell regents about letters they received from the mother of a U of I student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by U of I athletes last fall. The board will meet Tuesday afternoon in Iowa City to discuss in an open meeting the U of I's response to the reported assault and the reasons why the mother's letters were not disclosed to the regents during an earlier investigation of how the incident was handled. . . . The university did not do itself any favors by not providing this document," Miles said. [See below for story about, and full text of, the first letter.] . . . The mother sent a second letter to U of I President Sally Mason on May 16, regents confirmed. . . . "It [the letter/s] raises a lot of concerns as to the level of support given to a student who was alleged to have been a victim to a criminal act, a felony," [Regent Bob] Downer said. . . . [T]he board investigated the handling of the incident earlier this year. The investigation was ordered because of concerns about a three-week delay between the date of the alleged assault and the start of a police investigation. The board office staff released a report in June saying the U of I did nothing wrong.Erin Jordan, "Regents official 'shocked' by letters sent to U of I," Des Moines Register, July 21, 2008.
The July 19 blog entry, as modified July 20:
For the benefit of those out of town readers of this blog who check it for University of Iowa news, there's more on the UI sexual assault case this morning. Here are some links. This blog entry will be expanded today, and kept up to date as anything more is revealed. And speaking of "more revealed," today marks the first day of this fall's "Hawkeye football criminal season." It's small potatoes compared with the primary story in today's blog entry, but this morning a Iowa freshman football player got the season off to a dramatic start:
Incoming University of Iowa freshman football player Riley Reiff pleaded guilty to public intoxication and interference with official acts early Saturday morning . . . [and] was fined $562 . . . following a drunken chase in downtown Iowa City [where he] was observed as disoriented and taking off his clothes in an alley . . . ran into the Pita Pit's kitchen and knocked several trays on the floor, according to police. Police say it took nearly 20 minutes and eight officers to apprehend Reiff. He . . . refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Since April 2007, 18 Iowa football players have been arrested, including five on felony charges. Iowa officials were unavailable for comment.Scott Dochterman, "Iowa football player pleads guilty after downtown chase,"The Gazette Online, July 19, 2008, 2:01 p.m.
I have written at great length about the much more serious events throughout the past 9 months involving football players alleged to have engaged in a sexual assault, and will not add to that today, with the exception of some summaries, and the provision of links. (See, e.g., Nicholas Johnson, "UI, Sexual Assaults and Secrecy," January 5-9, 2008, and its links to additional blog entries; and Nicholas Johnson, "Not Getting Answers," November 21, 2007, with links to four prior blog entries, including Nicholas Johnson, "Trouble in River City," November 16, 2007.)
For clarity, I'll provide one of those summaries right here. As I've written for months, there are really two stories here that tend to get conflated in the media and the public mind.
(1) One involves who was involved, and what happened involving the alleged victim, the early morning of October 14. Those allegations and facts, and the legal process they have triggered, are for the most part not involved in today's story. (One of the latest set of revelations of those details are reported in Lee Hermiston and Brian Morelli, "Documents detail sexual assault case; Judge orders release of court records," Iowa City Press-Citizen, June 17, 2008, p. A1.)
(2) Today's news only (or primarily) concerns the second story. That is the story of University of Iowa officials. What did they know and when did they know it (to borrow Senator Howard Baker's famous repeated question during the Watergate hearings) -- and what did they do about it? Who talked to whom, when, about what, and what action followed (redacting as appropriate names of and details regarding the alleged victim and accused)? What are the University's procedures governing its administrators in such situations? Were they followed? Were administrators totally candid with the Board of Regents during its investigation (e.g., did they or did they not provide the mother's letter to the investigator)? Were professions of "sensitivity" for the alleged victim -- offered as a reason for a refusal to disclose their own communications and meetings with each other -- perhaps motivated, even in some small part, by a desire to cover up their own behavior?
In its online edition, July 21, the Press-Citizen came up with the following expansion on those questions:
• Who at UI met with the alleged victim between Oct. 14 and Nov. 5?Editorial, "Sex Assault Questions That Must be Answered," Iowa City Press-Citizen online, July 21, 2008.
How many times did each UI official meet with the alleged victim and what was the purpose of the meetings?
What was said by the officials, the alleged victim, her family and others the meetings?
Are there written records or audio or video recordings that document the meetings?• Did UI officials encourage the victim to keep the matter in-house?
If so, why?
If not, can UI provide documentation?• Did UI follow its policies in this case?
Were any of the policies in conflict with each other?
Were the policies bad policies?
Did anyone at UI raise concerns about the policies or the handling of the matter in general?• Did UI provide, or offer to provide, copies of the letter from the alleged victim’s mother to the Iowa state Board of Regents when it asked questions about this matter?
If not, why not?
What questions did the Board of Regents ask UI when it was investigating these issues in late 2007?
Who did Regents representatives talk to when they investigated?
Do the Regents now feel that investigation was adequate?• Has there been a review of the security situation at Hillcrest Hall?
If so, who conducted the review?
Did UI football players have a key to the vacated room in the dormitory where the assault allegedly took place?
If so, who gave them the key?
Whose room was it?
Did UI officials know the room was empty at the time of the alleged assault?
Did UI violate its residence hall policies?
Did UI officials allow or direct Hawkeye football players to move back into the room after the alleged assault?
If so, when, and why?
Did football players throw away things found in the room that might have been evidence in the criminal case?
Did UI officials know that potential evidence might have been removed?• Has anyone at UI been disciplined or reprimanded as a result of their handling of this matter?
Like Will Rogers, "All I know is what I read in the papers." I have no inside information regarding the answers to those questions -- nor do I have any way to evaluate the truth of what's alleged in the letter said to be from the alleged victim's mother, nor in the University's conflicting "statement." So I'll just refer you to "the papers" and let you draw your own conclusions. (By Saturday evening some 64 Press-Citizen readers had not only done so, they were sufficiently motivated to share them by way of the paper's "comments" feature.)
Here's the most significant single story with which to begin: Brian Morelli and Lee Hermiston, "Alleged victim's mom criticizes UI; Says university officials were unresponsive," Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 19, 2008, p. A1.
The Press-Citizen (which includes the letter in today's hard copy edition) has provided only a pdf version on its Web site. So I have reproduced below what I believe may be the only online text version of the letter available on the Internet.
Although no University official was willing to respond to the letter, or otherwise provide a statement for the press, a statement from "the University" -- an account totally at odds with that of the mother -- is contained in the Morelli and Hermiston story.
Media coverage. The Gazette
made no mention of the story in its updated, online edition -- understandably,
perhaps, in its "New
Database: Relive Some of the Greatest Moments in Iowa Hawkeye Football
History" section, but not even in its special "Iowa
City Assaults Against Women" section -- nor did the Des Moines Register.
However, the Quad
City Times did, and by 6:00 p.m. the Chicago Tribune had
done so as well, Associated
Press, "Iowa allegedly pressed to keep rape probe in house," Chicago
Tribune, July 19, 2008, 6:00 p.m. CDT -- along with Minneapolis station
WCCO-TV, and other national and regional newspapers and stations. In
the Register's Sunday, July 20, hard copy edition it ran the
Morelli and Hermiston story on p. 1 (though there was still no whisper
of it in The Gazette that morning). Having read the mother's letter,
you might want to compare it with President Sally Mason's comments to the
Press-Citizen
on November 20, 2007 -- almost precisely the same time as the mother's
letter. Here is the relevant 5-minute video excerpt from that conference.