When the Media Attacks: Survival stories from the Field

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When the Media AttacksSurvival stories from the
Field
Presenters Dr. William Austin, President Tina
Kolodzieski, Executive Admin. Assistant
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The e-Mail

• September 15, 2005
• Politics comes to Campus article appears in
  Washington Times
• Friday, November 11th
• Mr. Dalys Father receives award on Veterans Day
  from State Senator
• Saturday, November 12th
• Student uses private email to spam any professor
  for which she has obtained a private e-mail
  address
• Sunday, November 13th _at_ Approximately 100 am
• Mr. Daly Responds
• Monday, November 14th _at_ 1000 pm
• Club Advisor sends e-mail alert to president
• Thursday November 17th Issue Resolved _at_ 1PM?
• President, Provost, Dean of Students meet with
  Student John Daly separately

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The e-Mail in Question
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Welcome to the News

• Thursday November 17th _at_ 3PM
• After issue is resolved to students
  satisfaction, she appears on the Sean Hannity
  Radio show and expresses anxiety and trepidation
• Thursday November 17th _at_ 4PM
• Calls and Emails begin to flood the campus
• Thursday November 17th _at_ 7PM
• Presentation with 30 attendees takes place
  without incident on campus
• Friday, November 18th
• Websites around the nation erroneously begin to
  post stories that President is bullying student
  into silence to build support for the cause
• Friday, November 18th
• Student appears on Tony Snow Radio Show, Sean
  Hannity Radio, other nationally syndicated shows,
  and Hannity Colmes Fox News TV Show
• Saturday, November 19th
• Student appears on Fox News, Big Weekend Show,
  issues intensify now to a racial level.

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(No Transcript)
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Sean Hannity
Alan Colmes
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Pundits, Pundits, Pundits

• John Daly Resigns, Best Syndication
• Rosen Another Nutty Professor, Rocky Mountain
  News
• Professor Quits, The Washington Times
• Adjunct in e-Mail Uproar Quits, Inside Higher Ed
• Pre-emptive Strike 'Fragging Prof' Quits,
  WorldNetDaily
• 'Fragging Prof' Fears He'll Be 'Terminated',
  WorldNetDaily
• Furor Over an e-Mail, Inside Higher Ed
• Prof Incites Outrage With 'Fragging' e-Mail, The
  Star Ledger, NJ.Com
• College Probes Teacher Who Urged Fragging by GIs,
  The Washington Times
• Professor Defends Position on Ending The War In
  Iraq, The Express Times
• Professor To Soldiers Kill Officers In Iraq,
  WorldNetDaily
• Rebecca Beach On Hannity Colmes, Friday,
  November 18, Fox News
• Others to Offer Opinions Rush Limbaugh, Tony
  Snow, The Boston Globe

Limbaugh Snow
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Fox News Big Story Weekend
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The Virtual Sit-in

• No physical activity on campus
• No one intimidating anyone at WCCC.
• Thousands of phone calls incoming
• 4 out of 5 incoming calls related to this issue
• Rampant e-mail spamming
• Thousands of e-mails deluge IT systems
• Mostly hate mail and massive spamming
• Threats versus spam
• Increased volume inundates campus e-mail system
  with viruses, sexually explicit materials, fake
  college degree ads, fake pharmaceutical
  advertisements
• Numerous unsuccessful computer hacking attempts
• Administrative business severely hindered

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The Staff Perspective

• Faculty Issues
• Professional Staff
• Support Staff
• Answering the Presidents Phone
• Administrative Perspectives

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Whats a Leader to Do?

• Sunday, November 20th
• Chair President determine that a board meeting
  is necessary to review all options,
  responsibilities, and to determine the best
  course of action
• Unfortunately since newspaper is closed on
  Sunday, NJ Law requires that the meeting be
  labeled an Emergency Meeting rather than a
  Special Meeting by sunshine law statutes if
  done within 48 hours, and Thanksgiving Holiday
  necessitates less than 48 hours public notice
• Monday, November 21st
• Quasi-business as usual.

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Necessary Action Steps

• Inform board members
• Inform faculty
• Inform staff
• Inform students
• Inform public (local only)
• Secure campus
• Secure information systems
• Make decisions quickly
• Concentrate PR locally
• WCCC not the battleground of free speech
• Conduct research
• Determine legal, moral, ethical, and social
  responsibilities

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Back to Mission, Clean-Up

• Tuesday, November 22nd
• Mr. Daly resigns prior to Board Meeting
• Board Meeting still held to discuss relevant
  issues
• Wednesday, November 23rd
• President Chair appear on local radio to ensure
  community is well informed and that issue is put
  to rest
• Thursday, November 24th, Thanksgiving
• College closed
• Monday, November 28th
• Student appears on Hannity Colmes for final
  time
• December-to-Date
• All kinds of opinions, very few facts

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(No Transcript)
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End Result

• Adjunct resigns
• Student only takes one online class at
  institution
• Campus climate mission most critical
• Almost all external reporting erroneous
• Realization that this is a minor incident
• Community is very supportive
• Years of positive can be undone quickly
• Honesty is best policy
• Concentrate on the community you serve
• Students are the ones damaged in this case

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Total 3-day Cost to Address Issue
Total costs do not include phone, fax,
anti-spam, or other post-incident changes.
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Later What We Learned

• Policies, Policies, Policies
• Plans, Plans, Plans
• Tighten all contracts
• Emotional issues cause varied opinions and
  unfortunately long-term implications.
• Regardless of any public opinion, those making
  the decisions, live with the truth of those
  choices and the uninformed speculations of the
  public sphere
• It was just what WCCC needed to bring the
  internal campus together after two years of
  massive change

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Time Hope Cures All Wounds
I Just hope no one has opinions on the economy!
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You can only live life forward and understand it
backward.