In today’s column, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Alliance Defense Fund has now officially heard that Scott Savage has been cleared of sexual harassment charges. The bad news is that his clearance letter is quite strange. In fact, it raises new concerns about free speech at OSU-Mansfield.
The letter clearing Mr. Savage is dated April 6th but the envelope in which it was sent is postmarked April 18th. This raises some interesting questions. First of all, why would the university wait for twelve days — well after the case got national exposure – to send Scott Savage the letter? Also, is it possible that they backdated the letter to make it look like he was promptly exonerated? Furthermore, if the date is true, why would they let Scott worry about the matter for almost two more weeks?
The content of the clearance letter is also strange. In response to the complaint the university recommends such things as “discrimination/harassment training.” The university says an initiative is needed to “promote frank, open and respectful discussion among faculty and library staff…” Who would you guess has volunteered to “spearhead” that effort? According to the letter, it is none other than Dr. Norman Jones.
For those who don’t remember, Dr. Jones was one of the faculty members who was allegedly “harassed” by Scott Savage. He was also the man who wrote the following in an e-mail:
I would add, however, that whatever book we choose should have some scholarly merit. The anti-gay book Scott Savage endorses (below) falsely claims that “the widely revered father of the ‘sexual revolution’ has been irrefutably exposed as a full-fledged sexual psychopath who encouraged pedophilia.” …By any scholarly standards, regardless of whether one is more conservative or liberal, this kind of claim is a Jerry-Springer-style anti-factual rabble-rousing that has no place in any university. I am frankly embarrassed for you, Scott, that you would endorse this kind of homophobic tripe.”
Dr. Jones was also the one who put the “harassment” issue in front of the faculty with the following words:
The fact that Scott continues to endorse a book that calls me and Jim and other gay and lesbian people “evil,” and that he justifies this book on grounds that are ludicrous by scholarly standards, says to me this is about homophobia…This is a matter of professional standards and competence, and it is also a matter of harassment—of creating a hostile work environment insofar as part of our jobs (mine and Jim’s, but also all the faculty’s) is to use the library for both research and teaching.
Evie and Ted are investigating this matter with all appropriate gravity and diligence… Some of my senior colleagues intend to raise this issue in Monday’s Faculty Assembly…
But the administration of OSU-Mansfield is even more arrogant than Dr. Jones. This following passage from the clearance letter is just too strange to make up:
Please note that we understand your [Scott Savage’s] dissatisfaction and frustration with having to be brought into this investigation. As you know, though, the University has a compelling obligation to address allegations and suspected instances of discrimination/harassment when it obtains information THAT WOULD LEAD A REASONABLE PERSON TO BELIEVE THAT ITS POLICY HAD BEEN VIOLATED. (Emphasis added).
Since the gay thought police at OSU-Mansfield still don’t get it, I have decided to craft my own clearance letter for Scott Savage. This should put the entire ordeal to rest immediately:
Dear Scott:
Recently, a professor named JF Buckley accused you of sexual harassment for recommending a book with which he disagrees. He claims to have felt “harassed” and “threatened” because he is a gay man. That causal attribution is untrue. Professor Buckley feels that way because he is emotionally unstable.
It would be entirely reasonable for you to file charges of religious harassment against him — clearly if anyone has been harassed in this case it is you. But a judge would not likely find Professor Buckley competent to stand trial. He isn’t even competent enough to use a spell-checker. Furthermore, the stress of a trial would likely put him in a permanent catatonic state. Neither one of us wants to see him sitting in a padded room drooling and repeating phrases like “give me tolerance or give me shock treatment.”
As for Professor Jones’ charge of harassment, bear in mind that he is an Assistant Professor. He was just trying to use the incident for tenure and promotion purposes. In other words, he’s just a self-serving son of a bitch. If I were you, I would sue him for slander. I hope this helps, Scott. Keep the faith. You’re a great American.
I plan to send my letter to the entire faculty ([email protected]) of OSU-Mansfield. If you decide to write them, don’t say where you got their addresses. I don’t want to get sued for harassment and discrimination. Well, never mind. Now that I think about it, tell them Dr. Adams sent you.
Dr. Adams will speak at the University of Oregon on May 16th. Details will follow on his website.
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Mike S. Adams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on October 30, 1964. While a student at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX, his team won the state 5A soccer championship. Mike Adams graduated from C.L.H.S. in 1983 with a 1.8 GPA. Mike Adams was ranked 734 among a class of 740, largely as a result of flunking English all four years of high school. After obtaining an Associate's degree in psychology from San Jacinto College, Mike Adams moved on to Mississippi State University where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. While living in the fraternity house, his GPA rose to 3.4, allowing him to finish his B.A., and then to pursue a Master's in Psychology. In 1990, Mike Adams turned down a chance to pursue a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia, opting instead to remain at Mississippi State to study Sociology/Criminology. This decision was made entirely on the basis of his reluctance to quit his night job as member of a musical duo. Playing music in bars and at fraternity parties and weddings financed his education. Mike Adams also played for free beer.
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Upon getting his doctorate in 1993, Adams, then an atheist and a Democrat, was hired by UNC-Wilmington to teach in the criminal justice program. A few years later, Adams abandoned his atheism and also became a Republican. He also nearly abandoned teaching when he took a one-year leave of absence to study law at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998. After returning to teach at UNC-Wilmington, Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award (issued by the Office of the Dean of Students) for the second time in 2000.
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After his involvement in a well publicized free speech controversy in the wake of the 911 terror attacks, Adams became a vocal critic of the diversity movement in academia. After making appearances on shows like Hannity and Colmes, the O'Reilly Factor, and Scarborough Country, Adams was asked to write a column for Townhall.com.
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Today Mike Adams enjoys the privilege of expressing himself both as a teacher and a writer. Mike Adams is also an avid hunter and reader of classic literature. Mike Adams published his first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. His second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus, was published in 2008.
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