H.A.:USM in 2004 - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Dec 31, 2004

H.A.:USM in 2004

Date: Dec 31, 2004

Texas A & M allocated the funds to bid on rare books on auction at Sotheby's in London. Stringer travelled there for the auction and to continue his reserach in British archives.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

...the situation at USM was heating up.

"It was the best of times and the worst of times," Dvorak said, quoting Charles Dickens.

Thanks for posting the link. My print edition ended in the middle of the next-to-last sentence & I couldn't find the rest. So it's wonderful to know that AD can quote Dickens.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

English professor and John Donne scholar Stringer, 64, now teaches at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and recently returned from England where the school helped him purchase $85,000 in new materials for his long-term Donne research project.

I am happy for Gary. He is clearly at a place that appreciates and supports his fine work. Anybody catch the irony here? TAMU is providing Gary with $85,000 in materials to support his research. Our library doesn't have the money to buy a single book this year.

World class my a$$!

Date: Dec 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Magnolia
"English professor and John Donne scholar Stringer, 64, now teaches at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and recently returned from England where the school helped him purchase $85,000 in new materials for his long-term Donne research project. I am happy for Gary. He is clearly at a place that appreciates and supports his fine work. Anybody catch the irony here? TAMU is providing Gary with $85,000 in materials to support his research. Our library doesn't have the money to buy a single book this year. World class my a$$! "

I don't recall seeing Syd Conner's name on one of Babbs' departure lists, but he is continuing his work as the Donne Editorial Assistant at TAMU. http://donnevariorum.tamu.edu/

Date: Dec 31, 2004

The only problem that I saw with the article is that they did not list ALL of the controversies / issues that USM has contended with this year:

1) The e-mail monitoring scam (granted, it was connected to G & S).

2) The rapidly dwindling faculty numbers.

3) The reduction down to Tier 4 in the US News & World Report rankings.

And I'm sure that there are more that I am forgetting! Like the article said, it's been a HELL of a year for USM.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Corrections Officer
"The only problem that I saw with the article is that they did not list ALL of the controversies / issues that USM has contended with this year: 1) The e-mail monitoring scam (granted, it was connected to G & S). 2) The rapidly dwindling faculty numbers. 3) The reduction down to Tier 4 in the US News & World Report rankings. And I'm sure that there are more that I am forgetting! Like the article said, it's been a HELL of a year for USM."

C.O., in the hard copy edition there is a block section in the back pages that list more of the issues, such as, the reduction down to Tier 4. It wasn't with the on-line edition.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Magnolia
"World class my a$$! "

Is this original? I kinda like it. It scans.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

No, it is not new, but it is great! I think I remember first use but it would take me some time to find it, do you care?

Date: Dec 31, 2004

ANYBODY who just stands by and lets this invasion of email--this George Orwell 1984 thing--pass with such little outcry deserves what they have gotten in Tiny Thames ever since that time! Shame on all of you for letting that pass!

Date: Dec 31, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: phung
"ANYBODY who just stands by and lets this invasion of email--this George Orwell 1984 thing--pass with such little outcry deserves what they have gotten in Tiny Thames ever since that time! Shame on all of you for letting that pass!"

What do you suggest phung? How could this have been prevented? "letting that pass" assumes power or control. There was a huge "outcry", but the people had no power and some even pointed out that the "law" was on SFT's side.

Please explain.

Date: Dec 31, 2004

It won't pass. Count on it. Put money on it. I am.

Date: Jan 1, 2005

quote:
Originally posted by: Corrections Officer
"The only problem that I saw with the article is that they did not list ALL of the controversies / issues that USM has contended with this year:

1) The e-mail monitoring scam (granted, it was connected to G & S).

2) The rapidly dwindling faculty numbers.

3) The reduction down to Tier 4 in the US News & World Report rankings.

And I'm sure that there are more that I am forgetting! Like the article said, it's been a HELL of a year for USM."

Was monitoring Rachel Quinlevin and Myron Henry part of the spying on G/S? Rumor has it that there were others--AAUP people mainly.

Date: Jan 1, 2005

Music Patron,

At the hearing in April, Thames claimed that he was reading Rachel Quinlivan and Myron Henry's email as part of his spying on Frank Glamser and Gary Stringer.

But under the Computer Use Policy he forced through in 2002 Thames and his purported spymaster Angie Dvorak could spy on anyone they pleased...even send iTech into their offices to copy their hard disks... and there is no reason to suppose that they limited their spying to FG and GS. The Computer Use Policy doesn't officially apply against students but Thames has obviously interpreted it to authorize reading their email as well.

Since Thames instituted the PUC/PC, it's done a good deal more than I initially thought it was going to, despite its complete powerlessness. The PC couldn't get Thames to admit the full extent of his spying, but he did agree to have any future spying OKed by a committee with faculty representation. However, the PC has no power and can't make Thames abide by the agreement. Thames obviously acted in bad faith... and no such committee has actually been put together.

Meanwhile, since Dave Beckett became president, the Faculty Senate has performed well on the accreditation crisis and the Gulf Coast Incident, but got buffaloed and snookered on Angie Dvorak's vita and has dropped the ball completely on the Computer Use Policy. Everyone connected with the Faculty Senate seems eager to put forth reasons for not bothering, so I will say this just one more time ...

If a Senate committee draws up a decent Computer Use Policy (the policy in force at St. Lawrence University, as cited by Steve Horwitz on Liberty and Power a few months ago, is a pretty good model), and the Senate passes a resolution calling on Thames and the Board to adopt it, Thames and the Board will then have to explain to the media why they are rejecting it. Since email snooping goes over badly with the media, and with signficant portions of the general public (such as students and their parents), Thames and the Board will reap another harvest of bad publicity unless they rescind the 2002 Computer Use Policy and renounce future email snooping.

Robert Campbell