Michael Wilner's Violates "The Basic Rule of Conduct"... Still Goes to Kuwait On School's Dime

A few people have written in to me personally expressing doubt as to whether or not assaulting a girl is grounds for punishment under Claremont McKenna's code of conduct. They ask in all seriousness, so to help to dispel some of the rumors that Wilner did nothing bad, I would point to the school's rules, which I note violations of here.

Enough people have also asked for this information for their own emails that they plan to send Pamela Gann asking why it is that she routinely intercedes on his behalf. These people rightly ask what the college is doing to protect them against someone accused of assaulting a girl.

So here are the alleged violations.

1. Actions which cause the personal injury or death of another, or which threaten or endanger
the personal safety or well-being of others. Such actions include, but are not limited to:
1. b. "Engaging in disorderly conduct."
1. f. "Physically abusing, threatening to abuse, or intimidating another person."
1. h.  "Engaging in physical or verbal actions which injure, degrade or disgrace another person, or tend to cause such effects."

As I have detailed on this site, the evidence supports repeatedly violations by Michael Wilner CMC '11 of the school's rules. And the responsibility lies with President Gann to enforce the school's rules. I note the section of the school rules entitled "Summary Suspension"

Each College President or his or her designated representative after due warning to the person(s) involved, and subject to later review by the duly designated judicial body of the College concerned, has the power on his or her own campus to suspend students of any of the Claremont Colleges who are engaged in actions which endanger the safety and/or property of Members of the Claremont Colleges, which cause damage to the property of the Colleges or which result in disruption or obstruction of the operation of the Colleges. [Emphasis added]

Unfortunately, President Gann, despite evidence that Wilner has violated school policies, has decided that he deserves not punishment for allegedly assaulting a girl, but the ability to go on a trip to Kuwait. That trip left yesterday.

It now appears as if we have one set of rules for one group of students and another for everyone else. This is disappointing, to say the least. I submit that the standards for officers of our student government ought to be higher than that of rank-and-file students, even if those officers are appointed, which Wilner, as editor of the CMC Forum is. I submit further that these standards of conduct should be especially high for students who the president has singled out for praise and award. So why aren't they?

If the college will do nothing, I am left with no choice but to widely publicize who Mr. Wilner is. Consider it the public service announcement we never got.

Pomona's VP Robert Robinson Accused of "Violent Anger," Kicking a Chair During Conversation

Robert Robinson, Assistant Vice President and Director of Facilities and Campus Services, has been accused of "violent anger" by three students -- from Workers for Justice. (Workers for Justice is an activist coalition of students, workers, and some faculty committed to helping the workers bargain for certain rights.)

If these allegations are true, Pomona College should demand that Mr. Robinson apologize and issue a statement. Students should never feel the threat of violence against themselves for a political position that they happen to hold. In fairness to Mr. Robinson, the students, who are negotiated for perks for the workers, do have incentive to portray the other side of those negotiations as violent, even if they are not. Still, though, filing a police report is a big deal. Violence is unacceptable. The threat of violence is, at least, according to CMC's policy,

"Actions which cause the personal injury or death of another, or which threaten or endanger the personal safety or well-being of others. Such actions include, but are not limited to: ...
b. Engaging in disorderly conduct.
f. Physically abusing, threatening to abuse, or intimidating another person."

Note: When it comes to private sector workers, The Claremont Conservative takes no official position on unionizing other than noting that a time when unemployment is rather high it seems a bad idea to want to unionize. After all, you have a right to join a union; your employer has a right to fire you for joining a union. Mandatory union dues and efforts to undo the secret ballot seem rather thuggish and we're anti-thug. 

A Little Funny: Bassam Frangieh, Professor at Pomona College?

Bassam Frangieh's research assistant bemoaned how he was going to be known forever for being a supporter of terrorism, not a teacher of Arabic. 

Perhaps that's why he's described thusly in the description for his book, Arabic for Life. It is his first book since I uncovered his support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

Bassam Frangieh is professor of Arabic at Pomona College. He previously taught at Georgetown, Yale, and the Foreign Service Institute. He is the author of Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought from Pre-Islamic Times to the Present, published by Yale University Press.

It seems a likely misprint by Yale University Press, but you know sometimes it feels like the Almighty is winking at us...

Professor Riggio Wants Bullying Illegal

I can't decide if Ron Riggio's latest blog post for Psychology Today is satire -- or his Orwellian tendencies coming through. Decide for yourself, dear reader, and let me know what you think.

The topic? "Should bullying be illegal?" He says yes and points to 20 states where they are considering putting such laws on the books.

I cringe at the workplace environment that would create. Don't we have enough lawyers in the workplace? Dan Ariely seems to think so. The visionary behavioral economist said last week that lawyers were a big impediment to saving companies money.