SUMMER
SPECIAL
volume vii, number 77, july 20, 1972
.lOlPRiBAL
Jordan case
decision due
■■What 1 see here is a lot of people involved in a situation they would
like to let go of if McMillen of the day long hearing of
the^ji^rdonTa^se^riirnl nU/as d^e^d at^the defendants in Jordon's
suite; Dr. McEniry, Dr. Schul i*,- Acedemic Affairs. Dr. Schul is
DeL°^or?h^e"'c^olllge*^ofrciafand'‘ Beh°avioral Sciences. Dr. Goodnight is
Chairman of the Department Sociology McMillen as.".
Dr. Jordon who 3td anyone." has
. a (es'Llly the right to be outspoken) were
vioTaTed in-'the rea'soL the defendants gave for terminating his contract as
Assistant Professor of Sociology here. Daley.
sre\X^eTe^^ by a member of the State Attorney
S:~
fair hearing from the man who is arguing
McMillen seemed distressed ^^out the appare t I
part of McEniry in determining whether or not there Chairman
for the reasons given for Jordon s term.nabon^ ‘’^Accor^ng to McEnirys
Goodnight and former Chairman a -university code" which require
testimony, there are no provisions in fn® »
him to do any investigating in situations i • _ committee
The only attempts at an investigation y^reby^^^^^^ hoc
assembled by Schul and given advi y P .gnured professor (who
composed of three department chairman a"d one tenure pro
later withdrew) were unable to arrive at any decisions ana mao
decision by McMillen is expected to b® fortbcoming
(Any new developments will be reported in the nexr ra
Paper.)
Summer conference
Presidents of North Carolina's
community colleges and technical
institutes will return to UNC—C for
their 7th annual summer conference
on July 23-26.
The conference will open at 7:30
p.m.. Sunday. July 23 with an
address by Dr. Gordon L. Lippitt. a
nationally known consultant to
industry, government and education
and professor of behavioral science
at the George Washington
University.
Dr. Lippitt will lead sessions on
"Coping with Change and Conflict"
during the day on Monday. On
Monday evening there will be a
session on opportunities for
cooperation between community
colleges and senior institutions. It
will be led by Dr. A. K. King,
special assistant to President William
C. Friday of the University of
North Carolina system.
On July 25. Dr. Barbara P.
Washburn, dean of educational
development at Mitchell College,
will le^ sessions on "Leadership in
a Changing Environment." She has
conducted numberous workshops on
individualization of instruction and
other topics of concern to
community college administrators.
Dr. Ben Fountain, president of
the North Carolina Department of
Community Colleges, will hold a
session with his presidents ,at 9:30
a.m. Wednesday. July 26.
The concluding speech will be
delivered by Dr. David S. Bushnell.
senior staff scientist at the Human
Resources Research Organization in
Alexandria. Virginia. He has spent a
year exploring alternative futures for
the nation's community and junior
colleges.
The conference is sponsored by
UNCC and the North Carolina State
Board of Education and is
coordinated by Dr. Bonnie E. Cone,
vice chancellor for student affairs
and community relations at UNCC.
and Dr. Ben H. Hackney. Jr.,
associate professor of education at
UNCC.
TH6 uxaoUw'T 6o Ru-«V.
Dobson named
editor
by conrt
-by sharon deck
The University Court has named Michael Dob»n editor of S®n*rrt and
has denied the Elections Committee the right to rule “"Publicity
-violations, in the latest - but perhaps not the last - phase of
controversy that began in early March. , . ri.,Ker>r. :n thp
Some sources have said that Dean Duncan, who lost to D°bso" " ^be
first election for the editorship of the I"'.''®*® ®
recall petition when classes resume in the fall, in a final attempt to ous
Dobson. Duncan could not be reached for comment on his plans.
Dobson's long trek through the court system began aftei he defeat^
Duncan by only seven votes in the bitterly fought March ^
the campaign, Dobson had distributed the second issue of Sanskrit alo^
with his campaign material, a tactic that many .
unethical. WVFN station manager Steve Garrett complained to the Elertions
Committee on the grounds that Dobson had used 'T®*®'''®*
student fees, the magazine, as campaign material. The Committee ruled t a
Dobson had violated no publicity regulations by doing so-
During the campaign, two of Dobson's campaign workers had mounted a
poster on a window of the dorm cafeteria. Placing posters on windows is
a violation of the publicity rules and regulations.
Duncan complained to the Elections Committee that the poster on t e
window may have swayed four votes to Dobson and changed the outcome
of the election. The committee ruled unanimously that Duncan had been
placed at a disadvantage by illegal publicity, and threw out the election. It
was rescheduled for April 19 and 20. ■ .
Dobson appealed the committee's decision to the Student Superior Court
for three reasons. First, he maintained, he was not responsible for the sign
having been placed on the cafeteria window, since it had been done
without his knowledge. The two staff members testified that they had put
up the sign without informing Dobson and in ignorance of publicity
regulations. _ .
Dobson also charged that the Elections Committee did not have
jurisdiction over matters involving publicity violations. The publicity rules
and regulations state that the Publicity Committee should enforce those
rules and refer offenders to the Student Superior Court. Thus, he
maintained, the complaint had been filed with the wrong committee and
the wrong decision — nullifying the election — had been made, since the
committee had the power only to refer the case to Student Court.
Third, Dobson said that the sign itself, rather than the placement of it,
may have been responsible for swaying votes.
The court ruled against Dobson and upheld the Elections Committee
ruling, stating that Dobson was responsible for all actioiw of his staff.
They said that the Elections Committee has origiral jurisdiction in all
matters concerning student elections, including publicity. They also assessed
Dobson $5 in court costs.
Shortly afterward, the April elections were held. Because of violations
by the Elections Committee, however, they were thrown out and
rescheduled. Duncan won the third election for the office a week later, by
a two to one margin.
Dobson then appealed to the University Court, the top court on
campus. The grounds for his appeal were the same as those he made to
Student Court.
The Court ruled in favor of Dobson, declaring the March election to be
the only legal one and denying any future contest of the election. They
also required Student Superior Court to return the court costs Dobson had
paid.
In its opinion, the Court stated that the Publicity CommittM should
have enforced the publicity rules, rather than the Elections Committee. The
Court also questioned whether Dobson had been allowed due process
because of the vagueness of the election and publicity regulations, and
because spheres of authority were not clearly designated.
"The question of a' single poster carrying such major weight in a
decision as serious as the annulment of an election with no opportunity
for due process was an important consideration in our decision," the Court
said in its opinion. "The punishment seemed excessive in view of the fact
that the placement of said poster was not petitioner's (Dobson’s) own
doing, but was that of his staff."
Since the Court’s decision cannot tie appealed except to the Chancellor,
an event unlikely to occur, Dobson will probably keep the position it took
him three months to get. He can be removed from office only by a recall
election, or by impeachment proceedings initiated by his staff.
Dobson may not be out of court yet, however. The Student Superior
Court, which was ordered to return to Dobson his $5 in court costs, has
given him only $4. A dollar was subtracted for duplicating costs connected
with the case. Dobson' is considering another appeal to get his dollar back.