College Activism List

[Linda Anderson <CatBallou2 -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

I'm just wondering if anyone else has received the attached message. I
suspect Mr. Trummel may have sent this to certain lists, but don't know. I'm
just curious about whether I'm getting on an e-mailing list now, or what.

If nothing else, I hope you find this informative or interesting.

Linda Anderson
CatBallou2 -at- aol -dot- com


Subj:   College Activism List has a New Manager
Date:   95-03-16 02:46:26 EST
From:   trummel -at- nwlink -dot- com
To:     trummel -at- nwlink -dot- com

From: trummel -at- nwlink -dot- com (Paul Trummel)
To: trummel -at- nwlink -dot- com (Paul Trummel)

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College Activism List has a New Manager and a New Manifesto

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A Personal Appraisal

This informal statement contains my introduction as the new list
manager of the <actnow-l> listserv list. The first part consists
of my personal opinion and the second part contains the official
list manifesto.
     My employment at four different universities during the past
fifteen years has included positions as a university
administrator, associate professor (communication and rhetoric),
and non-traditional PhD student. Prior to that time, I had 33
years journalism experience in technical and graphic
communication, and held, among other appointments, positions as
corporate chief executive officer of a group of publishing
companies. I hold elected fellowships in two international
institutions and previously acted as associate editor of a peer
reviewed academic journal. I hold awards for both my satire and
for my public service to disadvantaged segments of society.
     My predominantly ethical business world experience contrasts
with the unethical situation that I have found during my time in
the academe. I partly attribute this to the personal
accountability that exists in the business world and the lack of
it in the academe. I believe that tenure and self-regulation
amount to no regulation at all. To explore this and many other
issues, I intend to expand the scope of the <actnow-l> list and
will accept messages and promote unfettered discussion of the
ideologies and practices (many of them detrimental to both
students and faculty members) extant within the academe.
     I recognize that the truth, by its very nature, often
inflames the sensibilities of others. It frequently causes fear
and inflames insecure people who identify with the negative
aspects of the discourse. Moreover, these insecure people
probably fear disclosure of their own machination and subsequent
loss of the power that they may have usurped through
intimidation. Consequently, they make unsubstantiated attacks
upon others. I hope that discourse on the list will help those
who have previously had no voice to maintain their power without
acquiescing to this type of dialog.
     My academic experience has led me to believe that many
specialized programs in the humanities and social sciences have
become controlled by demagogues who enforce a new type of
sectarian totalitarianism. They work toward the suppression of
academic freedom and use their tenure to force their ideologies
upon others, to enrich themselves, and to perpetuate their power.
The time has come for them to accept responsibility for the
present mediocre level of education for which students pay
exorbitant tuition. This can only come about if those who have
suffered from this type of abuse have the courage and means to
speak out about inequity and corruption.
     Many students and faculty members have genuine grievances;
nevertheless, many administrators deny them due process under
fraudulent judicial systems. These systems give the appearance
that they support fair practices; however, many have become the
weapons of corrupt provosts and their pandering ombudspersons.
These officials suppress evidence in attempts to cover up their
own malfeasance and use their power to intimidate their
adversaries. To this end they forge documents and deliberately
destroy careers through capricious blackballing and stonewalling.
     To further compound the cover-up, many listserv list
managers indulge in covert censorship of Internet information.
They manipulate the flow of information in support of the
demagogues and receive rewards of honors, degrees, promotion, and
tenure. Many others feign the moderation of lists and then censor
them to conform to their own idea of political correctness
(totalitarianism). I will not tolerate these practices and will
expose them at every opportunity.
     <actnow-l> provides a forum in which the underdogs may
express themselves without fear of reprisal. They need a means to
expose the injustices meted to them by privileged academic
demagogues who increasingly usurp absolute power. The following
manifesto shows subscribers how they may use the <actnow-l> list.
It gives them a platform on which they may assuage the lack of
ethics and the injustice rampant in the academe. They may also
use this forum to warn others of the fraudulent programs that
many institutions cannot provide yet constantly publish in their
catalogs.

Paul Trummel
University of Washington


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Manifesto - College Activism List <actnow-l>

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Objectives

1.   To exist as an information repository for data on college
     activism, events, and other items of interest.

2.   To exist as an electronic medium for college students to
     distribute information on their own and other campuses.

3.   To exist as a forum for college students, faculty members,
     and administrators to discuss academic and associated
     issues.

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Access

Subscribers should understand that they can access the listserv
using two addresses:

     the "listserv address" <listserv -at- brownvm -dot- brown -dot- edu>
or,
     the "list address" <actnow-l -at- brownvm -dot- brown -dot- edu>

However, they need to take great care to use the correct address
for each specific purpose. The "listserv address" applies only to
administrative requests (eg. subscribe/signoff) and the "list
address" applies only to messages for distribution to other
subscribers. Subscribers should use the list address only when
they wish everyone on the list to receive a copy of their
message. Also, they should use individual email addresses for
private messages to other subscribers. Consequently, they need to
check the header very carefully when replying to messages to
insure that they have automatically inserted the correct
addresses. This avoids personal embarrassment and subscriber
annoyance.

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To subscribe to <actnow-l> send an email.

     To:
     listserv -at- brownvm -dot- brown -dot- edu

     Text:
     subscribe actnow-l [FirstName] [LastName]/[College]

     Example:
     subscribe actnow-l Paul Trummel/University of Washington

Subscribers should use this format (no matter the name that they
use as an email alias) and note the slash between [LastName] and
[College].

To unsubscribe from <actnow-l> send an email.

     To:
     listserv -at- brownvm -dot- brown -dot- edu

     Text:
     signoff actnow-l

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Protocol

The list manager will neither moderate nor censor the <actnow-l>
list, neither will he otherwise interfere with the free flow of
information. He respects the rights of subscribers protected by
the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
However, communications proscribed by law may result in legal
action by those who suffer damage through the publication of
untrue and defamatory material.
     In the opinion of the list manager, the Internet and
university servers exist as common carriers. Until the law
changes through precedent established by the US Supreme Court,
and the international courts, he intends to maintain this
opinion. Under this presumption, the operators of computer
systems do not bear a responsibility for what they carry. This
relates in the same way that the US Government does not take
responsibility for what the US Mail carries.
     Furthermore, the opinions expressed by subscribers do not
necessarily represent the opinions of the list manager. Neither
do they represent the opinions of the faculty members, staff, and
governing board of Brown University, nor any other university
that acts as a host for <actnow-l>. Therefore, the opinions
expressed, and the genre of expression, remain the sole
responsibility of the author. Subscribers should address comments
regarding the genre or demeanor of the author to the author, by
private email. Do not send them to the list, or the list manager,
unless they address the topic under discussion. Such comments
neither relate to list management nor computer administration.
They relate to issues of academic and journalistic freedom.
Moreover, all subscribers have a right to say what they please.
They also have a right to respond to others in whatever way they
please. However, individual subscribers must take personal
responsibility for what they publish.
     Subscribers may address complaints or inquiries regarding
problems with list operation to the list manager. This relates to
problems with the electronic distribution of information and not
the content of messages.
     The list manager requests all subscribers to use their full
names and state their affiliation. He neither recommends
anonymous messages nor allows concealed subscriptions. Sometimes,
this openness brings with it a fear of retribution from other
people who may try to control subscribers or the content of
messages. In such cases, the use of a pseudonym may become
advisable. The list manager generally discourages the use of
pseudonyms unless no other alternative exists. However, if a
subscriber needs to use a pseudonym, then the list manager will
personally distribute the subscriber's message to protect the
authors' right to freedom of speech. The list manager assumes no
liability for the content of such messages. Moreover, he will not
(in accord with normally accepted journalistic practice) reveal
the identity of the author of pseudonymous messages when so
requested by third parties.

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List Manager <actnow-l>

     Paul Trummel
     Department of Technical Communication
     College of Engineering, University of Washington
     <trummel -at- nwlink -dot- com>

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                                        Revised - 08 Mar 95/10:17