The EMU Professors' Union has a growing number of concerns about the issue of security on campus. These arise from the mishandling of the murder of Laura Dickerson in the dorms, the theft of master keys in 2005, and the rash of thefts from locked faculty offices.
Now that our contract is settled, the union intends to make security a priority issue. Please check this page for updated information and use the 'Stay Informed' box to your right to sign up for our newsletter, which will include discussions of security issues.
Stolen Master Keys & Campus Larcenies
The EMUtalk blog has some comments about the silence on the stolen master keys [1] that serves as background information (with more than three dozen comments) and a copy of the email the administration sent out on this issue [2].
A .pdf of the work orders [2] showing progress through early 2007, which only accounts for a small amount of the $900,000 the administration email claims was allocated to this work. (Thanks to mark Higbee for this file)
Laura Dickerson Murder and Clery Act Violation
The EMUtalk blog has a category devoted to this topic [3]. A local news station has a 4:27 minute video that gives an overview [4].
A group called Security on Campus, which monitors violations of the Clery Act, filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Dept of Education [4], which has been out to EMU to investigate. Their complaint contains many of the news stories about the incident (61 page pdf). The Security on Campus website has comprehensive information on the Clery Act [5], which requires campuses to make timely notification to the campus community about crime, so that people can take appropriate protective actions.
mp3 of the conversation Jim Vick (VP Student Affairs) and Candice Dorsey (DPS) had with students [6]. This is a follow-up to this earlier posting, which has the background about the audio file. [7]
Medical examiner documents [7] (pdf, some details may not be suitable for all readers)
The Board of Regents commissioned a report from the law firm of Butzel-Long, which is now available. Read the Executive Summary [8] or the 500 page full report [9](both .pdf). In a message to the university community, Board of Regents Chair Thomas Sidlik noted: "The report reveals a systemic failure to comply with the federal Clery Act, including the failure to warn the campus of potential danger. The findings are clear: This university got it wrong. What happened was unacceptable."
The Dept of Education final report about violation of the Clery Act is available here [10]. (.pdf)
News Coverage
- Detroit News: "EMU's embattled Fallon should resign" [11]
- Guardian (England): University under fire for cover up [12]
- MSN video coverage [13]
- CBS News video coverage [14]
- Channel 4 Detroit video coverage [15]
- ABC's Good Morning America video coverage [16] To see the video, go to: ttp://www.abcnews.go.com/gma [17]
Click on top stories > Scroll down to: ampus Murder Cover-up? School Blamed
On the right is a little link for the video.
Click on it and you will see it. - MSNBC story [18]
Union President Howard Bunsis sent the following message to faculty about the report:
Today (Friday, June 8th) at l:30 p.m., the EMU-AAUP Vice- President,
Susan Moeller, and Grievance Officer, Elaine Martin, attended an
unannounced press conference held by the EMU Regents to present the
report of the investigation into the cover-up of the murder of EMU
student Laura Dickerson.
They were the only faculty members present, although a small number of
administrators were in attendance, and a large contingent of print and
television press. The law firm, Buetzel-Long, was hired by the Board to
conduct a 10-week long investigation. An executive summary of the
report is online at
http://www.emich.edu/regents/Butzel_Long_investigation/BL_execsum.pdf [19]
Overall, this report is very revealing and surprising. But there still are some unanswered questions.
First, the revealing part:
• Regent Sidlik admitted that “the University got it wrong;†and that there were “systemic failures.†Yes, indeed.
• The lawyers from Buetzel Long painted a devastating picture of the
failures of the EMU administration to communicate with and protect the
university community. It is clear that the administration violated the
Federal law (the Cleary Act) on reporting campus crimes, and it is clear
that the entire campus community was lied to.
• In addition, where was the leadership? No high level administrator,
according to the report, showed the initiative to take the appropriate
actions and inform the campus community that the “no foul play†press
release needed to be replaced.
• We can never forget that this was a tragedy for this family.
Now, the surprising part:
• According to the report, a document that reported that the crime scene
was a homicide was shredded – yes, shredded - by VP of Student Affairs
Jim Vick. Was this shredding approved by someone other than VP Vick?
It is truly incredible that such an action was taken.
• What is also surprising is that there were several versions of the
press release that were issued around the time of the murder. Ward
Mullins, EMU media specialist, was on the scene of the homicide with
Chief Hall, and he wrote a draft press release, which was reviewed and
approved by Hall, but never got released. It is not clear why. His
release gave three possibilities: homicide, suicide, or natural causes.
Instead, President Fallon worked with Rhonda DeLong of the University
Communications Office (who was in Grand Rapids at the time of the
incident, and did not know any details of the scene). She also did not
seek to confirm any facts from law enforcement, but issued a “no foul
play†press release, which became the official university position.
This never should have occurred.
Unanswered Questions. There are many of these:
• The Department of Education (DOE) is coming out with their own report.
Remember that Butzel Long is a law firm that was hired by the Board of
Regents. Were all materials and witnesses made available to them? The
report is lengthy, and appears comprehensive, but we need to wait for
the DOE report to get the full picture.
• How much will this Butzel Long investigation cost? At the press
conference, the cost to pay Butzel Long was pegged at $225,000, and this
is only for ½ of their work. This is a very large amount.
• One of the recommendations is the use of the Global Compliance System.
As reported earlier, we at the AAUP have grave concerns about how this
process will work, and whether this will be utilized in a way that
respects the contractual procedures that all the unions on campus have.
We are willing to sit down with the administration and determine if
this system can coexist with our contract, as we all certainly for
honest and open communication.
• Will there be any personnel changes? The Board has a regular meeting
on June 19th, and we may find out more at that time.
• It is unclear what President Fallon knew, and when he knew it of
should have known about the homicide. The full report (all 568 pages)
is at:
http://www.emich.edu/regents/Butzel_Long_investigation/BL_report.pdf [20]).
If you look at pages 450 to 464 of the report, you will find the report
of Jim Vick’s attorneys. These attorneys come to a contradictory
conclusion than Butzel Long about who was responsible for the mistakes
that were made. What will come of this, and a possible polygraph test
that VP Vick has offered to take?
Where do we go from here?
For faculty, our concern is that the administration treats all
university constituents with honesty and respect, and that our campus is
a safe and secure environment to live and work.
Though there is no known connection between lost master keys and this
homicide, we are continuing to press for all faculty offices to be
re-keyed. This process will start in the next few weeks in PH and MJ,
and will be done by Labor Day. Given that there were two more thefts
(one in Alexander and one in Quirk) last week, and given the prior
thefts that occurred in Strong, Ford and other campus buildings, the
AAUP has formally requested that all buildings be re-keyed. It was
revealed that the master keys opened every building on campus;
therefore, the only prudent action is to re-key all the buildings.
Let’s hope that the administration agrees with this course of action.
We will keep you informed.
Overall, this is a very difficult time for EMU. The revelations and
facts surrounding this investigation are very troubling. We as faculty
remain dedicated to the success of EMU, and we hope that the Regents and
administration will work with the faculty to find ways to make the
campus safe, as well as re-invigorate a commitment to the primacy of the
academic mission of teaching and learning with our students.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks for listening
Howard
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| emucomplaint.pdf [21] | 1.67 MB |
| dickinsonmedicalexaminer.pdf [22] | 929.66 KB |
| stolenmasterkeys.pdf [23] | 1.06 MB |