The Best of Red Emma on DtB (1998-2000): Giving war a bad name

Civility: Where did it come from? How can we resist it?

Early 1998(?)

...Civility is a petit bourgeois behavior, a conceit used by Imperial Britain, Imperial France and Imperial Margarine....

“How I Joined the Union” —OR “Invisible Ink” 

March 27, 1998 

     Red Emma teaches writing part-time at Irvine Valley College. His activist politics demand his union membership, but in five years of teaching here, not once has anybody ever invited or encouraged him to join the union or provided him materials regarding representation by his local. 

Young Raghu

INVISIBLE INK MEETS INVISIBLE REP—or HOW I JOINED THE UNION – PART II

April 14, 1998 

     …As regards the Red One's report, he stands by [it] and points out that the only legitimate potential slander issue here has to do with privacy. In fact, Red Emma's article effectively blew full-time Prof. Ray Chandos's well-protected and profoundly deep cover as Union Rep, a position thus far successfully concealed from over two hundred IVC part timers by him and the union local for years…. 

How I Joined the Union, Part III—OR Red Emma and the Temple of Doom 

April 27, 1998 

     …The union leadership does not want to explain to the membership why it is revising the bylaws only a year after the last (so-called) revision. … During the last Rep. Council meeting, however, faced with a direct question, Sherry at last provided a clear explanation: it is being forced to make changes by the CTA, for the CTA has judged that our so-called bylaws contain many illegal elements, a point that critics of the leadership have made repeatedly to no avail…. 

     The ratification election is rapidly approaching. Predictably, the leadership has decided not to provide copies of the current bylaws to members (in preparation for that event). Further, it has decided not to hold a meeting to explain the revisions to the membership. Finally, for now, it won’t show anyone the revisions…. 

PART-TIMERS ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE

May 12, 1998 

"A spectre is haunting Irvine Valley College...the spectre of adjunct faculty organizing." 

 … 

     Trustee Dorothy Fortune, doing her part to build goodwill between part- and full-timers, took a moment from her busy schedule to attack Saddleback College part-time organizer Richard Lewis, expressing concern over Saddleback's "irregular Senate representation." Lewis serves as the singular adjunct officer on [Saddleback College]'s Senate, a position for which he is meant to receive, not reassigned time…, but a stipend. Part-time participation in academic governance should of course be rewarded and encouraged, but Ms. Fortune apparently thinks otherwise. 

     Finally, as that great union organizer Joe Hill wrote in Emma's high school yearbook: "Don't mourn, organize. And have a bitchin'‘ summer."

RED EMMA FIGHTS FOR PART-TIMER REPRESENTATION 

October 26, 1998 

     ...Red Emma ... transported himself to the [faculty union] Rep Council meeting, confident that although the moral arc of the universe might bend, as Dr. King said, toward justice, two such equitable contortions were perhaps too many to hope for in one week. ... I had spoken by phone earlier to David Lebow, Chair of the … CTA Board Team, making a point of calling to his attention the potentially … vulnerable following language in the section on Part-Time (Associate) Faculty Representation. 

 “Part-time faculty at each college shall have one representative on the Representative Council.” 

     Red Emma knows what this meant to him and, after speaking with Mr. Lebow, learned that it meant the same to [Lebow]; that is, there would be, pending approval of the bylaws, TWO part-time rep positions on the ballot, one representing IVC and one Saddleback….

     General Pinochet’s house arrest notwithstanding, there is room for evil in the world and it resides in a little room in the Saddleback library where, true to Red Emma’s sorry expectations, that group we whimsically call the union leadership attempted first to get everybody to agree that nothing could be done about my ["each"] concern.... Then Mr. Lebow and his CTA team advised that he was there to “officially” advise the correctness of [Red’s] interpretation of the “each” clause, after which time it was the responsibility of the Rep Council to amend the bylaws. Yikes. ... A tenacious revanchist sitting next to the tonsorially captivating Madame President indicated that my favorite clause was intentionally “vague,” at which point Mr. Lebow indicated in no uncertain terms that Mr. McClendon was in fact wrong. 

     Mr. McClendon: “Am I right or not right?” 

     Mr. Lebow: “You are not right.” 

     Chair Lebow indicated that the ballot would have to include two part-time reps, a judgment which led to expressions of some discontent from the generals…. 

THE CRISIS AT IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE

November 02, 1998 

     …These, then, are my own complaints against [the board, the union, & Mathur], framed in a wider, national context which I see as a right-wing, corporate attack on public education by people who imagine that, yes, schools should be “run like businesses.” 

     They have attacked shared governance… They have tolerated, even encouraged, anti-Semitism and homophobia ... They have successfully co-opted a labor union local. … They have created … a testing ground for activism by far-right groups. … They have promoted the corporatization and further privatization of the academy…. They have championed the ghettoization of faculty. …They have marginalized students…. They have limited expression, inquiry and engagement in the political process…. They have spent district money defending themselves against much of the above…. 

     Because our crisis is in fact so wonderfully representative of a single, connected trend it’s easy to pretend not to see that Big Picture. It’s easy for media to pretend that its readers won’t get it. It’s easy for students and teachers not to understand that as it happens here, it is happening everywhere…. 

Red

 "MAIM" (aka EMMA'S MODEST PROPOSAL) 

November 10, 1998 

     [Note: this piece, authored by Red (and illustrated by Bauer) was cited in Sampson’s letter to Bauer in December of ’98. According to Sampson, this piece … illustrated Bauer’s "violence" and "preoccupation with weaponry." Judge for yourself.] 

     RED EMMA: 

     Finally, in the spirit of international cooperation, we at Dissent announce the founding of the Milosevic-Mathur Academic Integrity Matrix. (I couldn’t think of a more annoying business ed sounding type word than “matrix”; besides, it permits a satisfying acronym: MAIM.) 

     Beginning immediately, I’ll accept nominations here for candidates to an academic exchange program between IVC and University of Belgrade (home of the fighting Ethnic Cleansers!). Forward written nominations to Dissent c/o Red Emma. In the Dissent spirit of irony, efficiency and recycling, all nominations should be completed using the back of any of the recent Presidential Solicitation for Input forms. In fifty words or less, please argue why your nominated IVC administrator, trustee, or college president should be sent to Serbia and one of Milosevic’s henchpeople visit our divisive little campus in their place….

EIGHTY POUNDS OF CHAIRMAN MAO

December 15, 1998 

     …Finally, there goes the neighborhood: Chile’s most unlikely export sits in a shabby manor outside London, upsetting the locals. For those of you unable to make the trip to the despot’s winter retreat, don’t overlook the General’s political and spiritual sponsor’s permanent residence in Yorba Linda. The Nixon Museum offers “Wassail Wednesdays” all month long and—be still my anarchist heart—Bruce Herschensohn’s “special” lecture.

      Disappointingly, the General, beneficiary of Nixon’s CIA largesse, is noticeably absent in the life-size convocation of world leaders assembled in the library rotunda. Also absent are statues of the Shah of Iran, Franco, Somoza, Marcos, Duvalier. 

     You say you’re struggling to find a fun holiday family outing? A jolly docent bragged to me over the telephone that the bronze statues weren’t really bronze at all, just papier-mâché and epoxy sprayed with paint. “They only look like bronze. Why,” she explained, “Chairman Mao only weighs about eighty pounds!” 

"ASK MISS FORTUNE" (by Red Emma) 

March 15, 1999 

 Dear Miss Fortune: 

     I am the illegally hired president of a formerly impressive community college. In an effort to compel respect from my subordinates, I recently earned a long distance degree in education management and poinsettia arrangement from the U of Woodbridge. Now I’m unsure how exactly my subordinates should address me. I’ve taken to adding an understated “Ed.D” after my name, but this has only caused some clever wag to refer to me as a famous television talking horse. 

     Signed: Through Horsin’ Around, Ed. D. 

Dear Through: 

     Don’t complain to me about funny names and titles, buddy. Here’s Miss Fortune’s advice: E-mail your entire college announcing what exactly you want to be called, but include in the e-mail message some unrelated attack on a defenseless minority. I suggest homosexuals or philosophers or, better yet, homosexual philosophers. (Did you know, by the way, that Professor Roy Bauer was once faculty advisor to the Gay and Lesbian Club at IVC? Did you?) People will be distracted and confused as a result of your attack and soon you can call yourself anything at all. It worked for me. I call myself a registered Democrat and a trustee. –MF 

He’s Baaaack...!; Being “controversial” and just being Steve 

September 20, 1999 

     …Later, ... Wendy P. pithily explained Frogue to me. After all the confusion about this man’s “politics” (he has none), his pathetic ambitions, his strangely warped understanding of political expression, Wendy’s characterization seems apt: “He’s the kind of person,” she says, “who would let you call him an ‘asshole’ for an hour just so you’d hang out with him.”…. 

 Taking the Redbait, fishing for receipts—and Martians, too! 

 November 15, 1999 

     [Here, Red is poking fun at Curt McLendon, faculty union spokesMartian, who sent everyone a request to participate in SETI (the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence). McLendon had also expressed anger that some new unionists asked that those who purchase food for the union charity (an orphanage near Tijuana) acquire receipts. McLendon angrily & erroneously implied that receipts are unheard of in Mexico!:] 

Red Emma: 

     I can see it now. The silver craft hovers above a townhouse somewhere in South County. Curt has carefully painted the words “Tourist Information” on his roof. The small, bulb-shaped green visitors descend a steel ladder under the Mothership. They knock politely on Curt’s door. He sells them a map. They thank him, eyes shining, and scamper back to the UFO. 

     Suddenly, they turn back. Their leader, who is wearing, as it turns out, EXACTLY THE SAME NEON GREEN OUTFIT AS SHERRY MILLER-WHITE, steps forward and, his long arm now fully extended, asks Curt for a receipt. 

     [It turns out that the orphanage administration was corrupt or, um, worse: The Old Guard’s not-so-sweet Charity] 

"SLOWLY I TURNED...": FROGUEIAN CHRONICLES II 

December 13, 1999 

     ...Red visited the next door neighbor’s to watch “The Simpsons” on a recent Sunday night. Afterward, his weekly TV appetite not completely dulled, he surfed a bit, stumbling on that sagely entertaining man of American letters, Gore Vidal, giving a talk at the Writers’ Guild. Vidal waxed political on the state of our savage Republic, then fielded a few softball questions and said goodnight. 

     As is usually the case with these C-SPAN events, the cameras lingered first on the stage, then the crowd, in this case a packed house. I am curious about what America looks like…, and, yes, Dissent readers will have anticipated that, indeed, that evening’s audience included our very own addled co-conspirator, S. Frogue, who was stumbling out of the hall, looking a little confused at being around so many people who didn’t know (or care) who he was. It may seem difficult to conceive of attendance by an apologist for “fiscal conservatism,” a right-wing Republican Holocaust conspiracy nut, a racial exoticizer with a penchant for Jew-Asian-Mormon baiting, at an event critiquing exactly the kind of people as our Mr. Frogue…. 

Red Emma's infamous "open letter" to Raghu 

December 30, 1999 

     [An open letter to Irvine Valley College president Raghu Mathur from Red Emma:] 

December 30, 1999 

     …I am writing to offer my services as a security consultant. As your security stipend is equivalent to a full two weeks' pay for my own work as a part-time instructor, you'll understand that I'm eager to start work immediately.... 

 January 7, 2000 OC WEEKLY 

 [The OC Weekly printed Red’s letter to Mathur. So Red wrote them to say thanks:] 

     Thanks for printing my letter to Irvine Valley College president Raghu Mathur offering my services as Security Consultant (“Not-So-Secret Service,” Dec. 30). Mathur has yet to contact me regarding a job interview, presumably planning to spend his $2,400 annual stipend on a pit bull and a home alarm. 

     Please note that our illegally appointed community-college president not only manufactured unsubstantiated stories about “threats” to him (later contradicted in his free-speech-case deposition) but somehow also persuaded the South Orange County Community College District board of trustees to spend taxpayer dollars on this assertion. The board voted unanimously to write him a big check.... 

     [Tonkovich’s public ridicule of Mathur and the Board were followed by a decision, by the dean of IVC’s School of Humanities and Languages, Howard Gensler, to dispense with Red’s services (as part-time teacher). I.e., Red was fired.] 

Red Emma’s Poetry Korner 

January 18, 2000 

     [At the Dec. 13 meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees, “A Poem to a Soldier” by Father Dennis Edward O’Brien is read as part of a patriotic opening to the meeting. Red Emma had his doubts:] 

     Where to begin? As an educator and writer, I’ll resist the urge to explicate this bit of martialistic Ann Landersite barber shop inspiration. Its many errors speak for themselves, and loudly: single cause fallacy, either/or fallacy, cause/effect incongruity, ahistoricity, illogic, and so on. Just one observation: As much as Red Emma opposes militarism and the military and soldiering generally, it’s important to note the good father’s utter contempt for the actual soldier, who is reduced, like the reporter, poet, and organizer, to a sad cartoon. Can’t soldiers also be poets, organizers, or reporters? No, not in the unvivid and fabulously one-dimensional civilian vs. soldier world of Padre Dennis, U.S.M.C. Frankly, this kind of writing gives war a bad name…. 

THE INFAMOUS DROPPED DRAWERS 

February 14, 2000 

--The Feb. 7 union meeting

     …Butt (sorry) let’s return to that metaphorical moment when [Old Guard unionist] Lee [Walker] actually lost his pants, hung so precariously from just below his gut. Yes, comrades, there it was, offered to the world, the proud derriere of a great great great-grandson of George Washington, that famous slaveholder and lousy general. Oh glorious, Oh vivid flab. Seeing it, exposed in the doorway of A403, made me want to chop down a cherry tree or throw Curt across the Potomac (except he wasn’t at the meeting) or just stand up and salute what makes America great: too much fried food. 

     Instead, I pointed. I really did. “Look,” I exclaimed. “His butt!” A couple of other attendees will vouch for the patriotic display, but the curious thing is that, when I mentioned the incident to a couple of SOCCCD veteran teachers, one said, calmly enough, “I’ve been looking at Lee’s ass for twenty years.”…. 

DISSENT’S Fashion/Lifestyle; Two Girls Sittin’ Around Talkin’ 

February 29, 2000 

     Lifestyle reporter Red Emma had a few moments to catch up with newly elected CTA State Council Representative for region HE-5 Lisa Alvarez. Alvarez is a shy Professor of English who generally shuns the style spotlight. Though she’s been active in both Frogue recall efforts and has written editorials appearing in the Los Angeles Times, she prefers to work behind the scenes and get nasty e-mails from silly faculty members…. 

      Recently asked by administration to remove anti-Mathur posters from her office door, Alvarez offered that she shared the space with a colleague and thought she might need to ask him first. This clever ruse confused her Dean, who wrote a memo to himself…. 

ASK MISS FORTUNE! (March 2000) 

March 06, 2000 

Dear Miss Fortune: 

     It’s me, again, the illegally-appointed president of a small community college, thinking positively, bringing people together and spreading the One True Light. Meanwhile, the judge threw out my SLAPP suit and now I’ve spent my raise on lawyers’ fees. How can I get the district to cover my losses? 

     signed: Slapped 

Dear Slapped: 

     I’d ask for another security stipend, but if that doesn’t work, how about this: sue yourself. As President, the district lawyers will be required to defend you. Clever, huh? You lose, you win. I’m sure there’s a down side, but it can’t be any worse than teaching your new pet pit bull “Stipey” how to distinguish the Kate Clark mannequin from the Wendy Phillips one. —MF

* * *

BONUS: 

I’m sorry, I am this English teacher, okay?

     I've been having difficulty finding the original illustration (or one of the illustrations) for the original Red Emma "MAIM" post, but I think I found it. Here it is:

I happened to use the same image also for the cover of a CD collection 

of Bauer-family-recordings.

     Rebel Girl was deposed for Bauer’s lawsuit against the district (concerning the letter, placed in his file, in which he was accused by the district, implausibly, of violating its “workplace violence” and “discrimination” policies). At one point, the questioning, by the district's attorney (Mr. Larsen) focused on the MAIM images: 

Q [by the district’s attorney, Mr. Larsen] What does the term “maim” mean to you? ….. 

A [by Rebel Girl] To wound in a particular way. 

Q In what way to wound?.... 

A Well, …It’s when…you’re wounded and you lose a certain portion of your body, I suppose—a limb or something to that effect…. 

Q So it’s a term of violence? 

A Term of violence? It could be. It’s not always, you know. 

Q …You see the cartoon in the upper right-hand corner? [Larsen is referring to the “Backdoor Gooster” graphic, which accompanied an article about Mathur’s “enemies list.” The comics graphic shows a fiend holding the head of his victim.] 

A Yes, I do. 

Q Do you consider that a violent depiction? 

A I consider it a comic depiction of…something that is, I suppose, literally violent, the same way a Superman comic is violent or a Fantastic Four [comic] is violent. ….. 

Q Would you consider the depiction in the upper right-hand corner as being one of maiming? 

A Actually, I would think the only body part that you could [lose] and not have it be considered maiming would be your head. I would offer that that would be a beheading. I’m sorry, I am this English teacher, okay? So I am amending my earlier definition of “maim.” Now, I…believe this is a depiction of a beheading, not a maiming….   

Workers

A GUIDE to COOL STUFF on Dissent: the 1990s

     Between exams (grading), I’ve been tidying up the blog a bit. 

     Here’s a chronological list of some of the first posts on Dissent the Blog—referring to events that occurred before the blog was initiated (during the time of the newsletter Dissent).

     They tell quite a story. 

     Click on the LINKS.

PRE-DISSENT

Thursday, March 23, 1995 

Excerpt from "A conversation with Steven Frogue" (Ked Francis) 

The symbolic kick-off of the district’s troubled era (1995-2012); and it all started with IVC's student newspaper:

Trustee Frogue: "There is a group, right here in Orange County, called the Institute for Historical Review [the nation's top Holocaust denial organization]...they have raised questions about some of this stuff. I've looked at some of their publications, kind of strange and definitely new, I've never seen anything like it before. There's somebody that wants to engage in the debate about the Holocaust."

Tuesday, April 4, 1995 

His view of Holocaust stirs furor (Dan Froomkin) 

"Was it 6 million who died?" Frogue asked, saying he wonders "whether it's the number of people who were actually killed, or the number of people who actually died, or the number of people who were actually put in the gas chambers." 

April 20, 1995 

Trustee denies holocaust, according to former students (Francis; The Voice) 

...According to Foothill High School student Emily Hoffman, Frogue "decided the Holocaust was made up." Frogue told his World Cultures class "the Jews made it up to make people feel sorry for them," according to Hoffman, who was quoted in the Register. "He said it was more like sixty people that got killed, rather than 6 million." 

     Other high school students of Frogue's say he used racially derogatory terms in class, referring to Asians as "yellow people," Latinos as "brown people" and African Americans as "negras."  

Sunday, October 6, 1996 

TO CONCERNED UNIONISTS: FROGUE DEFENDS HIMSELF AGAINST THE CHARGE THAT HE IS A HOLOCAUST DENIER 

"The manner in which the reporter tried to put words into my mouth, and into the mouths of three colleagues leave little doubt in my mind as to how he elicited such comments from these young women" [who claimed that Frogue denied the Holocaust and made highly offensive remarks about women in his classes]. 

Friday, November 1, 1996 

The infamous "SAME-SEX" flier & how we got to this sorry state 

...And so, in December of 1996, the era of the conservative "Board Majority" began. The [Union] Old Guard got what they wanted—for the time being. But their "victory" was the beginning of a painful and precipitous decline for the two colleges and the district. The BM concentrated its efforts on dismantling the machinery of "shared governance" (a concept that emerged from the historic "AB1725" legislation of the late 80s). Phony accreditation reports were written, Old Guard schemers (Runyan, Mathur, Woodward, et al.) became administrators, and the Old Guard's long-time foes sought cover....

Saturday, November 2, 1996 

Sherry Miller-White: the end justifies the means, evidently 

WHITE: "The Faculty Association was forced to compete in the past campaign because life as we know it was under threat... [T]he Faculty Association, in desperation, turned the campaign over to a professional firm..."

Friday, November 15, 1996 

Adventures in Advertising: The real purpose behind gay-baiting at Saddleback College 

OC Weekly: "Local political observers are calling it the "most scurrilous and vile" campaign ad of the season, and it wasn't the deft handiwork of ... Orange County's most infamous negative campaigner. No, the ad...was sent by a college-faculty association on behalf of a slate of three conservative candidates and one Democrat vying for seats on the governing board of the Saddleback College District." 

Chunk visits San Francisco

Monday, November 25, 1996 

Studying the Lessons of Steven J. Frogue: Profile: The teacher and Saddleback trustee does not retreat from controversy that his views generate  

"Frogue has been accused of denying the Holocaust, according to a former board member and several former students who say his comments about Jews and those who died at the hands of the Nazis cross over a line of ethics, propriety and recorded fact….

“I believe Lee Harvey Oswald worked for the ADL,” Frogue said in a half-whisper during a recent interview on the Foothill High campus. 

Asked to repeat his assertion, Frogue said, “That’s right. . . . I believe the ADL was behind it.”  

DISSENT/VOICE:

Monday, May 19, 1997 

LIES! LIES! LIES! --the May '97 Board Meeting 

Roy Bauer [addressing Frogue]: Excuse me. Are you saying that the referendum was rigged?.... 

Jan Wyma: (We're having?) a public meeting and you call our faculty liars. 

Frogue: I said there have been rigged elections at Irvine Valley College. I've seen them. Twice. You want me to name names? [Indecipherable mixed voices.] The evidence is in the record. 

(?): It exonerated the Senate. [It did.]....

Frogue: The record did not exonerate the Senate. 

(?): I'd like (you) to name names. 

Frogue: The record...We can, if you'd like [mixed voices, indecipherable; reference is made by someone to Frogue's speaking of liars.] No, I didn't call anybody "liars." I said there were rigged elections. 

Bauer: You, sir, are a coward.  

 

Wednesday, July 16, 1997 

The notorious "Reorg," 1997 

...The reorganization came as a surprise, for ... neither administrators nor shared governance groups had been consulted, and, indeed, the Sorenson Group (consultants hired to help the district with its organizational problems) strongly advised against the board taking actions absent discussion with shared governance groups. Indeed, at IVC, only days earlier, faculty were assured by Acting President Mathur that no such action would be contemplated until the fall, when faculty returned from summer vacation. In fact, however, Mathur was the key figure in the planning and execution of the reorganization, and his assurances were lies. All of this is revealed in legal declarations....

Monday, August 18, 1997 

The excrement hits the fan: the August ‘97 Board Meeting 

Roy Bauer (interrupting Frogue): [So you're saying that] All the papers [reporting testimony re Frogue's Holocaust denial and other remarks] are liars. All the papers. The Register, the LA Times, the Irvine World News—they’re all liars. Is there a conspiracy against you? Is that what’s going on? 

Frogue: No...we’re getting away from this. What we have... 

Bauer: Are you still a fan of the Institute for Historical Review [a Holocaust denial publisher]? 

Frogue: Mr...? You’re out of order, please.

Wednesday, September 3, 1997 

Trustee Dave Lang’s letter to the District Attorney’s office, September 3, 1997 

A national search was conducted by the board for a new President of IVC. Several internal candidates ... applied for the position along with more than 30 others comprising the initial pool of candidates. In establishing the selection process, the historical method was completely discarded, whereby a screening committee was appointed consisting mainly of the shared governance groups at IVC to interview and present to the board the top handful of candidates, with their ratings and recommendations. The current process is a complete “white-wash” since the screening committee neither rates the candidates nor eliminates any candidates, and the entire remaining pool ... of 18 candidates were reinterviewed by the full board of trustees, with no consideration of the committee’s input. The reason the majority of the board prevailed upon the chancellor to adopt the revised process, in my view, was so Mr. Mathur would not be eliminated from the pool.... 

Sunday, September 7, 1997 

Alvarez on the board majority (in the L.A. Times) 

Our community college is in jeopardy because its elected, if overlooked, leaders violated not only the state open meetings law and their own district policy but also their covenant with our educational community. District employees who protest or question these moves have been reprimanded, and on occasion, disciplined. They've created an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear, a hostile workplace where it's increasingly difficult to teach students.

Sunday, September 21, 1997 

Ray Chandos defends Steve Frogue 

"The hate-mongers are intent on negating the choice of the voters and working to discredit Frogue and his reform projects at Irvine Valley and Saddleback colleges."

Saturday, November 8, 1997 

GLIMPSING NOVEMBER, 1997, AT IVC 

"The occasion here depicted is particularly memorable for me, for I arrived five minutes late and thus did not realize that the President had already advised everyone that there would be “no discussion or questions.” ... Imagine others’ shock, then, when, at the meeting’s end, I blurted out several questions with no inkling of my audacity! And imagine my embarrassment upon learning of my error. (“I said at the start, you are not to ask questions!”)"

Saturday, November 8, 1997 

“WE DON’T NEED TO HIRE A CLOWN”: FACULTY SOUND OFF ON MATHUR

[A Faculty survey respondent:] '...But the survey has already achieved one item—"Making people laugh." Pam...I have a few more ideas that you might add to the list: 1 ) Hire cheerleaders to bounce around campus chanting the names of faculty and staff. 2) Have students paint themselves with school colors, and then spell out the name of the faculty/staff member of the week on their backsides. 3) Publish a ten-most-wanted list. 4) Get all of the faculty and staff together in a swimming pool full of strawberry jello and play pin the tail on the jackass.'

Sunday, December 7, 1997 

"Time for Pie" by Chunk Wheeler (BvT) 

'Soon, the proceedings seemed just like a meeting, and so, ever the stickler for detail, I asked, “Has the meeting begun?” Sherry said No. Nevertheless, my question seemed to cause her to declare that the meeting had now begun, which surprised me. I asked, politely, if we had a quorum, and, as she had done during a previous meeting, Sherry ignored me. Pete Espinoza, however, interrupted Sherry, saying, “I think this is important; the meetings of every organization I’ve ever belonged to start by determining whether there is a quorum” .... One or two others agreed. An unfamiliar woman then suggested that we simply hold an informal meeting. The suggestion caused Sherry obvious pain; evidently, she expected to do some real business, despite the unhelpful Marie Calendar ambiance, which seems to shout, “Mmmm! It’s time for pie!”....'

Thursday, January 15, 1998 

David Lang’s “Brown Act” depositions (Jan and Feb 1998) 

     This issue of the ‘Vine presents more information regarding our district’s infamous July, 1997, “reorganization.” Trustee Lang, in his depositions of January and February ’98 excerpted here, explains that, in the months preceding the July meeting, the issue of eliminating the “chair” model at IVC in favor of the “dean” model had not been discussed by the trustees and that the body had neither authorized nor accepted studies or materials from staff, including administration, regarding that kind of administrative change.... 

Irvine Valley College's PAC

Tuesday, January 20, 1998 

NIGHT OF THE NAZI by Chunk Wheeler 

[Holocaust revisionist, Joe Fields:] "[It seems that] Anything that attacks western civilization or Christianity is OK.... However, the same people who tolerate that — and I might add, it’s the shrill, shrieking voice of political Zionism — is here tonight to attack Mr. Frogue and to push their agenda. ... We just said the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States, not to the flag of Israel. [I’m speaking to] Anyone here who's going to push this ADL sponsored garbage. ... If you're here to push this nonsense and keep attacking this man because of your narrow agenda I might suggest you get off your butts and go back to Israel where you belong."

Sunday, February 22, 1998 

1998: Ken Woodward defends Frogue and our corrupt union on KPFK 

[Woodward:] Look, Steve Frogue has been teaching for 30 years; he’s had thousands and thousands of students. Supposedly—I haven’t seen this—Mr. Bauer has found five students who allege—I haven’t seen the affidavits—that somehow he’s denied the Holocaust. I can find 5 students to say, you know, similar things about Mr. Bauer....

Wednesday, March 18, 1998 

REBEL GIRL ON "PROCESS" 

"In fact, Brother Woodward chided fellow Brother Bauer about Bauer’s claim to the contrary: “Well, the faculty union actually itself, as Roy Bauer well knows, has not taken a position on Mr. Frogue....” So the union’s quick action, some four weeks later, to oppose the recall campaign and support Frogue caught some of us by surprise. Had we missed something? A meeting? A phone poll? A flyer? Were we supposed to vote on Frogue as well as our contract? What happened? And when?" 

Wednesday, March 18, 1998 

REBEL GIRL SAYS…READ YOUR OVID! 

"Hubris is perhaps the best way to characterize the current jostling for power within the evolving SOCCCD administration and the insolent behavior of the board majority. How else to explain the ascent of Raghu “Narcissus” Mathur, Mike “Ganymede” Runyan, Ken “Midas” Woodward and the other Myrmidons who wait for resignations and the subsequent job announcements?"

Friday, March 27, 1998 

FROGUE'S "SCHOLAR" HINTS AT VIOLENCE 

[PIPER:] “Isn’t it ironic that … a filthy, anti-free speech mother-fucker like you [Bauer] came on the scene and caused such a big commotion in an effort to silence my views?”

Friday, March 27, 1998 

UNION MEETING: A SOLEMN OATH OF HALF-ASSERY 

...The three of us talked. The agreeable Walt explained to Ronnie and me that the union is like an amateur crew on a ship, and the ship has grown larger and the seas have grown rougher, etc. I said, sure, but why won’t this crew listen when someone finds a manual explaining how to run a goddam ship? Walt removed his glasses and appeared to stare into the distance....

Friday, March 27, 1998 

"CIVILITY" & RAGHU'S TOUCHY-FEELY SIDE 

[Raghu's advice:] ...Say to yourself at least ten times per day, “I love myself” or “I like myself.” Make a photo copy of the palm of your hand and give yourself a “pat on the back.” Laugh a lot with others; don’t join in the whining. Have an appreciation party. Have an appreciation break at work. Verbally appreciate at least five people daily.... 

Friday, March 27, 1998 

“How I Joined the Union” —OR “Invisible Ink” 

Red Emma teaches writing part-time at Irvine Valley College. His activist politics demand his union membership, but in five years of teaching here, not once has anybody ever invited or encouraged him to join the union or provided him materials regarding representation by his local. 

Red Emma wonders why. Red Emma organizes other part time faculty members, many of whom also wonder. ... Red Emma calls the union rep, who does not return phone calls, but later leaves photocopies of the application materials, with the full deduction for dues (full-time $70/month) written in. But, surely, this amount can't apply to adjunct faculty. Can it? [He called the CCA; no, it's $18, not $70]

Thursday, April 2, 1998 

RAGHU IS FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF HIS TIME 

RAGHU: "I understand that some students have asked instructors to allow them to speak in their classes about campus political matters. In light of professional sense and matter [sic] of good practice, I would like to caution and advise all faculty to maintain the integrity of the classroom instruction by adhering to approved curriculum and course outlines of record for their day-to-day activities. It is not a good practice for faculty to allow campus politics to interfere with the educational interests of the students in the classroom...."

Friday, April 10, 1998 

The Evil of Froguenstein (Matt Coker) 

...As more union-endorsed trustees have been elected, the faculty association's power has grown. So have teachers' paychecks. The sixth-largest community college district in California, the South County district currently has the highest-paid faculty. The average full time professor's salary is $67,495—which is $12,000 more than the state average for community colleges, according to the state chancellor's office....

Tuesday, April 14, 1998 

Some Crazy Shit Down at the District, Baby 

[The district gets audited:] ...So, anyway, Fortune and Williams joined [Interim Chancellor] Hodge in her office at some point—it’s all gettin’ fuzzy in my head—but, after a coupla minutes, they stomped out again still hissin’ and steamin’ like before. Yuh see, [Trustees] Fortune and Williams came back into the Conference Room and thought they could sit there all day for this string of meetings, but the Lenz Man [state fiscal dude] coughs up this big hair ball and says, No Goddam Way. I mean he says they’re just not welcome, OK? So like Fortune fills her shorts and runs around like a goddam dog, ‘cuz she’s gotta stay on the outside lookin’ in. And that’s just what she does—glarin’ and glowerin’ and snarlin’, I mean. And she’s somebody who can do that, baby.

Tuesday, April 14, 1998 

INVISIBLE INK MEETS INVISIBLE REP—or HOW I JOINED THE UNION – PART II 

Here's a frightening thought: What if part-time faculty joined the union, used their new political power, and played a role in contract negotiations, workplace issues and the life of our academic community? Scarey, huh?

Tuesday, April 14, 1998 

Contract ratification: "What a pr*ck," thought I

...In response, Sharon MacMillan briefly explained how the disparity [in how the two college faculties voted] had come about. I think she said that, at first, Saddleback faculty were asked to show IDs and so on, but some objected, and so the Saddleback, but not the IVC, instructions were changed in mid-election. Naturally, union leaders saw no problem with this change at one campus but not at the other. For his part, Mr. Hart [the mediator] seemed particularly uninterested. “I’m just here to count ballots, ya know!” he said. “Hey, everybody, I’m practically worthless!” he added, in my imagination. 

Sunday, April 26, 1998 

FROGUE AMBUSHES A YOUNG CRITIC--WITH HELP FROM THE CHRISTIAN COALITION by Tom [Roy]

...Well, it turns out that Pam works for some dog-faced fool belongin’ to the Christian Coalition, and that rat bastard found out about Pam and the Recall. So he tells her he’s concerned about her involvement—’cuz he’s a right-wing Frogue-lovin’ asshole or somethin’—and that she should meet with his Christian Coalition pals some time to talk it over with ‘em. She says OK—she doesn’t wanna say “no” to the Boss Man—and he sets it up. When she shows up to this thing—it’s at some restaurant—she’s amazed to find this rogue’s gallery sittin’ around a table breathin’ heavy Christian breath at each other: Zanelli, Williams, the Boss man, the head of the local OC Christian Coalition, a plastic Big Boy, and Frogue. She couldn’t believe it! It was an ambush at the KK Korral!....

Monday, April 27, 1998 

THE 1998 IVC ACCREDITATION WHITE-WASH 

[District press conference:] ...At some point, Glenn Roquemore seized upon the notion of “balance.” He said that it was Ray’s job to seek a balance, not just to present the views of one “side.” Eventually, [Times reporter] Ourlian responded to Glenn’s theme by asking whether Glenn was saying this: to be objective, the report must have an equal measure of praise and of criticism of the board. (Later, Ourlian and I joked: “It’s a good thing these people weren’t in charge at Nuremberg: ‘Sure, these Nazi fellas did some bad things, but, hey, there were some real positives, too.’”)....  

Monday, April 27, 1998 

How I Joined the Union, Part III—OR Red Emma and the Temple of Doom 

At the meeting's conclusion, Red approached Prof. Woodward to thank him and confirm his attendance at the May 8 meeting. Woodward again agreed to attend, but candidly offered that "you should form your own unit because most full-timers are not concerned with part-time issues," a sentiment echoed by Madame Chair, who joined us briefly in what was for me, the afternoon's apogee. The honesty of these two union leaders seemed a welcome, if confusing, respite from the obfuscation and bafflement (to me) of the meeting itself. 

Analysis: Part-timers have not been recruited, it seems, because they were not welcome.

Tuesday, May 12, 1998 

PART-TIMERS ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE by Red Emma 

Q: What is the sound of one hand clapping? 

A: A union dominated by a majority of part-timers, but represented by a minority of full-timers.

Wednesday, May 13, 1998 

State GOP joins Frogue Recall Effort 

With the help of the union Old Guard (Sharon M, Ray C, et al., addressed the Board in this regard), Frogue was replaced with extreme anti-unionist Tom Fuentes. Having already funded the victory of the anti-teachers union Padberg and Wagner in 1998, the union Old Guard had, through these actions, helped bring about a board dominated by anti-unionists who are largely hostile to faculty interests.

Sunday, June 21, 1998 

A MOTLEY CREW OF NAZIS VS. JDL THUGS: OH, WHAT A NIGHT! by Chunk Wheeler 

I read out loud a letter sent to me by Frogue's "scholar," Mike Piper: 

“Some of my Black Nationalist supporters in Southern California are watching your activities closely. They believe in Freedom of Speech, motherfucker, but you don’t.” 

Tuesday, June 30, 1998 

Student complaints? 

...A coupla weeks ago, Jeff K and Rich Z spoke with Raghu on behalf of the Academic Senate. (Such meetings are routine.) I am told that, in the course of the conversation, [President Mathur] briefly raised his hands to the heavens and declared that he believes in God and that (therefore?) the latter entity is on his side. He went on to refer to a coming era of justice or retribution, evidently of the divinely instigated variety. Jeff and Rich insist that glossolalia was not involved, though Jeff thought he saw stigmata form on Raghu’s right cheek. (Hey, everybody in A100: hide all the dictionaries! While you’re at it, hide the Captain’s palm tree.)....

Tuesday, July 28, 1998 

MATHUR'S "ENEMIES LIST" by Chunk Wheeler 

Years ago [in 1994], after Dan Larios was selected as IVC president—but before he arrived on campus—the cunning Mr. Goo, sensing an opportunity, busily constructed a document that listed IVC personnel and that drew yellow lines over the names of those employees whom Goo judged to be troublesome or unsavory. Essentially, it was a Mr. Goo “enemies list.” When Larios arrived, at some point, the ignoble Goo presented himself to the new president and handed the document over to him, hoping the unsolicited “gift” would create a useful debt of gratitude. 

Monday, August 17, 1998 

DISSENT'S DISTRICT NEWS ROUNDUP: AUGUST '98 

Did you know that...during an address at the May board meeting in which he defended himself against a 74% faculty vote of no confidence, IVC president Mathur, offering no evidence whatsoever, falsely accused three faculty of sending him racist “mail threats”? When one of the three demanded an apology, district legal counsel Spencer Covert responded on behalf of the district with a letter asserting that Mathur, by virtue of his participation in a “legislative proceeding,” was protected by an “absolute privilege” that is not lost “even if the person making the statement acted with actual malice or with intent to do harm.”....

Tuesday, September 8, 1998 

ARCHIVES: Goo's brown bag lunch, 9/98 

Today, a friend told me that Mr. Goo had just hosted one of his lunch events. I expressed surprise and explained that I had heard nothing about it. ... As you know, Mr. Goo’s history with special lunches has been disastrous. Last November, he scheduled a “Brown Bag Lunch” that managed to attract only George McCrory, who showed up with a banana. Under the circumstances, an ordinary human being would immediately drop the matter and never speak of it again, but not our Goo. A few weeks later, in the execrable Laser Beam, he expressed his gratitude to “everyone” who participated in this “very successful” event. I wonder what it’s like to be able to just lie like that? 

You’d think a man who received a vote of confidence from only 24% of the full-time faculty would know better than to host “lunches” of this sort. Not so. My friend reported that Thursday’s event was also an abject failure, despite the lure of a free hot lunch. [4 of his flunkies showed; he had ordered 20 lunches]

Wednesday, September 16, 1998 

WILLIAMS TO LANG: “STOP LIVING IN AN IVORY CASTLE!”--plus THE GREAT GUN DEBATE! 

…[C]hief Romas acknowledged that 38s are not unsafe; but the district’s 38s are old, he said. Lang jumped in to express both his respect for Romas/Parmer and his inclination to disarm them. “Why are we the exception among community college districts in the area [arming officers]?” asked Lang. Frogue opined that it is unwise to leave cops unarmed. Williams, finally finding a topic he cares about, stated that it is a “travesty” to suggest not arming police officers. Apparently addressing Mr. Lang, he said, “Get real.” “Stop living in an ivory castle.” (Yes, an ivory castle.)…. 

     Frogue then explained that, if only people knew the details—details, he implied, that were suppressed by the press!—of the Lorches’ fabled encounter with violence (?!), they would understand the need to arm campus cops. (Huh?) Idiotically, Lorch explained that only someone who has experienced what she experienced knows whether campus cops should have guns. “You don’t know until you’ve experienced this yourself,” she said, thereby marking the nadir of the evening….  

Thursday, September 17, 1998 

SOCCCD Brown Act Declarations: September 1998 (Burgess, Deegan, Loeffler) 

[VPI Burgess on Williams' backroom "deal":] At the meeting on September 5, 1997, Trustee Lang stated that Trustee Williams, on behalf of the Board Majority, had contacted him regarding the appointment of Mathur as the president at IVC. Trustee Williams stated that the Board Majority had agreed to appoint Mathur to the position of president at the September 8, 1997 meeting. Trustee Lang stated that the Board Majority was concerned with the consequences attendant to a 4 to 3 vote for the Mathur appointment [i.e., they sought unanimity] and that they were interested in reaching a compromise. Trustee Lang stated that the Board Majority promised to renew my administrative contract and the administrative contract of Dean Deegan if the Board Minority [Lang, Hueter, Milchiker] would agree to vote with the Majority on the Mathur appointment or abstain from voting against Mathur. ... Dean Deegan and I refused to allow the renewal of our administrative contracts to be exchanged for the Board Minority’s promise to support (or not oppose) the Mathur appointment....  On August 22, 1997, Chancellor Lombardi informed me that the Board Majority would not renew my administrative contract....

Monday, September 28, 1998 

HANGIN' WITH BIGWIG REPUBLICANS WHILE NAZIS HIDE IN BUSHES by Chunk 

     I got there on time, and so I didn’t see the motley crew of Nazis who, I later learned, picketed outside, for the stupid fellows arrived late. (Someone should explain to these people that real Nazis are punctual.) I did, however, encounter a man at the entrance—not a Nazi, a Democrat—who waved a sign that said that Congressmen Cox and Rohrabacher are “hypocrites.” I said, “Well, of course,” and then started to walk inside; he handed me a red comb on which was written, “Get Dornan out of our hair!”  

Monday, October 5, 1998 

INTERN FOR THE NATION WRITES ABOUT IVC 

Last year students, local residents and members of the Jewish and gay communities joined the faculty and staff efforts to challenge the board. In a rare show of Orange County activism, students Delilah Snell and Diep Burbridge gathered nearly 100 of their colleagues for a series of campus demonstrations, the first in the college’s near-twenty-year history. … The rallies attracted major media coverage. In response, the board, Mathur and their cronies claimed the students were “misled” by a handful of “disgruntled employees” and “leftist” faculty. Even freedom of speech took a nosedive…. Now the students, represented by the ACLU, are suing Mathur and the board for violating their First Amendment rights. … The board’s actions are astonishing, but what is even more astonishing is that at a small commuter college, in a largely Republican district where most people never learn the names of public officials, these students cared enough to challenge injustice and are fighting to secure future students’ rights…. 

Tuesday, October 6, 1998 

Williams' secret deal revisited 

[Revealing Williams, that conniving hayseed cop (who later became the poster boy of OC corruption)]

"No matter what the details were, Mr. Williams’ attempts, during a private conversation with a trustee prior to a board meeting, to broker a deal between opposing trustee camps regarding an upcoming vote, was an assault on the ideal of open and honest government. With the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state of California has wisely forbidden private agreements among members of “legislative bodies”—e.g., community college trustees. We believe that, prior to the Sept. 8 meeting, Mr. Williams and his compatriots secretly agreed, through private conversations, to support Raghu Mathur and, further, secretly pursued a deal concerning the presidential appointment with their opponents on the board. These actions were violations of the Brown Act."

Monday, October 26, 1998 

RED EMMA FIGHTS FOR PART-TIMER REPRESENTATION 

     General Pinochet’s house arrest notwithstanding, there is room for evil in the world and it resides in a little room in the Saddleback library where, true to Red Emma’s sorry expectations, that group we whimsically call the union leadership attempted first to get everybody to agree that nothing could be done about my concern.... Then Mr. Lebow and his CTA team advised that he was there to “officially” advise the correctness of my interpretation of the “each” clause, after which time it was the responsibility of the Rep Council to amend the bylaws. Yikes.... 

Lisa & Roy

Saturday, October 31, 1998 

Unlikely Allies 

“Why is the faculty union giving money to endorse candidates who are appealing to a segment of the voter population who is opposed to unions? “ said Irvine Valley College professor and union member Brenda Borron. “It’s simple. It’s the buying and selling of board members. They will do anything to keep control of the board majority.”  

Monday, November 2, 1998 

THE CRISIS AT IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE by Red Emma 

Our district represents a microcosm of what’s happening across the state and the nation. Sadly, the crisis at SOCCCD has received almost no state or national media attention since Mr. Frogue’s proposed seminar. Why not? It is in fact because in its way, this crisis nearly perfectly represents all the coordinated attacks on public education: the attack on intellectual integrity, the attack on labor and student rights, the promotion of corporate hegemony and so on.

Monday, November 9, 1998 

Trustee race of '98 

I remember challenging Sherry to acknowledge this aspect of her “leadership” at a forum shortly after the notorious ’96 campaign. (January 10, 1997.) On that occasion, she said that the leadership had to resort to unsavory campaign tactics in order to “preserve life as we know it.” “So,” I said, “you are saying that the end justifies the means.” “No,” she answered. “I am not saying that at all. I’m saying that we needed to take this action [using a homophobic flier] to protect life as we know it.” Oh. At the time, I got the distinct impression that the woman does not know what the phrase “end justifies the means” means. 

Monday, November 9, 1998 

THE CHARACTER OF THE OPPOSITION by Big Bill [Roy]

I could not help imagining the party for the other side: Mr. McClendon discoursing on democracy and unionism; Lee Walker in the corner, trying to think of the name of the Governor; Ken Woodward hissing and sneering and alerting others of his “Ph.D. in economics”; a bepolyestered Sherry bitching and moaning about her unparalleled labors at the Xerox machine; some of the “Scandalous Boys” leering and choking and turning red; Frogue and Mathur trading paranoid fantasies. In a room like that, no decent person could resist the urge to go postal.  

Tuesday, November 10, 1998 

ANTI-CHRISTIAN DISCRIMINATION? by Chunk Wheeler 

...Undoubtedly, the educators Mathur praises in his email deserve commendation. But those who know the Goo know that the last paragraph of his message is intended as a comment. It is saying that there exist educators at IVC who don’t “deserve our affection, support, and gratitude” and don’t “care about the students, the college, and the profession.”

Tuesday, November 10, 1998 

MATHUR CENSURED FOR LYING by Chunk Wheeler 

[INSTRUCTIONAL COUNCIL MEETING:] Wendy mentioned that she had met with Chancellor Lombardi ... and he indicated to her that he had met with Raghu on Monday, March 21, and was aware of the petition Raghu had been circulating. Many chairs expressed anger at hearing this because, at the Instructional Council meeting on Tuesday, March 22 [i.e., one day after Raghu’s meeting with Lombardi], Raghu had been questioned regarding this petition and had said that he had not forwarded [it] to anyone. IC had agreed that no one will work outside of the IVC governance structure and agreed-upon processes. They felt that Raghu had lied to IC because he had already spoken with the Chancellor [about the petition]. ... Margie made a motion to censure Raghu Mathur. [It carried.]

Tuesday, November 10, 1998 

“MAIM” (aka EMMA’S MODEST PROPOSAL) by Red Emma 

This month’s Lingua Franca reports disturbing developments from Serbia, these at the University of Belgrade. Passage of President Milosevic’s “Law on Universities” allows the government to appoint deans directly…. Deans and rectors, reports Lingua Franca, are now responsible for all future faculty appointments. … Let’s see: Government interference in administration. Heavy-handed control of hiring policies. Unannounced meetings. Laws passed absent public input. Attacks on activist Philosophers. Personal vendettas against disloyal faculty. Messing with curriculum. Violating the Brown Act. —I certainly hope Raghu and Glenn are getting this down.  

Monday, November 16, 1998 

TRUSTEE HUETER'S FAREWELL REMARKS: "AN EMBARASSMENT" 

"Recent decisions made by some of the trustees have resulted in dismantling of outstanding educational and administrative structures at Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College. Nearly all of the most talented managers have left the college district because of micromanagement and poor judgment by some trustees and their appointees. The state of California is closely examining financial, educational, legal and administrative actions taken—sometimes in secret...."  

Monday, November 23, 1998 

FROGUE ON A NUT ROLL by Big Bill 

[Trustee] Lorch had evidently used her brief time away from the mike to create a demeanor of utter stupidity and condescension. She now lectured: “We are in a new era.” There is an “industrial revolution in education.” We need to compete with other schools, and that requires being productive. Concerning productivity and its role in the hiring process, she was hearing one thing from IVC, another thing from Saddleback, she said. She just wanted to know whether the colleges were using a “straight productivity model.” “I don’t need more data,” she concluded, once again sinking into her chair with an air of peevitude. Someone near me muttered that, after 5 1/2 years, Lorch had learned absolutely nothing. Another person just shook his head, saying, “She’s an idiot.”

Monday, November 30, 1998 

THE "RAT BASTARD" INCIDENT plus MORE LIES by Big Bill 

During one session [to prepare new School Chairs], I challenged Glenn [Roquemore] and Howard [Dachschlager] to explain to me the basis of their evident distrust of the School of Humanities and Languages, an attitude shared by many, it seemed, at their end of campus. I assured them that, in my experience, and contrary to what they seemed to think, I had never encountered nor even heard about plots against them or against anyone else by the School of H&L. As far as I could tell, I said, H&L has always pursued its goals and agendas openly and directly. (I could have added: without the use of anonymous petitions, enemies lists, or secret backroom deals.) I added that, whatever anyone else had allegedly done, I was determined to be completely open about anything I was contemplating doing as chair....

December 07, 1998 

THE CLOCK TOWER INCIDENT by Big Bill 

Just before 1:45, J emerged from the A100 building with a faintly foppish [Chancellor] Sampson in tow. (One senses that our new Chancellor cares more about his haircut than about, say, the Brown Act.) A circle immediately formed around him while Mathur, the consummate unprofessional, still in his office, scribbled at his desk with his back turned to us…. What happened next was amazing. For the next half hour, as the crowd grew to perhaps sixty (others stood off to the side and watched), Sampson was peppered with challenges from this disparate group of people who nonetheless agreed that we had had enough [from Mathur]. At least a dozen people spoke; they spoke eloquently and passionately and unanimously about Mathur’s arbitrary and autocratic ways. It was a proud, if rare, moment in the history of the Goolag.  

Tuesday, December 15, 1998 

NARCISSUS by Niles Nemesis (Dissent's "Northern Field Correspondent") 

What I am referring to, of course, is the recent “Poinsettia episode” at IVC classified staff’s holiday event. In case you haven’t heard, our beloved leader crashed the party, insisted on delivering a seasoned message (“We really don’t think of you as [second class citizens]!”), and snatched the holiday centerpiece—a beautiful poinsettia—from a senior classified staff member by pulling a “six months seniority in the district” card to trump the astonished throng. Never mind that this was a party conducted to celebrate the fine work of classified staff. Never mind that he wasn’t even invited (a conscious decision). And never mind that the purpose of the “contest” to award the table centerpieces was to acknowledge and honor our most senior classified staff members. In the Magoo universe, all celestial objects revolve around him in Ptolemaic perfection.  

Tuesday, December 15, 1998 

MATHUR’S INFAMOUS “CLAP” AND POINSETTIA EPISODES by Big Bill 

Yesterday, I sought to duplicate something for one of my classes but found that the A200 copier was down for repairs. So I ventured into A100—IVC’s Administration Building—to use its copier, but, when I entered, I found that THE PRESIDENT, Raghu P. Mathur, was conducting a bizarre ritual. He stood before a crowd of perhaps thirty people; he said something—“Bla”—and then the audience responded with a single CLAP. Then he said something else—“Bla Bla”—and, again, a single, loud CLAP. These antics pleased him enormously, though his audience seemed disturbed, like that kid who had to hop on Saddam’s lap. What, I asked myself, could this possibly mean? [Mathur had learned this routine from OC GOP chief Tom Fuentes, a Saddamesque fellow.]

Monday, December 28, 1998 

ARCHIVES: THE INFAMOUS "PTEDDIDACTYL" 

Teddi threatened to sue the district, I guess, cuz we were puttin' her head on this dinosaur. I think she was once a "Breck Girl" or something. Or was that a "Beck's Girl"? 

Monday, January 4, 1999 

Classic Raghu Mathur: "I feel discriminated!" 

Mathur: "This was a pure and simple case of racial discrimination against a professional educator, who all his life has worked hard to earn people’s trust, confidence, respect, and affection. There is absolutely no question in my mind even today that I am the best qualified to do the job 100 times better than Clella Wood or any other dean in this position at IVC on any day of any week, month, or year...." 

Thursday, January 7, 1999 

Professor, college leaders at odds over newsletters 

[Student Deb Burbridge:] “He’s been writing [the newsletter] for 18 months and only now they’re reprimanding him. I’ve been reading it for six or seven months and it’s always been that way. For me, it was really informative, because I couldn’t go to all the board meetings and I relied on “The Dissent” for what was going on. I find his sense of humor satirical. I didn’t take it very seriously at all. If anyone knows Roy he’s the most soft-spoken and non-violent person you can imagine.“ 

Monday, January 11, 1999 

It's a bad, bad, bad, bad world!

[Opening session:] ...Next came introductions of some visiting bigwigs, starting with Williams and then moving on to Nancy Padberg, one of the new trustees. Marcia Milchiker was introduced last for some reason. I seem to recall that Sampson also mentioned Trustee President Dot Fortune, who was not actually present, though she was there in spirit, a kind of moral stinkwater that covered the ground and filled the air. Dot gives Cedric his marching orders each morning. Despite her zany past (witchcraft, professional wrestling) and her manifest looniness and boorishness (she drives everyone nuts), she is now the Empress of SOCCCD, the “brains” of the operation. Good Lord. (I was just kidding about the professional wrestling.)....

Thursday, January 14, 1999 

THE DISTRICT ACCUSES ROY "DISSENT" BAUER OF VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION 

How, we asked, is using the phrase "Mr. Goo" to refer to Raghu an instance of racial discrimination? Well, explained Sampson, Goo sounds like “gook,” and “gook” is a term of disparagement for Asians. “President Mathur,” explained Sampson, “is an Asian.” I responded by noting that never—I mean never—had I associated the phrase Mr. Goo with the term “gook.” I said that I intended the term Mr. Goo as an allusion to “Mr. Magoo” and perhaps to, well, goo, the sticky substance. Besides, isn’t the term “gook” usually associated with Vietnam and the North Vietnamese?

Thursday, January 21, 1999 

The board's "persistent and defiant misconduct" (according to Orange County Superior Court Judge Tully H. Seymour) 

A judge has ordered the South Orange County Community College District to tape-record its closed-door meetings for two years because of its “persistent and defiant misconduct” in violating state open-meeting laws. Orange County Superior Court Judge Tully H. Seymour also referred the case to the District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal prosecution, court records show. A prior finding of Brown Act violations against the district in 1997 also will be forwarded…” 

Monday, March 15, 1999 

"ASK MISS FORTUNE" -- inauguration 

"Ask Ms. Fortune" (or "Ask Miss Fortune") was one of our more popular features. "Miss Fortune" is, of course, a pun. "Misfortune" or "Miss Fortune"? The latter was a certain notoriously bumptious trustee, one who quit the Board amid rumors that she no longer resided in the county. Ah, a typical SOCCCD factoid! The feature was authored by the one and only Red Emma, starting March of 1999.

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 

Wagner on Blackmun, RIP, FU 

Wagner was always thus 

Monday, August 16, 1999 

A QUOTATIONAL TOUR OF RECENT DISTRICT HISTORY 

“Under the current president, decisions are made unilaterally by the president, and at his direction are kept at the administrative level only, or reflect Board directive[s] irrespective of the college-wide governance organizations…When the president establishes priorities for the college and makes decisions, he usually does so irrespective of the advice of others and without their support.” “[A]lthough the current president had previously been a school chair for a school of eight full-time faculty, he had never served in a senior administrative position. His chosen Acting Vice-President of Instruction [Glenn Roquemore] has had no administrative experience at the college other than one month as a school chair….” “Outside observers note that the Board continues to make sweeping changes with ‘very little depth and understanding of consequences’ of those actions…, without ‘linking changes to evidence’…, and without consulting the administrators most affected…These matters confirm the conclusion of the Sorenson report that there ‘is little evidence of trust anywhere in the organization.’” 

—Excerpted from the supplemental [Accreditation] report for standard 10. (7/31/98) THEIR MONKEY BOY

Monday, August 16, 1999 

The speech and advocacy policy 

...Fortune broke in to read endlessly from the policy, and then she said something. I’m not sure what she said, ‘cuz I tuned out, but it had that “you mean to tell me!” feel to it. Everyone ignore her and rolled their eyes, which only increased her agitation and peevitude…. 

     Frogue seemed befuddled again. “Is this a motion or an amendment?”, he asked. Someone said, “Good God.” A snore ripped through the night.

Monday, August 16, 1999 

Mathur's "unsightly clutter" episode 

...Fortune quickly established a redolent peevitude that never dissipated. We had discussed this damn business for over a year, she said. Everybody was involved—a lawyer, the ACLU, students, my Aunt Minnie, et al. We did everything right, she declared. In the end, we adopted UCI’s new policy, and, she noted, at the time, no complaints were heard from the two Academic Senates. So what’s all this infernal caterwauling?! 

     Naturally, Dot didn’t know what she was talking about....  

Monday, October 4, 1999 

The September 27 Board Meeting: the reductio ad absurdum of democracy—by Chunk Wheeler

...Johnny Boy [Williams] mentioned his having attended something called “Constitution Day” at the Claremont Institute, which, I’m told, is a right wing think tank. During his report, Frogue said he showed up for that one, too, and he even asked questions. I bet the people at the Institute were impressed by these two dolts from south OC, one bouncing a soccer ball on his head, the other quoting Spotlight [a white supremacist tabloid]....

 

A nice example of an SOCCCD board meeting, 2010:

Padberg seeks to impose PG on Saddleback College TV content

Also: Mathur is fired

Here we find trustee Don Wagner seeking to pull the two colleges out of membership with the American Library Association, a group he judges to be a bunch of "liberal busybodies."

2000: Williams targets WASC

An effort by faculty to convince the board not to renew Raghu Mathur's contract