By Mike S. Adams

Apr 20, 2006

In todayÂ’s column, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Alliance Defense Fund has now officially heard that Scott Savage has been cleared of sexual harassment charges. The bad news is that his clearance letter is quite strange. In fact, it raises new concerns about free speech at OSU-Mansfield.

The letter clearing Mr. Savage is dated April 6th but the envelope in which it was sent is postmarked April 18th. This raises some interesting questions. First of all, why would the university wait for twelve days – well after the case got national exposure - to send Scott Savage the letter? Also, is it possible that they backdated the letter to make it look like he was promptly exonerated? Furthermore, if the date is true, why would they let Scott worry about the matter for almost two more weeks?

The content of the clearance letter is also strange. In response to the complaint the university recommends such things as "discrimination/harassment training." The university says an initiative is needed to "promote frank, open and respectful discussion among faculty and library staffÂ…" Who would you guess has volunteered to "spearhead" that effort? According to the letter, it is none other than Dr. Norman Jones.

For those who don’t remember, Dr. Jones was one of the faculty members who was allegedly “harassed” by Scott Savage. He was also the man who wrote the following in an e-mail:

I would add, however, that whatever book we choose should have some scholarly merit. The anti-gay book Scott Savage endorses (below) falsely claims that "the widely revered father of the 'sexual revolution' has been irrefutably exposed as a full-fledged sexual psychopath who encouraged pedophilia." Â…By any scholarly standards, regardless of whether one is more conservative or liberal, this kind of claim is a Jerry-Springer-style anti-factual rabble-rousing that has no place in any university. I am frankly embarrassed for you, Scott, that you would endorse this kind of homophobic tripe."

Dr. Jones was also the one who put the “harassment” issue in front of the faculty with the following words:

The fact that Scott continues to endorse a book that calls me and Jim and other gay and lesbian people "evil," and that he justifies this book on grounds that are ludicrous by scholarly standards, says to me this is about homophobiaÂ…This is a matter of professional standards and competence, and it is also a matter of harassment--of creating a hostile work environment insofar as part of our jobs (mine and Jim's, but also all the faculty's) is to use the library for both research and teaching.

Evie and Ted are investigating this matter with all appropriate gravity and diligenceÂ… Some of my senior colleagues intend to raise this issue in Monday's Faculty AssemblyÂ…

But the administration of OSU-Mansfield is even more arrogant than Dr. Jones. This following passage from the clearance letter is just too strange to make up:

Please note that we understand your [Scott Savage's] dissatisfaction and frustration with having to be brought into this investigation. As you know, though, the University has a compelling obligation to address allegations and suspected instances of discrimination/harassment when it obtains information THAT WOULD LEAD A REASONABLE PERSON TO BELIEVE THAT ITS POLICY HAD BEEN VIOLATED. (Emphasis added).

Since the gay thought police at OSU-Mansfield still donÂ’t get it, I have decided to craft my own clearance letter for Scott Savage. This should put the entire ordeal to rest immediately:

Dear Scott:

Recently, a professor named JF Buckley accused you of sexual harassment for recommending a book with which he disagrees. He claims to have felt “harassed” and “threatened” because he is a gay man. That causal attribution is untrue. Professor Buckley feels that way because he is emotionally unstable.

It would be entirely reasonable for you to file charges of religious harassment against him – clearly if anyone has been harassed in this case it is you. But a judge would not likely find Professor Buckley competent to stand trial. He isn’t even competent enough to use a spell-checker. Furthermore, the stress of a trial would likely put him in a permanent catatonic state. Neither one of us wants to see him sitting in a padded room drooling and repeating phrases like “give me tolerance or give me shock treatment.”

As for Professor JonesÂ’ charge of harassment, bear in mind that he is an Assistant Professor. He was just trying to use the incident for tenure and promotion purposes. In other words, heÂ’s just a self-serving son of a bitch. If I were you, I would sue him for slander. I hope this helps, Scott. Keep the faith. YouÂ’re a great American.

I plan to send my letter to the entire faculty (faculty@mansfield.ohio-state.edu) of OSU-Mansfield. If you decide to write them, donÂ’t say where you got their addresses. I donÂ’t want to get sued for harassment and discrimination. Well, never mind. Now that I think about it, tell them Dr. Adams sent you.

Dr. Adams will speak at the University of Oregon on May 16th. Details will follow on his website.

Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is a regular columnist for Townhall.com.

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