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֭’s Letter to Associate Vice Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, J. Burns Newsome, October 31, 2007
October 31, 2007
270 Washington Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-1450
Thank you for your October 24, 2007 response on behalf of Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, Jr., regarding the administrative withdrawal of former Valdosta State University (VSU) student T. Hayden Barnes.
Unfortunately, you seem to have misunderstood ֭’s call for Chancellor Davis’ administration to “immediately drop its opposition to Barnes’ appeal, reverse the administrative withdrawal order against him, and ensure that any record of this matter be expunged from his administrative record.” You wrote: “Notwithstanding the student newspaper articles which you cite in your letter, I can assure you that Chancellor Davis has never opposed any student’s appeal to the Board of Regents.”
However true, such a pronouncement is of course quite beside the point, and your selective quotation of ֭’s request suggests a willful misunderstanding. Indeed, our demand could not be clearer. Because the Board of Regents recommended that Barnes’ appeal be heard by an Administrative Law Judge under the purview of the Office of State Administrative Hearings, the interests of Chancellor Davis and the Board of Regents are now being represented by Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General for the State of Georgia, in a hearing scheduled for November 26, 2007. We ask simply that the Chancellor and the Board of Regents recognize the legal and moral folly of arguing against the Bill of Rights and end their misguided defense of VSU President Ronald Zaccari’s administrative withdrawal of Hayden Barnes, a punishment based solely on clearly protected speech.
With regard to Barnes’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), FIREcan only say that we wish the delicate concern for Barnes’ rights displayed here had been extended to his constitutionally guaranteed liberties during his time as a student at Valdosta State. Regardless, attached please find Barnes’ signed waiver of his FERPA rights, granting the Chancellor and all members of his staff full liberty to disclose and discuss the matter at hand with FIREemployees. (A copy of this waiver was sent via fax to your office on October 24, 2007.)
We again urge VSU and the Board of Regents to show the courage necessary to admit VSU’s error. We remain committed to using all of our resources to see this situation through to a just and moral conclusion.
Because of the time-sensitive nature of the current proceedings, FIREasks for your response by November 9, 2007. We look forward to hearing from you.
Governor Sonny Perdue, State of Georgia
Angie Allison, Office of the Governor
Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., United States House of Representatives
Representative Ron Borders, Georgia State House of Representatives
Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, State of Georgia
Honorable Dennis R. Dunn, Deputy Attorney General, State of Georgia
DeBrae Kennedy, Assistant Attorney General, State of Georgia
Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, Jr., Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Chief Academic Officer Lisa Rossbacher, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Chief Operating Officer Rob Watts, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Senior Vice Chancellor Thomas Daniel, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Associate Vice Chancellor John Millsaps, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Allan Vigil, Chair, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
William H. Cleveland, Vice Chair, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
J. Burns Newsome, Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Legal Affairs, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Kenneth R. Bernard, Jr., Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
James A. Bishop, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Hugh A. Carter, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Robert F. Hatcher, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Felton Jenkins, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr., Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
James R. Jolly, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Donald M. Leebern Jr., Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Elridge McMillan, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Patrick S. Pittard, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Doreen Stiles Poitevint, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Willis J. Potts, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Wanda Yancey Rodwell, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Benjamin J. Tarbutton, III, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Richard L. Tucker, Member, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
Ronald M. Zaccari, President, Valdosta State University
Laverne L. Gaskins, University Attorney, Office of Legal Affairs, Valdosta State University
Louis Levy, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valdosta State University
Kurt J. Keppler, Vice President for Student Affairs, Valdosta State University
Russ Mast, Dean of ֭, Valdosta State University
Sharon Gravett, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valdosta State University