TO THE EDITOR:
Many of us were thrilled when Holden Thorp was appointed chancellor. Thorp is a brilliant scientist with great personal charm, as I have experienced.
Numerous problems raised questions about his judgment, leading to his resignation. He said, “I also trusted some people who didn’t do things the right way.”
The chancellor’s habit of accepting bad advice did not begin with the athletics scandal. The advice of his “PR people” led to my highly publicized resignation as adviser to Youth for Western Civilization.
When I and the University were harassed by an animal rights activist who made false accusations against me, Vice Chancellor Leslie Strohm read my emails without notice and repeated these false accusations, threatening to remove my UNC IT access.
She never responded to my explanation but (two months later) demanded that I remove a website link to a link to a link which disparaged my accuser.
After I publicly criticized her and asked for an apology, Thorp, relying on Strohm, retaliated by removing my IT access, even though I met her demand. This was a blatant violation of my First Amendment rights.
I can well understand why the student body would support the chancellor but I cannot understand why Jan Boxill, chairwoman of the faculty, would call an “emergency meeting” following his resignation; what was the emergency?
It seems to me that she has acted as a cheerleader for the administration, rather than a representative of the faculty.
