2 new articles on emails released from FOIA filing

[mcg]

Here, in the first two paragraphs of Story #1, is the "Missoulian's Big Lie:"

"As the fledgling administration of University of Montana President Royce Engstrom struggled to deal with escalating reports of assault and sexual attacks involving students, others on campus fought just as hard to damp down the severity of the situation.

Then-football coach Robin Pflugrad personally apologized to Engstrom when two Grizzlies players were tased at a party last fall – but blamed Missoula police for exacerbating the situation."





What exactly does paragraph #1 (the lead) have to do with paragraph #2 (presumably an example of the "situation" involving "assault and sexual attacks")?

The answer? They are completely separate and unrelated. One has nothing to do with the other. Yet the Missoulian chooses to perpetuate this Big Lie by pretending that "sexual assault" and the "Taser incident" are two sides of the same coin, or two edges of the same sword, whatever analogy you're most comfortable using.

And then the "gang rape" term gets thrown in (yet again) for dramatic effect.

It's wrong. It's incompetent. It's deceptive and deceitful. And it's completely on the Missoulian, its editors and publisher. It's the Big Lie. And the Big Lie is perpetuated for one reason and one reason only: a desperate maneuver to generate readership.

As the editorial appearing in Monday's paper stated, individuals who committed rape or sexual assault must be held accountable. But individuals performing such heinous acts to not a "culture" make, no matter how hard the paper tries to manufacture one.

What I don't get is the assertion that the sexual assault problem "centers" on Grizzly football. There may very well be a problem with rape in Missoula and at UM, but I can't figure out how it "centers" on Grizzly football. It seems the one documented incident was handled pretty quickly. Why is there no reporting on the other incidents?

 

[WaGriz4life]

Meanwhile, UM administrators also tried to appease concerned members of the public, and parents of potential UM students whose emails called for tangible, corrective responses to the campus sexual assaults.

A common thread to those emails?

How UM handled the alleged rape of a woman by a Saudi student – who fled the country when UM notified him of the accusation, how football players seem to have special permission to live by different rules than other students on campus, and how Engstrom is failing as the university’s leader.

“I am really tired of UM making national news for the stupid decisions made by our football players,” said an individual who wrote to Engstrom and whose name was redacted. The emails released to the Missoulian were all heavily redacted, sometimes to the point where entire pages were black.

“It seems every year we have players do stupid enough things for it to be reported by such outlets as ESPN, MSN, Yahoo ... etc. Yet, we don’t see any discipline. It’s clear winning at all costs has become job # 1 at UM. The fans know it, the coaches know it and it’s clear the players know it.”

Shortly after Grizzlies cornerback Trumaine Johnson and quarterback Gerald Kemp were tased by Missoula police breaking up a post-game party in October, one person wrote the following stinging email to O’Day, Pflugrad and Jim Foley, UM’s vice president for external communications.

“Where is the accountability and consequences of their actions, the coaching staff, the University?”

Johnson and Kemp, who eventually pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges, were ordered to sit out a quarter of a game.

“To be allowed to play again? Are you kidding me?” the email read. “... Yes, I understand letting the investigation ‘play through,’ but I could really care less about their athletic talent and ability to win games. I’m more concerned about morals, values and integrity than how they play football.

“And what about the perceived empowerment to these two and the entire University and communities at large, that if you mess up with law enforcement ... ‘it’s ok boys, I’m disappointed ... just don’t do it again.’

“Where is the integrity of this?”

In this section Florio states that a common thread to the emails received by Engstrom involved the case with the fleeing Saudi student. She then decides to quote completely unrelated and irrelevant emails from people bashing the football program. Florio is an incredibly unethical journalist, unlike any other I've encountered.

I also always get a kick out of all the moronic Montanans who know absolutely nothing about NCAA Athletics outside of the games they go see in Missoula. It is nothing short of hilarious that some people believe that Tru Johnson and Gerald Kemp would be thrown off the team at other schools for what they did :lol: These people imagine some "culture" or "environment of discipline" where no one gets in trouble, and if you do (even if it is only for a misdeamenor disorderly conduct charge) you are gone for "embarassing" the University. And that there should be a public press conference announcing the suspension of this kid and how "We dont do that at UM!" These ignorant rubes believe every program has this standard except Montana.

**NEWSFLASH**----This program doesn't exist.

 

[BWahlberg]

What I don't get is the assertion that the sexual assault problem "centers" on Grizzly football. There may very well be a problem with rape in Missoula and at UM, but I can't figure out how it "centers" on Grizzly football. It seems the one documented incident was handled pretty quickly. Why is there no reporting on the other incidents?

While I don't have direct knowledge it seems many other posters on here of late ahve suggest that the "other incidents" were possibly not even "incidents" at all;

2010 "gang-rape" where those involved had their University Court hearing cancelled after reviewing evidence, police refuse to investigate further after doing the same. So maybe not a "gang-rape" but just an..ahem... drunk orgy?

2011 "assault with athletes invovled" as some posters have suggested the "invovlement" was that a few athletes were at a party where it occured but not involved.

2012 arrest of Beau Donaldson where he admits action in a monitored phone call.

2012 possible school suspension and unknown action of charges being pressed against Jordan Johnson due to alleged sexual assault.

So of "the scandal" we've got 1 confirmed incident and another pending with the rest pretty much not in the mix per what I've read on here. I think the bigger "scandal" that is brewing is more the handling of the cases/reports and all of that rather than the bulk amount of actions.

But I guess we will see...

 

[UMGriz75]

The Missoulian has not provided much "actual" information.

What I have been able to read suggests as follows: over the past three years, Missoula has had the following rape incidents: 80, compared to Billings at 180.

Given their relative populations, that makes a "rate" of 0.03% compared to 0.05%. That is, Missoula's rate is 54% that of Billings.

Over the past three years, for the UM population as a separate population subgroup, it's a little difficult, thanks to the Missoulian, to know what the actual numbers are. I've seen between 4 and 6 reported over the three year period. If so, at "6", that represents a rate of just 0.02%, 40% of the rate in Billings, and 25% lower than the Missoula community as a whole.

So, if you are sending your daughter to school, where would you send her? The UM Campus appears to be one of the safest places, not the most dangerous.

Unfortunately, not timely data, it presents the years 2008, 2009, and 2010, but here's the reported incidents of campus violent sexual crimes:

UM: 2, 4, 3 Off campus: 0, 2, 0, total: 11

MSU: 6, 1, 3 Off campus: 8, 0, 2 total: 20

Idaho State: 3, 1, 5 Off campus: 0,0,0 Total: 9

University of Wyoming: 2, 1, 9, Off campus: 0,0,0. Total: 12

Northern Arizona: 10, 12, 12, Off campus: 0, 3, 0, Total: 37

Sacramento State: 0, 2, 8, off campus: 0, 1, 3, Total: 14

UC Berkeley: 11, 5, 6 Off campus: 7, 1, 3 Total: 33

http://ope.ed.gov/security/GetOneInstitutionData.aspxhttp://ope.ed.gov/security/GetOneInstitutionData.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now, before somebody gets on their high horse, that "No rape is acceptable," the point is that there is a presumption that everyone responsible agrees on that in each of these campus communities and take steps to prevent violent rape from occurring. The statistical measure, then, is nothing more than a measure of 1) the underlying cultural matrix, and 2) the effectiveness of measures taken.

That is, perspective. Something that the Missoulian, for some reason, has avoided now for seven months.

 

[UMGriz75]

MSU, 2010, 2011 (forcible):

On campus: 3, 8 Off campus: 2, 2 Total: 15

http://www.montana.edu/police/Clery%202011.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Still looking for something "official" for UM.

 

[grizpack]

Reminds me of a cow chewing her cud.

Chew. Swallow. Regurgitate. Chew. Swallow. Regurgitate.

Repeat as often as necessary.

 

[NorthEndZoneDan]

you forgot to include the vacant stare and the regular twitching of the tail to chase the flies away :lol: