Last spring, a woman student filed a complaint against John Bonnell for teaching Joyce's "The Boarding House" in a manner she found offensive. We do not know the woman's name, or the precise nature of her allegations. But we do know that Bonnell was suspended without pay last summer because of it (he lost $8,000 in income), and we also know that this complaint was taken by the Macomb Community College administration as the last straw in its ongoing attempt to break its most outspoken English professor. Bonnell was "counseled" last August that he needed sensitivity training (MCC generously offered to pay for it) and warned that if another such complaint comes in, he'll be fired.

Last spring, a woman named Katie Brown also took Bonnell's course. At the close of the term, she was telephoned by an MCC-appointed lawyer and questioned closely about Bonnell's conduct in the class. She was unaware that a complaint had been filed; the questions came out of the blue. Her account of the Q&A--which she wrote up for Bonnell and consented to have published--is fascinating. Brown was basically being coached to incriminate Bonnell--but the coaching failed because she could recall not a single instance when Bonnell did any of the things that, she later learned, he had been accused of doing. She does not consider Bonnell to be a harasser. But she does consider herself to have been harassed by the MCC administration.

Here's Brown's cover letter to Bonnell:

July 31, 2003

Dear Mr. Bonnell:

I hope these letters [recounting telephone experiences with College and Union "investigators"] will help your cause. I took your request for detail literally. I hope you are not offended by the letters. I apologize that I didn't get them to you sooner; they were not easy letters to write.

An obvious prejudice and injustice has taken place against you. I wish I could do more to help.

I did also speak to that man [Jamie Cook] from The Macomb Daily. I did not see the article. I don't trust the press, so I hope that he didn't twist my words.

Take care and best of luck to you. Feel free to contact me if you need anything more regarding this issue.

Best wishes,

Katie Brown

July 31, 2003

To Whom It May Concern:

During the spring semester of 2003 I was enrolled in and attended English 122, led by Mr. John Bonnell. As a result of attending this class I received a phone call by a lawyer, Mr. Len Niehoff. I found this call to be very offensive and upsetting.

Initially, Mr. Niehoff asked if I was enrolled in English 122 spring semester of 2003 with Professor John Bonnell. I stated that that information was correct. Mr. Niehoff then asked on a very general level if Mr. Bonnell had offended me personally in anyway during the course of the semester. I replied that he did not offend me. Mr. Niehoff then asked me if I was offended by any of the material we studied in class. Again I said no. He then asked if during the class discussions, did Mr. Bonnell say or do anything that offended me or that I considered inappropriate. Again I said no. At this point I asked Mr. Niehoff what this call was about. I asked if the college made it routine to interview students at the conclusion of the term as a way of checking up on Mr. Bonnell. He said no, the college does not check up on Mr. Bonnell; however, a complaint was filed against him from one of his classes that semester. He explained that the procedure then in this instance would be to interview several students to see if the complaint could be considered valid.

At this point, Mr. Niehoff asked me if he could ask a series of specific questions pertaining to Mr. Bonnell's behavior during the course of the semester. I said that he could ask me the questions. Mr. Niehoff began by asking if Mr. Bonnell said any of the following words during class: shit, bitch, damn, hell, ass or assholes, or fuck. I stated that I did not recall him saying any of those words. He asked if Mr. Bonnell ever referred to the female genitalia, or females in general, as cunts or pussies. I replied no, I did not recall him ever using those terms. He asked if Mr. Bonnell ever grabbed his genitalia during class or made any thrusting motions to illustrate class material. I said no, I did not recall such actions. Mr. Niehoff asked if Mr. Bonnell used the term beaver to represent genitalia. I said no.

At this point, feeling frustrated and offended at such questions, I asked Mr. Niehoff which class the complaint came from. He said that he could not give out that information. I asked what the complaint was. He said he could not give out that information either. I then explained to Mr. Niehoff that I felt that the questions that he was asking me were way out of line and ridiculous, and that I couldn't imagine anyone filing a complaint because Mr. Bonnell never did anything that I would consider offensive or inappropriate. I explained that I felt he actually went out of his way not to offend anyone or act in a manner that later could be considered inappropriate. Mr. Bonnell discussed with the class, on a few brief occasions when it was appropriate and related to the material were we discussing, the censorship laws and restrictions that college Professors are teaching with today. In one of the brief discussions, it was said that Professors have to treat the adult college students as though they are fourteen-year-old students. I explained to Mr. Niehoff that I was personally offended about that law. I explained that I do not appreciate a board of education deciding that I should be treated like a fourteen year-old. I explained to Mr. Niehoff that I was
angry and offended by this phone call. I reiterated that Mr. Bonnell did not say or do anything offensive at all, but rather was a very good teacher, very patient and went out of his way to see his students succeed in his class. I explained that I personally learned a lot of beneficial skills for reading from his class that I would not have learned from another Professor. To that note, I explained that I felt the college should focus on the teachers who start semesters expecting their students to fail and who do not encourage their students to excel.

To conclude the phone call, Mr. Niehoff asked if he could produce a letter of summary regarding our conversation. He explained that he would then mail it to me and I could read it over and then sign it if I felt the summary was accurate. I told him that he could send me the letter of summary and that I would read it but that I probably would not sign it because I didn't want the document going to court and my words being twisted to make Mr. Bonnell or myself look bad. Mr. Niehoff did not send me a letter to review.

Sincerely,

[signed]
Katie M. Brown

Mr. Niehoff is a civil liberties lawyer specializing in higher education issues. He has taught law school courses on the First Amendment.