This story begins unremarkably enough. Last week, Oliver Wolf, Vice Chairman and Media Correspondent of the Maine State College Republican Organization and student at Bates College issued a press release announcing that the Maine State College Republicans would be hosting a Youth Leadership School at Bates. Among the recipients of the press release was Bates' own Media Relations Office. Local media quickly picked up the story, and scheduled interviews with Wolf. But no thanks to the Bates Media Relations Office, which refused to help Wolf locate contact information for his release and which also failed to publicize the event. Thanks to the vagaries of email, Wolf knows why. Here's a copy of an email that appeared in Wolf's inbox shortly after he contacted the Bates Media Relations Office. The sender is Doug Hubley, Wolf's contact person there. The recipient is Bryan McNulty, also of that office.

----- Forwarded message from Doug Hubley -----
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 09:22:40 -0500
From: Doug Hubley
Reply-To: Doug Hubley
Subject: Re: Maine College Republicans Host Youth Leadership School at Bates
College
To: Oliver Wolf

Hi Bryan,

Hope you had a good week last week!

For me to edit/distribute, Oli Wolf has drafted a press release for a GOP training institute his bunch of thugs is hosting at Bates next week. It follows. This really seems pretty far afield for an event that we would publicize, but that may just be my socialist tendencies talking. What do you think?

Thanks,

D

In the area of media relations, the office generates publicity for Bates and disseminates news and information to the media and the general public through news releases and the monthly calendar. The Communications office helps members of the College community publicize campus events, scholarly achievements, and other news of general interest, which may be targeted to appropriate local, regional, or national media outlets through press releases, the monthly calendar, and the semi-annual cultural calendar.

All news and information to be released to the media from the College should be coordinated through the Communications office.

Wolf's response is a model of reasoned but withering tact. It consists of a letter addressed to Bryan McNulty, who was the recipient of Hubley's email, and William Hiss, Bates' vice president for external and alumni affairs. I print it below in full, as it speaks eloquently for itself:

Dear Mr. Hiss and Mr. McNulty,

I thought you would be the most appropriate people to address here because Mr. Doug Hubley and his office are under your auspices. Below is an e-mail Mr. Hubley sent me about a press release I had written for the College Republicans hosting a Youth Leadership School. This was an apparently deliberate action by Mr. Hubley for I don't know how he could have logistically sent it to me by mistake.

I sent Mr. Hubley and Mr. McNulty this press release last Tuesday so they could help with timely publicity for this event. Last month Mr. McNulty also requested that we add this office to our distribution list for our activities. Only yesterday have I received a reply after this press release I sent out. At best, it offends me that Mr. Hubley would react to me in this manner. Referring to my "bunch of thugs" is hardly a professional way to conduct business with a student group seeking assistance. At worst, it proves our worst assumptions that the College and its staff are actively working against the interests of College Republicans because of their political agenda.

Moreover, it is difficult for us to do any business at Bates on a professional basis if we are to be treated with contempt and scorn because of our political beliefs. Our event is intended to involve more college students in the political process with the help of the Leadership Institute, a nationally recognized and established organization based out of Washington, DC. If the College imposes a political litmus test on events it wishes to publicize, this demonstrates a fundamentally flawed system where certain activities are promoted and funded simply because the College agrees with the political message. How can Bates proclaim to be tolerant of all when they claim that their "socialist tendencies" impair their ability to work with students who hold divergent political beliefs.

In addition, at the risk of sounding overtly political, I find it hard to believe that a seminar on Conservative politics is somehow too "far afield" for the Bates Media Relations office to publicize. Last month, the office created a press release of a student film production showing Bates students protesting the FTAA in Florida and getting arrested for the front the Bates homepage. I was unaware that this seemingly objective news office had a political agenda.

On Thursday, February 26th, I will appear in a special weekly interview section in the Portland Press Herald partly because of my work in organizing this event. They contacted me less than an hour after I sent this press release to all the Maine media sources via e-mail. They are also sending a staff photographer to Bates today to take a photo of me the section. I had to research for all these e-mail addresses on my own for the Maine College Republicans because Mr. Hubley refused to give them to me after I asked him since I knew he had them on file. If I had only gone the route of the Bates Media Relations office with publicizing the event, this interview in publicizing the work of a Bates student would never have occurred or worse.

Mr. Hubley's e-mail makes me uncomfortable to be a student at Bates. I have never openly complained or have been antagonistic about the institutional liberal bias at Bates, but many do not realize the extent of its problem.

Incidentally, this e-mail comes in the midst of six weeks of going through great pains to raise funds to defray the costs to bring renowned journalist and gay marriage advocate Andrew Sullivan to Bates because of a lack of communication and at times frustrating rationale of academic offices and departments. I have had a relatively cordial working relationship with the Bates Media Relations office in the past. However, Mr. Hubley's e-mail to me makes it very difficult for that relationship to continue, if at all. I am available to meet with you to discuss this matter at your convenience if you would like. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Oliver Wolf

For more on discrimination behind closed academic doors, check out UNC-Wilmington professor Mike Adams' recent piece on religious discrimination at his school.

UPDATE: Here's another one that won't do much to improve Bates' public image: the sentencing of Linda Williams, who was a tenured professor of music at Bates until October, to five years in prison for her involvement with a local crack cocaine ring. Thanks to Mike Socolow for the link.