I have been writing and reporting here in Southern Utah for almost five years now. In my short but growing tenure here as one who gets after the truth, it has been rarely my experience to encounter something as blatantly egregious as the behavior of Dixie State University.
Case and point, the firing of theater professor Varlo Davenport.
It is an assertion I share with many people that DSU hopes in vain that this will blow over and people will forget what they have done. And granted, even with something as insane as this has been, it has a shelf life in news land.
But a development has arisen that is news worthy and more importantly, discussion worthy for the people who are interested.
As I reported in a previous article, DSU fired Davenport under auspiciously unethical and possibly illegal circumstances while maintaining, without much validation to the claim, that they had followed not only their policies but the law. (It should be noted that if their policies do not reflect the law, they are not legal either).
Most curious to note, is that not a few months before Davenport was fired, Mark Houser was a professor in theater arts up for review. A review mind you, that resulted in nine tenured professors recommending his termination. Houser is now the department chair where Davenport once was and is a key player in Davenports firing.
A question in need of answer here is just how exactly, after said review, Houser was not only able to keep his job, but to also promote. It would be interesting to hear what those nine people had to say about it but more importantly, to know just who exactly had the power to override the policies and procedures and keep Houser on. Jeff Jarvis is said to have made the call, but the question is to be begged, did he act alone or was he authorized/instructed to do it?
And the more poignant question is just how it is that yet another over ruling of procedure was authorized by President Biff to render nill the findings of Davenports hearing where he was exonerated of any wrong doing. Did Biff act alone? Surely he was advised by someone.
Despite no charge being filed by campus police or any “local law enforcement” anywhere, DSU maintained that there was information out there that once revealed, would vindicate the decision. This is hardly possible in so much as even if he was charged, it cannot be justified that he was fired first. Even Southern Utah University, who incidentally has the same legal representation as DSU, waited until an employee of theirs was actually convicted of a crime, before beginning to consider there own disciplinary course of action. Davenport, as of yet, has not even been charged. With anything.
But, it has come to light that this information DSU hopes to be the missing link to explain all and put minds at ease is really nothing more than a three to four month after-the-fact allegation of child abuse that was to be reviewed by the Washington County Attorney.
As of this week, the County Attorney has determined no charge of a Class A misdemeanor or felony is justified.
But in a somewhat unusual move, the County Attorney has decided to turn the review over to the City of Saint George prosecutor to see if they can come up with a charge.
Say again?
The City of Saint George has confirmed that they are now also going to review the case to see if a charge is warranted for Davenport.
Basically, the County Attorney found no wrong doing on their level, so Saint George is going to review it to see if perhaps a Class B or C misdemeanor is warranted. Hell, maybe they’ll give him a parking ticket…something… because if they do not, DSU is going to be in the seriously grave place of having looked like they just did what they actually just did.
I wonder if the 1983 Actions (Federal Lawsuits) against the college currently and pending will get the same latitude if it does not go their way. In other words, can everyone judge shop like this?
DSU predisposed Davenports guilt, gave him no notice of allegations against him which they treated like convictions, and when he protested, they allowed him what appears to be a rigged hearing where second hand testimony and unsubstantiated complaints were used as though valid. When, in spite of this smoke-and-mirror attempt to resemble something legal was seen through and a reinstatement was rendered, Biff overrode it citing that the policies allowed for such. And when public outcry began to overrun the now embattled DSU, with their reputation on the line, they decided almost three months later to come up with yet another charge not originally cited anywhere.
It is patently false that Biff had such authority because everything leading up to the point where he could make such a call was not handled per policy nor state and federal laws.
I said it before, and I will say it again, this is a witch hunt and it is being carried out by a public institution and condoned by people at the highest levels of administration and law.
And I assure you, it is not an isolated incident. As each day passes, more people come forward with information that supports that statement.
In the coming weeks, Saint George City will decide if they will charge Davenport but it really matters not at this point for DSU. If they think a charge will vindicate their behavior, they are gravely mistaken.
While I cannot presume to know what the city will decide, and furthermore, in spite of the serious reservations I maintain about the way this entire ordeal and others like it have been handled by DSU, I am going to suspend judgment about the city’s decision until after they have made it. And so should you.
However, regarding DSU and what is appearing to be their pandemic and intrinsically paternalistic approach to disposing of individuals in a manner befitting an elitist club, I am compelled to speak out and to urge others to do the same. One of the most impending dangers to the American public rest with not the abuse of power or that power is a magnet for the corruptible. It is that we stand for it at all. Nationally or locally. It is in that vain that we must recognize a common cliche for its veracity and power to change this: Think nationally, act locally. We must begin from the place where we most have influence right here at home and work outwards from there. If it can happen to one person, it can happen to anyone.
It is time to get about the business of reforming this institution and requiring them to behave in a manner consistent with the highest principles of the laws of our land, and that of a public university that champions those laws, not abdicates them for some ill conceived purposes derived from what is presumably a gaggle of people who think they are above that law.
See you out there.
Related Story: DSU theater professor Varlo Davenport terminated, university refuses requests for explanation
