• the brand-new FAU president possibly breaking open-meetings laws at her very first official function – a breakfast with the Board of Trustees and student body president that she closed to the public.
• SG appointing a committee to suggest new ways of spending more than $100,000 on "multicultural programming" – but not putting any black students on it.
• the surf club heading to California for a national competition – with a president who's no longer a student and doesn't want anyone to know.
• a letter from the editor describing the recent upheaval at the newspaper – and daring Student Affairs to discipline her for meeting me "for the purpose of advising."
That's not too shabby for a summer issue led by an EIC who's a Spanish Studies major at a mid-sized university with no j-school. (Click on these pages to enlarge them, or go to the UP website and click "University Press in Print.")
So what did student media director Marti Harvey think about the issue? Well, I asked her yesterday afternoon. While I was on campus. Purposefully advising students. She replied...
"I haven't read it yet."
Even though you're the official interim adviser and it's been on the racks for more than a day?
"I'm going to take a copy home and read it tonight. But I've heard complaints."
What kind of complaints?
"Just complaints."
Then she smiled weakly and walked away.
Marti and other Student Affairs officials have declared they want to "move student media in a new direction." Sadly, that direction doesn't seem to appreciate the kind of aggressive journalism mentioned above.It wasn't always this way. When Marti applied at FAU, her cover letter stressed "students' rights to publish truthful information, their rights to express opinions...and their rights to have access to public information."
But these days, Marti is thwarting that access. At least when the public information is about herself.
Wanting to know more about the woman who's now their official adviser, the editors have been digging into Marti's past. A couple weeks ago, Marti told them she had written stories under the name of a Dallas Morning News golf reporter who died last year. But she refused further comment.
So the students kept digging.
Read what they've found here. But to sum up: FAU's student media director has never had a byline in The Dallas Morning News and was never a full-time employee, despite being listed on FAU's website as “a reporter for the Dallas Morning News’ award-winning Sports department.”
Marti has often cited her experience at The Dallas Morning News when she critiques the UP. She led me and the students to believe she wrote and reported significant stories. Without that, her professional journalism experience is reduced to less than two years at a community newspaper chain. And as the UP reports, even that is suspect.
Yesterday, Marti once again refused to comment on her journalism experience – unless the editors scheduled an interview through Media Relations. Then she ushered two editors from her office.
Later, EIC Karla Bowsher asked me, "How can I take advice from a woman who isn't honest about her journalism experience? And who won't even talk to me about it?"
For once, I didn't know how to advise her.
TOMORROW: If you think this is weird now, just wait.
