What happens in the courthouse...

Unless explicitly noted otherwise, this blog represents my own opinions, not those of any organization (like the Kittitas County Democratic Party) that I might be involved with.

Feel free to join the conversation: welcome aboard!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Manweller Report


It's no secret that Matt Manweller isn't one of my favorite people, or that he and I are generally on opposite sides of the political fence. But CWU's report on his behavior toward female students transcends politics.

A little background: I taught at CWU for six years, from 1999-2005. Dr. Manweller arrived at CWU in 2003, and we had little or no professional interaction during our two-year overlap. I was denied tenure and left academia in 2005 (a senior administrator told me, "I don't know what you did, but you really pissed off your department"), and Dr. Manweller was granted tenure in 2008.

CWU's report about Dr. Manweller's sexual harassment is all over the newspaper web sites, or you can read it here. I've only read it once, quickly, and I don't have much desire to read it again, but everyone should read it.

I didn't hear any rumors about Dr. Manweller's behavior while I was at CWU, but I did have a female student come into my office once and say, "I'd do anything to get an A in this class." I jumped up, opened my office door wide, and told the student she really didn't mean that.

I was a little upset by this experience. After she left, I wondered what she had meant, and, if she meant what she might have meant, where did she get the idea to say such a thing? Maybe from Dr. Manweller, who really did exchange grades for sexual favors. He really did threaten a student's career if she told anyone about this. More than one student did tell someone in a position of authority about Dr. Manweller's behavior, years before he was given tenure, but it was the CWU's policy at the time to ignore complaints if they weren't formally submitted in writing. CWU failed those students, and for all we know is still failing students.

I was raised as a professional educator to believe that you don't trade anything but excellent student academic performance for an A, and to believe that you should do everything you can to ensure your students' success. In other words, I believe that one has a duty to one's profession and to one's students.

That's why Dr. Manweller's behavior is so repugnant. If a proper investigation had been carried out at the time -- 2006 -- of the first documented allegations, he would have had zero chance at tenure. Instead, here's what he got away with:
  • Trading grades for sexual favors from students and having this behavior be widely known among students;
  • Directly threatening at least one student's career, and indirectly forcing an unknown number of students to remain silent to protect their careers;
  • Stalking at least one student by finding her mother's phone number (possibly from university records, to which he would have had access) and calling her mother in an effort to arrange an assignation after the student graduated;
  • Initiating physical contact with female students that some students found uncomfortable;
  • Lying to an investigator by saying he didn't know the accuser, who had been in several of his classes and for whom he had written a letter of recommendation.
Politics has nothing to do with this. I would feel the same way about a Democrat who was a close friend (by the way, I am disappointed by the way this was handled by the Chair of Manweller's department, who happens to be a Democrat). I would not publicly defend such a person, as some are doing. I would urge a such a political candidate to withdraw from an election, and that's what I'm doing here.1

An elected representative has citizens come into their office asking for all sorts of things. How could a Representative Manweller really serve his district if citizens don't know what they might be asked to do in exchange for help?


1I've just sent an e-mail to Dr. Manweller with a link to this post.2
2He replied within minutes, writing, "Nobody else reads it, why would I?"

15 comments:

  1. Thank you for continuing to follow this story. Dr. Manweller needs to own up to his actions and accept the consequences for his behavior. It isn't a political matter, it is an ethical one. I'm a Republican and I would have supported Manweller, but his behavior is unacceptable. That he denies his actions and is lying to the public about makes me respect him even less. Owning up and stepping down would be the right thing to do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The guy met his 1st wife while he was a math teacher at her high school. He crossed the line well before he worked at CWU. This fact is documented. All one has to do is go to the Hurricane High School (UT) web site and look up their 1998 year book. In it he is listed as the boys soccer coach and she as the team captain. There is also the staff photo and the 1999 year book has the picture of his now ex wife.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So he didn't show up when Rob came through town. No surprise there. Given the negative image and press he imparted to the Rossi campaign on several occasions, the combination of record, temper and circumstance found it necessary to keep him away from Main Street at 5:00.

    The guy is a disaster. He makes Pam Roach (R-Renton) look like a saint, and she's not allowed to participate in the Republican Legislative Caucus because of her behavior. Just a matter of time before he attains similar status and DeBolt is already thinking about how to manage the problem.

    Congratulations, 13th District. You've managed to send a representative who
    is going to be assigned to the margins, at best. I read in his campaign literature that "he knows people in Olympia". Well, he's right. He does know the name of some people in Olympia. But more important and something you didn't consider, we know about him. Effective legislative representation is something you need to work on.

    Be aware, in the first legislative franking letter, when he's done absolutely nothing to help your district during the session, he'll get his "victim" status going and blame it all on everyone else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wrong. Manweller is a fighter--hence the character assignation. (No, I don't expect you will publish my post. It doesn't further the plan, does it.)

      Delete
  4. Several years ago Manweller made unwanted sexual advances towards me. At the time I wasn't aware of his "history" of preying on young women. Had I known I would have been more likely to report the incident and would have avoided ever interacting with him. Instead, I had felt embarrassed and upset and didn't tell anyone. I had let it go until I heard about this report. I don't think he believes there is anything wrong with his behavior. He prioritizes his desires over any kind of ethical code. I read the report and would agree with the woman's statement that he is intelligent, manipulative, and sexually aggressive. I don't want to provide any more details and still do not want to come forward or make any kind of formal complaint or accusation. Part of me wants to come forward to strengthen the case against Manweller, but at this point I haven't been able to convince myself to do it. I do wish the university had done its job 6 years ago, it would have likely prevented this incident from occurring, either because Manweller would have been disciplined or because I would have been aware of his behavior and would have avoided contact with him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To the previous poster, about your experience, I encourage you to please overcome your reluctance and contact the university. You can keep it out of the public (and the election issues), but the school needs to know this. I teach at a public institution, and I know firsthand how hard it is to terminate tenure. To do so, the school needs to tackle the union, and to do this, a comprehensive case (ie tens of thousands of dollars spent preparing it) must be compiled. Without sufficient evidence, the school will not take these steps. I am sure you are not the only one thinking about coming forward; please reconsider so that the school can make a solid case. Contact Human Resources and they can guide you on how to report your experience. Most likely you will be interviewed by a lawyer, in private, and that will be used in their report as additional evidence.

      Delete
    2. You may also wish to consult with a lawyer. Quite often, the university and/or the offending employee can be held legally liable for sexual harassment, and sometimes the damages that can be awarded may be substantial. There is usually a statute of limitations in which to bring a legal action (often three years, but talk to a lawyer about this), so it is better to act sooner rather than later. But let the university Human Resources know about this in any event. CWU didn't discipline Manweller on the old complaints, because they were made many years ago, and CWU didn't take any action at the time. But if you make a new complaint, they won't have that excuse, and I assume they will start an investigation right away.

      Delete
  5. I too encourage you to come forward. There are people who work in the Wellness center who can confidentially assist you. You will help yourself and others who come after you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous accusations. That's rich. Who are you mad at today? What political figure? Throw it up on the web. (And I mean throw it up.) Use your imagination. Maybe your mother? Kill her with words. Why not. You are anonymous. All of you. I've spent time with Matt and his wife and sons. Shame on you, "Anonymous."

    ReplyDelete
  7. I tried to follow what you cited and got nothing, ranging from Literally nothing (no page) to nothing credible. This page is slander.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, for some reason the link to the Manweller Report, which was originally set up by the Ellensburg Daily Record, doesn't work. I have e-mailed the newspaper to ask them to fix it, but meanwhile here's a link to the report at a different location.

      Delete
    2. I'm not downloading some document from your personal Google drive and pretending that's credible.

      Delete
    3. Suit yourself. Ignorance is bliss, and I'd hate to upset you.

      Delete
    4. Here is a newspaper report from the time, and the link to the Manweller Report at the bottom of the page seems to work. Read it for yourself, if you dare. http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/free/news/university-releases-manweller-report/article_5fd3616c-22b7-11e2-8709-0019bb2963f4.html

      Delete