WVUP Blasted in Student Probation

West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s commitment to free speech and to due process in student disciplinary matters has been publicly questioned by some WVUP students, by state legislator J.D. Beane, and by the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

The school found itself embroiled in front-page political controversy during the recent Parkersburg mayoral election after placing student Warren Bigley on disciplinary probation for issuing a press release as president of a student Republican group the school said was not properly registered.

Bigley and fellow student James Ashley, in an Oct. 14 news release, announced that they were re-forming WVUP’s “College Republicans” club and that the club was endorsing Democratic Parkersburg mayoral candidate Bob Newell. E-mail complaints about the news release immediately came, according to the Parkersburg News, from Rocky Peck, chairman of the Wood County Republican Committee, and, reportedly, from Wayne Riley, who had formerly acted as an adviser for the student Republican club, which is currently listed in the Student Handbook online as the “WVU Parkersburg College Republicans Chapter.”

The Republican mayoral candidate, Rick Modesitt, faxed WVUP President Marie Foster Gnage Oct. 18, saying he wished to “register a formal complaint” about Bigley’s news release.

Communications Director Connie Dziagwa initiated a disciplinary complaint to Dean of Students Dotty Muir, who contacted Bigley Oct. 20 to discuss disciplinary action against him. In Dziagwa’s letter to Muir, she mentioned a “formal complaint” from a “local resident” about Bigley’s press release. Dziagwa said in her letter that Bigley had misrepresented himself when he said he was president of the WVUP College Republicans and that he may have thus violated the school’s code of conduct concerning dishonesty.

On Oct. 24, according to the Parkersburg News, Muir notified Bigley that he was being placed on disciplinary probation, saying “you have misrepresented yourself, used West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s name without the college’s permission and did not follow institutional procedures for release of information to the media.” He was warned that “additional misconduct” could result in his suspension from WVUP, and he was forbidden forthwith from holding office in any school organization, which he felt forced him to resign from the presidency of the College Republicans, though his group, according to Dziagwa’s letter, was “an inactive organization not officially recognized by the college.” (As of Nov. 15, Dziagwa said, the College Republicans had still not registered themselves with the college.)

On Oct. 30 an eight-day series of ads began in the Parkersburg News, proclaiming “Republicans Support Newell for Mayor,” signed by Bigley, Ashley, and four others. By Sunday, Nov. 6, the ads, with the same six names, were now headed “College Republicans Support Newell for Mayor.” A disclaimer which had originally said, “Paid for by Republican Friends for Bob Newell” now said, “Paid for by Warren Bigley.” Bigley apparently personally paid $575 for the series of ads, but in his political naivete he had created the name “Republican Friends for Bob Newell.” This opened up another can of worms for him, because he had not registered any such group with the city or state, as election law requires political groups to do. He had to scramble to correct his mistake and avoid real legal trouble.

The Bigley-WVUP story became the biggest story of the Parkersburg mayoral election campaign. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, from Nov. 3 through Nov. 8, covered it with five front-page stories, a time-line of events, and facsimiles of of Modesitt's and Dziagwa's letters. The News issued a scathing editorial blasting the school and published a letter to the editor from Pheng Xiong in Elizabeth pleading for students’ free-speech rights. Beane, a Parkersburg lawyer and representative to the West Virginia House of Delegates, quoted in the News, said WVUP's decision to place Bigley on probation for issuing an unauthorized press release was in error and should be rescinded. "We need young people to participate in politics," Beane said. "He ought to at least have the opportunity to do that."

The Parkersburg News front-page headline Nov. 5 read “WVU-P May Have Violated Own Policies,” and pointed out that the current WVUP Student Handbook seems to require a Disciplinary Board hearing before a student can be put on probation.

The Student Handbook online says, “In cases which would not result in probation, suspension or expulsion for the offending individual, the Dean of Students may determine disciplinary action,” and that “the student has the option of accepting the Dean’s decision.”

But, it says, “All cases that could result in probation, suspension, or expulsion must be submitted to the Disciplinary Hearing Board for a formal hearing. The recommendation by the Disciplinary Hearing Board must be referred to the President for disposition.”

The Handbook thus seems to state that, even if a student agrees to accept probation, a Disciplinary Board hearing must be held and that the finding of the hearing must be submitted to the president of the college for disposition.

President Gnage issued a statement Nov. 8 that she was in the process of reviewing the disciplinary action against Bigley. On Nov. 15 Gnage told the WVUP Chronicle that she was completing her review of the case, though she cautioned that because of privacy laws she would not be able to report specific findings. Her main concern in reviewing the case, she said, is that Bigley be treated fairly and given due process under the policies set forth in the Student Handbook.

Gnage also is working, she said, to institute a process of continuous review of WVUP’s disciplinary procedures to make them fair and effective and to bring them into harmony with the overarching policies of West Virginia University, so that administrators are not forced to reconcile one set of procedures with another when they must make disciplinary decisions.

Asked what she would do to repair WVUP’s image in the wake of this incident, she leaned back and smiled and said, “All you can do is do the right thing.”


Update: On Nov. 19, according to the Parkersburg News, Bigley received a letter from Gnage saying she did not believe the probation was warranted and overturning the disciplinary judgment.