The Carolinian & The Owl

I spent just over four hours talking with Emily Bruzzo and Spencer Schneier. It was worth every minute.

They didn’t just ask me easy questions either.

I wore a hat and we sat in a coffee shop, just because Deep Throat was willing to meet in a parking garage doesn’t mean that I need to be so uncomfortable. They have promised me, and I believe them, that they will never reveal my identity. In fact, since they did not seem to be able to discern it, it is even more certain it would not be revealed.

They have treated the story with respect and I believe they gave Brady the best opportunity possible in which to express herself. Her message was no different than it has ever been: it’s not her fault, the faculty are irrationally difficult, times are tough.

Athena and her Owl

I do get the impression that she truly believes that is the case. I guess I find that slightly more disturbing than just assuming she was crafty. She may live in a reality where UNCG is idiosyncratic and all of this is confusing. Or maybe she’s “soul blind” it’s hard to tell, but it hardly matters since she has left. Maybe I’ll enroll in one of her classes when she rejoins the faculty.

To distill four hours of conversation down to a one page newspaper article and still capture both the essence and depth of the interview is no mean feat and I tip my hat to both Bruzzo (who endured the lengthy interview with the chancellor as well) and Schneier.

One question they did ask me but that didn’t really fit with the article is something that actually has come up twice since then and so it seemed fitting to answer it myself. Why the owl? What does it mean?

The owl is an ancient and contemporary symbol of wisdom (think Winnie the Pooh and The Sword in the Stone) and clear sight. The owl does not have her vision obscured by darkness and is able to distinguish the features of her surrounding even on the murkiest of nights. Particularly appropriate to UNCG is the close association of the owl with the Greek goddess Athena, whose Roman counterpart Minerva serves as a prominent symbol for the core of UNCG.

In ancient Roman folklore, the owl could be seen as a harbinger of death. If Sophie’s owl symbolizes death, it is only the death of a culture of bullying and of the obfuscation to which this administration has dedicated itself with the piety of ancient worshipers; however, given the paucity of ancient Romans reading this blog, I rely on the more popular understanding of the owl as a symbol of wisdom.

Finally, of course, the owl asks a very important question: “Who?” And its persistence reminds us that just because it is not easy to find the answers, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep asking the questions.

The Chancellor Needs to Answer

Now there has been a settlement, the final admission by the university that it didn't have a leg to stand on. Not one, not a stump, not a lean-to, not a dream, not a prayer. There wasn't even a whimper despite the promised bang.

Where is the evidence of egregious wrong doing now?

The lies should stick in Linda Brady's throat.

And if the faculty had any guts at all, they would be at her office on Monday morning demanding that she answer for herself. She should beg our forgiveness and she should leave now. There isn't enough crow to serve her what she deserves.

This. Is. Unacceptable.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.
Expect us.

The Owl Is Watching

On October 16, Provost Dana Dunn told the faculty at UNCG, “I would urge you that if you can give this a little time, information will come forward. Right now, you have very incomplete information. So do I.”

Susan Safran, Chair of the UNCG Board of Trustees followed this by saying, “When the evidence comes out, I hope you’ll understand the actions we took.”

The time has come that the truth must be told.

Provost Dunn, you have had two months since that statement to familiarize yourself with the situation. Chairwoman Safran, the evidence is out and it has only clarified the specious nature of the charges and the firings. 

The only conclusion that the faculty and staff at UNCG can draw from this is that they were lied to.

It may still be unclear what all of the motivations were for the lies, but that they have been told is not in doubt.

It is hard not to begin to wonder why Brady is protecting Paul Mason and why the Board of Trustees is protecting her. What does Linda Brady offer that is strong enough to hold together this melting mess that she created?

Has her openness to real estate development ‘for’ the university been sufficiently expansive to win her the support of ‘people who matter’?

I can only imagine that anyone else who had so monumentally failed in all that they had tried to do would be cut loose so quickly their head would spin. If Mason believed that the university relations office didn’t do enough to put a positive face on Brady’s continued flaunting and floundering, he can’t possibly believe his own little contribution to UNCG’s presence in papers has been anything short of disastrous.

Brady’s best hope at this point is that she will be forgotten, allowed to run out the clock and collect her handsome retirement. Mason is hoping he’s just elaborated his resume for further positions as hatchet man.

Rather than turning away and passing the damage on in the hopes that one day it will disappear of its own accord, let’s reclaim UNCG for its students, staff, and faculty. It starts by showing support – print the owl and display it somewhere, as your facebook profile picture, in the window of your car, or in the window of a sympathetic store.

There are fewer of them than there are of us and army of owls lets them know that we’re watching.

All I want for Christmas is a clean house.