by Brian Clarey
I’m sure that UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady’s announcement of her intention to retire at the end of the school year had nothing at all to do with the ugly tornado of vendetta and obfuscation surrounding the treatment of those who became known as the UNCG 3.
Lyda Carpen, Chris English and David Wilson were accused of working a side business during company time at UNCG’s University Relations Department. The charges carry felony weight, meaning that if convicted, Carpen, English and Wilson face jail time and the career and personal hits that come with that status.
Reporting by the News & Record suggested that Associate Vice Chancellor Paul Mason may have been pursuing a personal vendetta against the photographers and copywriter. I have known Wilson for years and can personally attest to his talent for pushing people’s buttons.
And in ensuing coverage, Chancellor Brady seemed to contradict herself. She told faculty in a memo sent to staff, faculty and students on Oct. 2: “The charges stemming from this investigation were determined and brought forward by the Guilford County District Attorney’s office, not UNCG.” UNCG Board Chairwoman Susan Safran echoed that assertion in a statement from the trustees. But Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann told the N&R that it was UNCG police who brought the evidence to his office’s attention.
The cover-up is always worse than the crime.
From where I’m sitting it looks like a little bit of a witch-hunt, no doubt exacerbated by Wilson’s contrarian personality. Wilson had an administrative complaint on file against Mason when he was terminated. But being a pain in the ass, last time I checked, is not grounds for dismissal, particularly in a state job. And with the University Relations Department whittled down from 16 to seven since Mason was brought on by the chancellor, it certainly seems possible that he was intent on downsizing the department.
That’s why smart money said that it would have been Mason’s head that was going to roll on this one. Instead it was the chancellor herself who punched her ticket on Monday morning, in a short letter to faculty, staff and students that had no mention of the UNCG 3.
Somewhat ironically, the photo that accompanied the university’s press release was shot by Dave Wilson.
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Greensboro/Guilford County seem to have a lot of *issues* which someone needs to address. These 3 people, who were charged, need to thank their lucky stars that they did NOT have to spend a night in jail and spend thousands of dollars to go to court and the charges were then dismissed. It seems that anyone can have warrants issued *WITHOUT any EVIDENCE of any crimes taking place. What is sad is when a person can GO TO COURT and the JUDGE makes a HUGE ERROR and approves a Protection Order against a person who has had NO RELATIONSHIP with the person who is requesting the PROTECTION ORDER to begin with. It seems that NO ONE actually *thinks about what is going on* before they ACT AND DO STUPID THINGS*…NC has a *self initiated warrant LAW* which allows anyone to take out warrants against another person for just about ANYTHING….WITHOUT HAVING ANY EVIDENCE that the accusation actually happened in the first place….. Well, perhaps it is NOT just the Magistrates jumping to conclusions…..I guess just about anyone can do anything these days and get by with doing them. NOW, one has to wonder exactly HOW AND WHY these people got out of the false charges so easy.