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There's a disturbing attack on academic freedom in today's news. Officials from Wisconsin's Republican party have filed a public records request for history professor William Cronon's emails. Cronon recently wrote an op-ed for the NYT about the attacks on labor in the state. They are more angry that on his blog he posted information about the American Legislative Exchange Council, information he tracked down simply by examining what's available to the public. Here is the email request available at Cronon's website http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/2011/03/24/open-records-attack-on-academic-freedom/:
From: Stephan Thompson [mailto:SThompson@wisgop.org]
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 2:37 PM
To: Dowling, John
Subject: Open Records Request
Dear Mr. Dowling,
Under Wisconsin open records law, we are requesting copies of the following items:
Copies of all emails into and out of Prof. William Cronon’s state email account from January 1, 2011 to present which reference any of the following terms: Republican, Scott Walker, recall, collective bargaining, AFSCME, WEAC, rally, union, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Rob Cowles, Scott Fitzgerald, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich, Jeff Fitzgerald, Marty Beil, or Mary Bell.
We are making this request under Chapter 19.32 of the Wisconsin state statutes, through the Open Records law. Specifically, we would like to cite the following section of Wis. Stat. 19.32 (2) that defines a public record as “anything recorded or preserved that has been created or is being kept by the agency. This includes tapes, films, charts, photographs, computer printouts, etc.”
Thank you for your prompt attention, and please make us aware of any costs in advance of preparation of this request.
Sincerely,
Stephan Thompson
Republican Party of Wisconsin
Cronon is an incredible scholar and no political radical. He is an environmental historian who writes histories of particular places that stretch far back into ecological time. His masterwork is a history of Chicago that explains why of all the cities of the West that vied for prominence in the mid-19c--St. Louis, Cincinati, Milwaukee--Chicago won out. He says it is because Chicago was located at a place where water and rail transportation could move goods east, and also because geographically, it was located at a regional juncture convenient to the places where different types of natural resources were extracted: lumber from Wisconsin and Minnesota, wheat and corn from Iowa and Illinois, beef and pork from various places on the plains.
But as in the McCarthy days we see Wisconsin Republicans going nuts and paranoid once again. When asked about the request by newspapers, one of them gave this outrageous reply:
“Like anyone else who makes an open records request in Wisconsin, the Republican Party of Wisconsin does not have to give a reason for doing so.
“I have never seen such a concerted effort to intimidate someone from lawfully seeking information about their government.
“Further, it is chilling to see that so many members of the media would take up the cause of a professor who seeks to quash a lawful open records request. Taxpayers have a right to accountable government and a right to know if public officials are conducting themselves in an ethical manner. The Left is far more aggressive in this state than the Right in its use of open records requests, yet these rights do extend beyond the liberal left and members of the media.
"Finally, I find it appalling that Professor Cronin seems to have plenty of time to round up reporters from around the nation to push the Republican Party of Wisconsin into explaining its motives behind a lawful open records request, but has apparently not found time to provide any of the requested information.
“We look forward to the University’s prompt response to our request and hope those who seek to intimidate us from making such requests will reconsider their actions.”
As if this poor professor is trying to intimidate the Republican party, and as if they're the injured party. The other thing that merits note is the way this Republican, Mark Jefferson, characterizes a history professor as a "public official" whose personal records are subject to the same scrutiny as, say, the state comptroller. There's a difference between the kind of scrutiny a professor can receive and that which an elected official should get.
But hey, at least someone thinks we're powerful. At least someone thinks we pose political threats of some kind. Anyway, I'm glad I'm done with college and a few score of pages away from finishing my education. But I fear for my kids, the way Republicans are going after the state schools. We're seeing the end of America's happily functioning multi-tiered educational system where state schools afforded top-notch educations and entry into top grad schools and into the professions. Within twenty years, we'll see state schools decrease in quality to University of Pheonix levels, while the private schools will do better and better. Wealthy kids will continue to do well, but no longer will higher ed be a means of rewarding hard work. Even more than it does now, it'll continue to replicate the inequities rending the American social fabric.
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