Commentary: Cyberbullying at Orange Coast College　

After watching the fragment of Olga Perez Stable Cox’s lecture at Orange Coast College, shot by a student without permission, it is clear that the Shawn Steel law firm mischaracterizes Cox’s comments as “hate speech and bullying tactics” (“Professor at OCC claims she’s living in fear,” Dec. 30).

First of all, Cox’s tone is conciliatory, remarking that despite a badly divided nation, she feels “we will get past it.” Secondly, knowing the country has elected a team with a vice president who many regard as anti-gay, Cox suggests gender freedoms are under assault and uses “terrorism from within” as a metaphor for expressing that fear. That is not hate speech.

Thirdly, there is no evidence on the tape that Cox shuts down students from disagreeing with her. Where’s the bullying? Does the definition of being bullied simply have to do with listening to opinions one does not agree with?

What disturbs me is that the premeditated decisions of the students to commit and post the surveillance to incite a social media mob, to cyberbully, breaks state and district codes of conduct. Maybe more disturbing, not one Republican student actually tested his or her mettle by engaging professor Cox in discourse or debate.

Not one student asked for clarification — “Professor Cox, when you say ‘it is an act of terrorism’ what is ‘it’ ”? Not one student complained that he or she was punished with a poor grade.

On top of all this, I’ve seen no attempt by the Republican club’s co-advisors to address this violation. Nor have I seen any indication that they have encouraged the students to challenge the statement through civil debate rather than through cowardly, dishonest, behind-the back tactics.

There are even more distressing dimensions to the case. I fear that attorney Shawn Steel, husband to Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel, is using his role as lead council for the Orange Coast College Republican Club and the incident at OCC give himself a national forum for his rightist agenda. Rarely, if ever, do clubs have legal councils.

And there is more. The OCC administration pretends a lengthy investigation must be conducted. This leaves a dangerous vacuum that encourages students to continue unethical and illegal tactics and in turn makes all faculty and students, left and right, vulnerable to cyberattacks. The “investigation” really should have taken two days.

Day 1: “Olga Cox, did you give permission to have the student video tape you?” “No.”

Investigation over.

Day 2: District and state codes of conduct have been broken, so the administration talks to each student involved in the surveillance and posting, then the next day makes a decision on discipline for each one, ranging from a warning to suspension.

Regarding the investigation of Cox’s fairness in class, academic freedom aside for a moment, there is a simple process that is followed all the time. If a student feels that he or she cannot speak up in class, the student talks to the instructor after class, and if the matter still cannot be resolved, the student goes to the instructor’s dean.

And if still not resolved (which is extremely unusual), then to the vice president of instruction, and in even more rare cases, something like this would get to the college president. (Was any of this procedure followed before the posting of the video?) And of course any of these administrators, probably the dean, would have said, “You felt too intimidated to question your professor? Get back into that class and start questioning. It’s your job as a student. And if you have evidence you are punished for your ideas, then come see me.”

So why is there still an ongoing investigation?

A hope that this will have all disappeared over the holiday season? A worry that appropriate student discipline will tie the phone up with more extremists? A fear some alt-right Republican donors will stop donating to the OCC foundation?

(What about fear that reasonable Republicans and Democrats will stop donating if this is not resolved?)

If the campus administration cannot act to fill this vacuum before the start of the spring 2017 semester, so that students and faculty can start the semester with renewed confidence in academic freedom, confidence in the student complaint process, and confidence they will receive back-up when students misuse surveillance in the classroom, then the responsibility falls on the Coast Community College District chancellor, John Weispfenning, and the district’s board of trustees to step in and take a leadership role.

GARY HOFFMAN is co-chair of the English department at Orange Coast College.