Thursday, November 24, 2011

University and political scandals

http://www.k-state.edu/media/webzine/0202/sexualabuse.html
Excerpt:
Your future All-American's coach may have something other than playbook Xs and Os on his mind. An estimated 15,000 convicted sexual offenders currently coach kids in out-of-school sports, according to Southeastern Security Consultants, a Marietta, Ga.-based company that specializes in background screenings for youth-league coaches.
Need proof?
* Last August a jury in California found a soccer-league commissioner guilty of molesting four boys.
* In October 2002, a soccer coach in New York was convicted of improperly touching an 11-year-old boy and showing him pornographic movies.
* In 1999 a high school football coach in Texas pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault for a series of sexual encounters with a 16-year-old female student.
* A study by the Houston Chronicle identified 64 Texas high school and middle school coaches who lost their jobs through termination, resignation or reassignment as a result of alleged sexual misconduct involving students or other minors between December 1996 and February 2001.
* A 1998 Education Week search of newspaper archives and computer databases found 244 cases in a six-month period involving allegations ranging from unwanted touching to sexual relationships.
Robert ShoopAccording to Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University expert who has studied sexual harassment and abuse in schools, this abuse isn't just limited to coaches. Band directors, music teachers or anybody who has access to your child in a private environment outside of the school setting could also be a predator as well. Unfortunately, the inordinate amount of time spent practicing for these extracurricular activities gives these abusers much greater access to your child than that by regular teachers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_harassment_in_education_in_the_United_States
Excerpt:
Sexual harassment and abuse of students by teachers

[edit] Prevalence

In their 2002 survey, the AAUW reported that, of students who had been harassed, 38% were harassed by teachers or other school employees. One survey, conducted with psychology students, reports that 10% had sexual interactions with their educators; in turn, 13% of educators reported sexual interaction with their students.[9] In a survey of high school students, 14% reported that they had engaged in sexual intercourse with a teacher. (Wishnietsky, 1991) In a national survey conducted for the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation in 2000 found that roughly 290,000 students experienced some sort of physical sexual abuse by a public school employee between 1991 and 2000. And a major 2004 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education found that nearly 10 percent of U.S. public school students reported having been targeted with sexual attention by school employees. Indeed, one critic has claimed that sexual harassment and abuse by teachers is 100 times more frequent than abuse by priests.[10]

[edit] Psychology and behaviors of teachers who sexually harass students

Most complaints about teachers' behavior tend to center around what is felt to be inappropriate speech in a class or discussion, such as using sexist or sexual references to make a point. However, some teachers can take things to a more extreme degree. Relationships between students and teachers can be often quite intimate and intense as they share common passions and interests. Students are dependent on their teachers' approval for academic success, opportunities, and later career success. They will talk about personal issues, such as problems at home, or with boyfriends/girlfriends. Such closeness and intimacy can blur the professional boundaries and lead people—both school employee and student alike—to step over the line.[11] Martin writes,
"...teachers hold positions of trust. They are expected to design teaching programmes and carry out their teaching duties to help their students develop as mature thinkers. This may involve close working relationships in tutorials or laboratories, individual meetings to discuss projects or essays, and more casual occasions for intellectual give and take. For impressionable young students, the boundaries between intellectual development and personal life may become blurred. In this situation, some academics easily move from intellectual to personal to sexual relationships."[12]

http://www.theeagle.com/am/Kemos-resigns-amid-scandal
Excerpt:
Published Saturday, June 19, 2010 12:07 AM

Top-level A&M official resigns amid questions over credentials




Special to The Eagle
Alexander Kemos
Texas A&M's No. 3 administrator presented himself as a warrior-scholar: A former Navy SEAL with a doctorate from Tufts University.
But records obtained by The Eagle indicate Alexander Kemos never was part of the elite fighting force, and Texas A&M officials confirmed Friday that he doesn't have a doctorate or even a master's degree, which was a posted requirement for the $300,000-a-year position that serves as the top adviser to Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin.
On Friday morning, the day after he was confronted with questions about his background by Loftin in Maine, where the pair were vacationing, he resigned.
"It's a human tragedy," said Jeffrey Seemann, Texas A&M's vice president for research and the chair of the search committee that selected Kemos, who lives in College Station and has a wife and three children.
In a message to the campus Friday afternoon, Loftin said Kemos will no longer serve as senior vice president for administration, effective immediately. He said Kemos cited "a desire to spend more time with his family."
He later released a statement through his spokesman that said "we expect nothing but the highest principles from our administrators."
"Upon learning of questions into Mr. Kemos' background, I immediately contacted the Office of General Counsel and initiated an investigation for verification of his credentials," the statement said. "Last night, I confronted Mr. Kemos about these questions regarding his background, and he confirmed several misrepresentations related to his academic degrees and military service."
Since all Navy SEALs have tridents, some government officials and military watchers said Kemos violated the federal Stolen Valor Act, which bars false claim of military decorations or honors. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year behind bars, but is generally only prosecuted in egregious cases.
Kemos did not return messages seeking comment.
He had come to Texas A&M in 2009 from the business world, having served as executive vice president for corporate development and founding partner at Nordic American Group, based in Dallas and Oslo, Norway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005
Excerpt:
The Act was likely passed to address the issue of persons claiming to have been awarded military awards for which they were not entitled, and exploiting their deception for personal gain. For example, as of June 2, 2006, there were only 120 living Medal of Honor recipients, but there were far more known imposters.[10][11][12] There are also large numbers of people fraudulently claiming to be Navy SEALS[13][14] and Army Special Forces,[15] among others.

http://colliercountysunshinereview.blogspot.com/2011/01/public-corruption-crime-1-collier.html
Excerpt:

http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Is_Collier_County_Commissioner_Fred_Coyle_a_High_School_Drop-Out%3F
Excerpt:
Is Collier County Commissioner Fred Coyle a High School Drop-Out?
Collier County, Naples, Florida -- Fred Coyle is the County Commissioner of Collier County, Naples, Florida, but is he also a high school drop-out? Inquiring minds want to know.
On his county web site biography, Commissioner Coyle currently claims he has both a masters degree and undergraduate degree. Yet, he has never once named the schools where he allegedly earned these degrees. Are these degrees merely part of his imagination? Is he actually a high school drop-out? Citizens would like to hold him accountable for the claims he makes about his education and expertise, as well as his integrity. Some citizens think he is a liar.
Why is it important to know what colleges granted Coyle his alleged degrees? For several reasons:
1) His is posting a bio on a county web site, paid for with taxpayer dollars, yet his page is omitting BASIC INFORMATION by deliberately not disclosing the name of the colleges which allegedly exist and granted him two degrees.
And, according to the Sunshine Review here -- http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Im_an_activist -- one of the ways to hold government officials accountable is to get on Sunshine Review and write an article, and then send it to the public official:
What can you do right now if you discover that your city, county or school district website lacks basic information you need to exercise your right to hold politicians and public officials accountable? [edit] Talk it up


http://www.naplesnews.com/videos/detail/newsmakers-fred-coyle-local-business-development/

Naples Videos »

NewsMakers: Fred Coyle, Part 2

Excerpt:
Published Sept. 23, 2011
This week the burning issues range from the Middle East to Naples. Chaim Shacham, the Israeli consul general for Florida and Puerto Rico, and Collier County Commissioner Fred Coyle are guests on "Naples Daily NewsMakers with Jeff Lytle’’ airing Sunday morning at 10 on ABC7. Shacham discusses how Israel will cope with heightened Mideast tension, and what is ahead for Israel with Palestinians, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and the USA. Coyle is asked what comes next for local business development and whether colleague Georgia Hiller waging a power play to get incumbents ousted. Text and video highlights are at naplesnews.com/newsmakers

http://www.colliergov.net/Index.aspx?page=76
Excerpt:

Fred W. Coyle
About the Commissioner

Fred Coyle
Commissioner Fred Coyle
District 4
Fred Coyle has a Master’s Degree in Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He is a retired U. S. Army Colonel and a decorated Vietnam veteran. Fred is the founder and retired CEO of a national information technology and management consulting firm.
Elected to the Naples City Council in 1998, he wrote the City’s Ethics Ordinance, served as chairman of the U.S. 41/ 10th Street Redevelopment Committee and was a member of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. Fred was named “Old Naples Man of the Year” in 1999. For 10 years he served on the Collier County Republican Executive Committee. He was a member of the Aqualane Shores Association Board and the Old Naples Association.
Fred Coyle was appointed by Governor Bush to the Collier County Commission in November 2001. He was re-elected in November 2002, ran unopposed in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010 for an additional 4 year term..
Commissioner Coyle has served as chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency, as chairman the Metropolitan Planning Organization, as liaison to the County Productivity Committee and as liaison to the Green Space Committee.
In 2005 and 2010 he was selected as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners and Chairman of the Tourist Development Council. The Board of County Commissioners selected him to serve as Chairman for an additional year in 2011. For 4 years, Commissioner Coyle has served as Chairman of the Public Safety Coordinating Council.
Commissioner Coyle is one of the principal architects of the County’s Plan to provide adequate infrastructure to support a viable economy. Collier County’s Comprehensive Plan is widely considered one of the most effective in Florida and has received national acclaim for balancing the interests of growth and environmental protection without trampling on private property rights.
Commissioner Coyle has taken a leadership role in the recovery and diversification of the County’s economy. As Chairman of the Catalyst Committee of the Economic Development Council, he was instrumental in developing a strategy for a self-sustaining incentive fund and unique zoning opportunities to attract high tech, medical and life-science businesses to Collier County.
During the period of economic uncertainty, Commissioner Coyle has been committed to reducing government spending, finding more efficient ways to provide essential services to our community and keeping taxes as low as possible. As a result, Collier County’s debt has remained within acceptable limits, our bond rating has remained high and property tax rates have been reduced to levels that existed in 1999.
Commissioner Fred W. Coyle
Kristi J. Bartlett, Executive Aide
e-mail: kristibartlett@colliergov.net

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