Cramer Emails   April 17-27   

 

Subject: University Website
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:07:05 +0000
From: Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>
To: Elliot Cramer <cramer@email.unc.edu>


Dear Dr. Cramer,

Mr. Villarosa has contacted the University again to complain
about your use of University resources to continue your dispute
with him. I've looked at the website you maintain on the
University network and see that there is a link to a website for
the Piedmont Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which includes a link
to a website that contains references to Mr. Villarosa. Would
you please remove - immediately -- from any University resources
any links to material referencing Mr. Villarosa, either directly
or indirectly. Your issues with him are a private matter, and
the University should not be drawn into it.

I believe you now use private email accounts to continue your
disputes with others. And, I acknowledge that the website you
maintain on University resources is clean on its face. It is the
links that continue to be problematic.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Leslie Strohm



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Date:

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:54:56 -0400

From:

Elliot M. Cramer <elliottcramer@bellsouth.net>

     Reply-To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu

To:

Holden Thorp <holden_thorp@unc.edu>

CC:

Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>, acoble@email.unc.edu

Subject: Is there intelligent life in the office of your general counsel

Holden:

As you know, last January Ms. Strohm wrote me with false
statements about my misuse of University computing services.
This was entirely based on the claims of a mentally disturbed
individual, Joseph Villarosa, who has since been cited in
Forsyth County for internet harassment. See
http://www.ourpaws.info/joe

Without consulting me, she searched through my personal emails on
the University server but has not been able to find ANYTHING to
substantiate her claims. She wrote

"Pursuant to the University Policy on the Privacy of
Electronic Information
(http://www.unc.edu/campus/policies/elec_info.html), your
email files were reviewed. What we found is that, since
2004, you have regularly used your "unc" account to set up
and manage a PayPal account on behalf of FOCAS and to solicit
monetary gifts from donors and potential donors to
FOCAS. ...If my understanding is correct, then you may either
relinquish your "unc" account, effective immediately, or I
will work with the University's Information Security Office
to disable your account."


As you know, I wrote her back immediately on January 17, denying
all of her false claims. Until this day I received no reply from
her and still have received no justification for her searching
through my private emails or for any of her claims. There is no
justification.

Now she states

"I've looked at the website you maintain on the University
network and see that there is a link to a website for the
Piedmont Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which includes a link
to a website that contains references to Mr. Villarosa. ...
I acknowledge that the website you maintain on University
resources is clean on its face. It is the links that
continue to be problematic. ...Would you please remove -
immediately -- from any University resources any links to
material referencing Mr. Villarosa, either directly or
indirectly."

Evidently Ms. Strohm claims that if I have a link to a link to a
link ... to a link that references Mr. Villarosa, this is a
violation of University policy. This is absurd and outrageous.
I would appreciate your telling Ms. Strohm that there must better
ways for her to spend her time, other than harassing a retired
University professor. I note that President Ross recently said
that an e-mail search is “incredibly time consuming”. I wonder
about the cost of using University resources to investigate
my private emails without first asking me to respond to Villarosa's
false claims.

You will find my previous correspondence with Ms. Strohm
on http://www.ourpaws.info/strohmw.htm

Some time ago you sent a letter to the University community about
free speech.
http://www.unc.edu/chan/chancellors/thorp_holden/041509freespeech.php

It seems to me that Ms. Strohm has been violating my free speech
rights.

I would appreciate your intervention in this.

Elliot

 



 

 

Subject:

Public records request

Date:

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:04:36 -0400

From:

Elliot M. Cramer <elliottcramer@bellsouth.net>

Reply-To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu

To:

Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>

CC:

Barry Nakell <bnakell@nc.rr.com>

 

Pursuant to 132-6,  I would like to inspect all documents and emails
related to Joseph Villarosa's complaints against me.  Please advise
me when I may come to your office to inspect them


§ 132-6.  Inspection and examination of records.

(a)        Every custodian of public records shall permit any
record in the custodian's custody to be inspected and examined at
reasonable times and under reasonable supervision by any person,
and shall, as promptly as possible, furnish copies thereof upon
payment of any fees as may be prescribed by law.

 

 

 

From: Strohm, Leslie Chambers

Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 8:37:50 PM

To: alphanalyst@catskill.net

Subject: Professor Elliot Cramer

 

 

Dear Mr. Villarosa:

 

Dr. Elliot Cramer retired from the University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill in May of 1994.   He is not our employee, and we

have no responsibility for his actions.  

 

As a retired faculty member, Dr. Cramer is granted access to a

UNC email account and is permitted to maintain a limited webpage. 

The University does not monitor the content of the email accounts

or webpages maintained by retired faculty.  

 

I have received no information to indicate that Dr. Cramer has

used his UNC email account to correspond with you or to

correspond with others about you in recent months.  If you have

evidence to the contrary, please let me know.

 

I have looked at Dr. Cramer's personal webpage, which is

mentioned in your email.  I see no reference to you whatsoever.

 

I am sorry that your ongoing dispute with Dr. Cramer has caused

you great distress.  Your recourse is directly with Dr. Cramer. 

He alone is responsible for his words and his actions.  This is

not a University matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

Leslie Strohm

 

 

 

 

 

Subject:

RE: Is there intelligent life in the office of your general counsel

Date:

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:06:53 +0000

From:

Thorp, Holden <holden_thorp@unc.edu>

To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu <ecramer@alum.mit.edu>

CC:

Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>, Coble, McKay <acoble@email.unc.edu>

 

Elliot,
        I'm sorry that your disagreement with Mr. Villarosa continues.  I know you will be disappointed in me for saying this, but I need to ask you to comply with Ms. Strohm's requests.  We cannot afford to be drawn into your disagreement with Mr. Villarosa when we have so many important matters facing the university.  If you cannot comply with Ms. Strohm's requests, I will ask IT to disable your email account and web page.  I'm sorry that we were not to able to come to an amicable solution, but I'm very disappointed that you disparaged our general counsel in the newspaper, and I completely disagree with your assessment. 
        This will be my last response to you on these matters.
Holden

 

 

 

 

Subject:

my email account and web page

Date:

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:29:32 -0400

From:

Elliot M. Cramer <elliottcramer@bellsouth.net>

Reply-To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu

To:

Thorp, Holden <holden_thorp@unc.edu>

CC:

Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>

 

Holden,

The concern that has been raised by Ms Strohm regards a link to a
non-university website which itself has a link to
http://www.ourpaws.info/joe.  Although Joseph Villarosa may find
this link objectionable, it is completely factual and truthful.
It is a response to Villarosa's internet harassment of me and
others.  It in no way involves the University and cannot be
reasonably construed to be a violation of the UNC-Chapel Hill
Network Acceptable Use Policy (https://help.unc.edu/1672).

I am sorry that you have been drawn into this, but as you are Ms
Strohm's direct superior, I had no one else to contact.  Since Ms
Strohm has a very large staff, I do not understand why she has
personally intervened.  I suspect that one of her subordinates
would have looked into Villarosa's internet harassment more
carefully and would have disposed of this matter without
violating my privacy.  I certainly did not intend that you, with
your busy schedule, would have to personally investigate this and
I regret that you have become personally involved.

Ms Strohm wrote me on January 17 saying "It has been a month
since we've been in touch with one another.  Thank you for
following through on your commitment to use private resources and
accounts, instead of your University account, to continue your
dispute with Joseph Villarosa."  In fact I have had no contact
with Villarosa since January except for sending him the link to
the newspaper article on a non-university account.  I have never
had anything on my UNC website relating to him.  Since Ms Strohm
did not respond to my explanatory Email of January 17 or several
later Emails, I assumed that she was too embarrassed by her false
statements to reply.  I decided to let the whole thing drop until
her recent Email with her absurd command to delete the link to my
non-profit organization.  I have had the link to the non-profit
state chartered organization PAWS on my UNC website for many
years.  I have never before heard that a link to any legal
organization violates any University regulation. 

Ms. Strohm has said "I believe you now use private email accounts
to continue your disputes with others. And, I acknowledge that
the website you maintain on University resources is clean on its
face."  She adds "It is the links that continue to be
problematic."  If Ms. Strohm believes that a "problematic" link
is a violation of any University regulation regarding IT usage, I
would like her to state the regulation and precisely how I have
violating it.  I believe that even the Vice-Chancellor (and
Chancellor) must follow University regulations.

Joseph Villarosa and Ms. Strohm have created this problem.  I am
an innocent victim; my only interest was helping the animals in
Robeson County.  She should simply have told Villarosa that I am
not using any University resources for any dispute with him and
that the University is not involved in any such dispute.  She
could solve this problem for you by telling him that now.  No
good can come of this for you or the University.  I see that my
article, in less than two days, has had 546 views and going up.
A number of colleagues and alumni have expressed disappointment
in the University's actions.

I have already filed a public records request for all Emails and
documents related to this.  I have written the Faculty
Information Technology Advisory Committee saying

"I am concerned about the invasion of privacy by the University
General Counsel with regard to the University's Email system. I
would
appreciate your sharing this with members of the Committee and
taking whatever action you think is appropriate.  I believe this
falls within your purview under  4-26"

I have been nominated to the Faculty Council and I suppose that I
could bring this matter up myself.  If Ms Strohm is intent on
carrying out her threat, I would like to give notice of appeal;
I would think that the above committee might be the appropriate
venue rather than the UNC Board of Trustees.  I request that any
action be delayed until my appeal is heard.

With regard to my disparagement of Ms. Strohm, she lied in
stating "What we found is that, since 2004, you have regularly
used your "unc" account ...".  Were she a student, I would report
her for a violation of the Honor Code.

I have no current disagreement with Villarosa and the University
has never been involved in my disagreements with him.  He,
evidently, is harassing Ms Strohm and she has the possible remedy
of seeking a no-contact order as did Susan Barrett
http://www.ourpaws.info/nocont-joe.jpg

This is a case of internet harassment by Villarosa and should not
require all this attention of the University's General Counsel.
You will recall that you owe me a phone call;  I would be happy
to talk to you on the phone to see how we can resolve this, short
of my removing the link to the PAWS website.

Elliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subject:

What I have decided to do

Date:

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:39:47 -0400

From:

Elliot M. Cramer <elliottcramer@bellsouth.net>

Reply-To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu

To:

Holden Thorp <holden_thorp@unc.edu>



Holden,

Because of my esteem for you, I have removed the link www.ourpaws.info and have modified my introductory statement to read

Elliot M. Cramer is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology in the L. L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory of the Psychology Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Board member of the Friends of the Orange County Animal Shelter (FOCAS) and the Piedmont Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

You can drop my appeal of your decision but I am continuing to pursue the invasion of my privacy by Ms. Strohm

Best Wishes
Elliot

 

 

Subject:

Re: Dispute with Mr. Villarosa - how to make this go away

Date:

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:57:08 -0400

From:

Elliot M. Cramer <elliottcramer@bellsouth.net>

Reply-To:

ecramer@alum.mit.edu

To:

Strohm, Leslie Chambers <strohm@email.unc.edu>

CC:

Holden Thorp <holden_thorp@unc.edu>



You can

1. apologize for reviewing my email files without first asking me for an explanation
2. change your policy so that you first seek an explanation from the offending party before reviewing her emails
3. acknowledge that I have not violated the personal use and acceptable use policies of the University

In return, I will  consider the matter closed and will remove all references to you from all of my websites.

As a courtesy to Holden, I have removed the link that you have complained about, although I see nothing in the University policies that relates to links to legal organizations.

Elliot Cramer