Chicago State University
Chicago State University (Tribune illustration / July 1, 2012)
 


Chicago State University has demanded that a group of faculty members remove a photograph and change the domain name of a website that criticizes university administrators, the second time the school has sent a letter to the blog's owners.
In a Jan. 3 letter to an attorney representing the site's operators, Donald Levine, an attorney with Gonzalez, Saggio and Harlan, said the csufacultyvoice.blogspot.com/ address is not authorized or endorsed by CSU or its entire faculty.
"Yet it was structured to give that impression to the viewer and potential consumer of Chicago State University's academic services," Levine wrote.
Levine also accused website operators of using a "distinctive" photograph of campus hedges on the site, nearly identical to one used on the campus' admissions website.
Levine's letter is the second notice sent on behalf of CSU to the site's operators asking that changes be made. In November, a university lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to the site's creator, demanding it remove trademarked material and suggesting it violated university policies.
In the latest letter, Levine wrote the university doesn't intend to "censor or inhibit the professors' speech," but does believe the blog should remove CSU's name and images and post a prominent, lengthy disclaimer on its home page that identifies one of the blog's operators and states the site does not represent the entire CSU faculty.
Wesley Johnson, attorney for the CSU faculty bloggers, said they would issue a written response to Levine's letter. Bloggers also planned to put a note on the website that emphasized the blog didn't have administrative approval or represent the entire faculty, he said.
"However, they don't agree that any disclaimer is necessary and they will not include the language suggested in Donald Levine's letter," Johnson said.
Tom Wogan, a university spokesman, said Chicago State was seeking to protect the use of its trademarks and hired Levine's outside law firm for the sole purpose of addressing the faculty blog.
Online since 2009, the Faculty Voice blog originally labeled itself "the faculty's uncensored voice" for the South Side campus. Phillip Beverly, a faculty senate officer and associate professor of political science, said he founded the site to challenge some of the school's leaders and policymaking. Faculty members have in the recent past demanded the resignation of Wayne Watson, the university's president.
In a Nov. 11 letter, Patrick Cage, a university vice president and its general counsel, said the site used university "trade names and marks" without permission. Cage also said the blog "violates the university's values and policies requiring civility and professionalism of all university faculty members."
Cage demanded that site administrators "immediately disable" the blog and provide written confirmation to avoid legal action.
After receiving Cage's letter, Beverly changed the site's banner to read "Crony State University" and briefly replaced its main image.
On Saturday, one of the site's contributors took aim at Levine's letter in a blog post, saying "(I)t seems somewhat far-fetched to claim that the faculty's blog can be easily confused for the official Chicago State website."
jjperez@tribune.com
Twitter @PerezJr