Here is a recent letter attached to an email that Santa Monica College student Margaret Wick sent to SMC Assistant Dean of Judicial Affairs, Judith Penchansky. Apparently Penchansky's only response to date was an indication that she received the email. I have corrected the letter only as to minor spelling errors. I hope SMC doesn't harass Ms. Wick for her courage to come forward with this information.
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE COMMITED BY THOMAS J. BAKER OF THE SMC GAMING CLUB AND THE SMC POLICE TOWARD DES MANTTARI ON 3/24/06.
I am writing to you to report a case of extreme harassment and verbal abuse that occurred on the SMC campus on 3/24/06. This was of such extreme violence and verbal abuse that I have reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Certainly after the Columbine tragedy such incendiary situation as now exists on the SMC campus must be monitored.
This meeting was called by Thomas J. Baker of the SMC Gaming Club.
I arrived at the meeting just as Mr. Baker was walking out of the main building with the keys to the meeting room. He did open the room and several members of the club, about 10, walked in and started to unpack a new game that we were to play during the meeting.
There was no faculty supervision as required by the Campus Club Rules. Had there been a responsible person of the faculty present, this could not have happened. I do not know why any employee of SMC would give Mr. Baker the keys to the college facility. This should not have been allowed.
About five minutes later, three people came in that I recognized as class members of my ET2 class. Their names are Des, Lindsay and Dustin. They signed up as club members and then all hell broke loose.
Mr. Baker viscously, verbally attacked Ms Manttari. I assumed that this was in response to some disagreement that had erupted in the past. As it turns out, what is even more alarming to me, is that Mr. Baker did not even know Ms. Manttari. He was responding with hearsay that he has been fed on the part of instructors at SMC's AET campus.
To give you a graphic picture of this, Mr. Baker weighs three to four hundred pounds and he was standing, leaning over the seated Ms Manttari, with all his fat shaking with his anger. It was so bizarre and entirely out of place anywhere on this planet. Mr. Baker was enjoying his performance in front of the mostly all male club members, one of which is a minor.
I tried to intervene with asking Mr. Baker to call the meeting to order. My thinking was if we could get the meeting under rules of order we could calm this situation down and get some systematic presence presiding.
Ms. Manttari and Mr. Baker went outside (on the insistence of Mr. Baker) and exchanged some words, then they came back into the room. Then the SMC police arrived (Mr. Baker had called them) and we were requested to leave the room and the police did detain Ms. Manttari in the locked room for 45 minutes in interrogation. It is highly out of order that these SMC policemen should lock her in a room alone. Further, it was highly apparent that the policemen were enjoying their power over her. This is sexual harassment at the deepest level.
It is clearly evidently that you have a group of men on the SMC campus who are mental harassers, who perpetuate stories and encourage these young men to harass women.
I have reported the mental harassment and abuse of instructor David Javelosa, to the chairperson, Mr. Bill Lancaster on four occasions. I have received no recognition of my complaints. Further I have reported the mental harassment of instructor Jim Keeshen to Mr. Lancaster. Further, I have reported the harassment of these two men to Dr. Lucy Kluckhohn.
Mr. Javelosa is supposed to be the club advisor. He is so out of control of his own life that he believes that what these young men do is fun and okay. He sets a poor example and is not capable of the leadership that these young men need.
I did not know Ms. Manttari, or Lindsay or Dustin until the second meeting of the Spring Semester of the ET2 class on February 27, 2006. We had a guest speaker who had a long history of animation and after the class had totally closed for the evening a few people, fewer than a dozen, were still talking to him. Mr. Keeshen had asked me to stay a few minutes after class to speak with him. He wanted to discuss my complaints against him. I felt this to be out of order in the classroom, but I did stay. We spoke briefly and I left the campus. There had NOT BEEN ONE DISTURBANCE that evening during the class period. The next day I discovered that Mr. Keeshen had called the campus police to have Ms. Manttari arrested for being disruptive. I can tell you that there were 70 people in that room that evening that can testify that there was no disruption. Mr. Keeshen did not have the slightest cause to call the police.
Again, on another class night, March 6, 2006, following the presenter, Mr. Keeshen asked that everyone who is not enrolled in the class please leave the room as the evening Mary Pickford Presentation was concluded and the class was now closed to members only. Ms Manttari was sitting in the same row as I was seated. She got up and left quietly. There was no disturbance. Fifty members of that class can testify THERE WAS NO DISTURBANCE in the room that evening. Now I understand that Mr. Keeshen reported her to be such a disturbance as to require discipline.
Dean Penchansky, you need to get some real facts on this case. You have two out of control instructors, mental harassers, who are creating all this havoc.
I served on the Board of Directors of the Tulsa County Vocational School District for 17 years. We had a little bit different set up than you have here, as our District funded the Vocational classes for the Tulsa Community College. Our district grew to be about the size of your SMC. I am familiar with the requirements for instructors of vocational instruction.
Neither Mr. Keeshen, nor Mr. Javelosa have credentials to be teaching. They do not have an academic educational background, nor do they have the substantial industry experience in training and supervising personnel to qualify to be Vocational instructors. Neither of these men have the moral or educational requirements to be proper leaders for these young students on the AET campus.
In addition to my twenty years involvement in education, I owned and operated an international executive search company for 15 years and have been a corporate trainer for over 20 years. I have some expertise in the field of people and talent.
I strongly suggest that you do more homework to uncover the real events that are occurring on the SMC campus.
During this time that I have this observed this situation, I have observed Ms Manttari to be an intelligent, talented young woman who is fighting for her rights; I have observed that Mr. Keeshen has severe problems that do not belong on a college campus.
I am distressed to know that you have threatened Ms. Manttari with expelling her from school. I think that would be a gross injustice and strongly advise you to uncover the facts before you take this action.