Leon, I thought that when I was preparing that article for the list. Then, I began to wonder just what did Jay say in his email? It must have been potent! :-)
SHANE ---------- Sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email ------Original Message------ From: Arthur Polhill <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010 9:58:36 AM GMT-0700 Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] [SUN]: UF will allow film students to use Haiti footage [Crabbe] Nice work, Zeb. Glad I could be of assistance. :) A. Leon Polhill, Gator "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know." - Mark Twain ________________________________ From: Shane Ford <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, April 15, 2010 8:28:40 AM Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: UF will allow film students to use Haiti footage [Crabbe] UF will allow film students to use Haiti footage By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville SUN Staff writer Published: Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 11:52 p.m. Two University of Florida documentary students are being allowed to include footage shot in Haitiafter January's earthquake in their thesis, reaching a deal with UF in a dispute over whether they violated university policy by traveling to the country to film it. But the students' professor and thesis adviser, Churchill Roberts, is the subject of an investigation over whether he violated the policy by condoning the trip. UF and the students, Jon Bougher and Roman Safiullin, reached agreement Wednesday that the post-earthquake footage would be allowed in the thesis if the film included a disclaimer saying that it was shot without the university's approval or funding. Bougher said he's disappointed that it took the threat of legal action to reach the agreement, but pleased the documentary will feature footage that he felt was critical to the story. "I'm happy because I feel like we are giving our best work and our film isn't compromised in any way," he said. In a written statement, UF spokesman Steve Orlando clarified that UF policy does not apply to travel made on personal time and without the use of university resources. An investigation found that university funding and resources were not used in the students' travel or work to produce the post-earthquake footage, he said. Bougher and Safiullin are graduate students in the UF College of Journalism and Communications' Documentary Institute who were working on a film about aid workers in Haitiwhen the Jan. 12 quake struck. After they returned to the U.S., UF announced it would no longer sanction trips to Haiti due to safety concerns. The students returned anyway, saying they believed it was allowed because they used private money. UF Provost Joe Glover later said that allowing the footage to be used in the thesis would have defied the purpose of the travel policy. Bougher said the university relented only after his lawyer, Gary Edinger, sent a letter threatening a lawsuit. Despite the compromise, UF's human resources department has been investigating whether Roberts authorized use of UF funds or otherwise violated the travel policy. The university requested e-mail that Roberts sent and received about the issue since the travel policy was instituted. Roberts said that he disagreed with the policy and worked to change it, but never advised the students either way on making the trip. "My job was to help them get their documentary done and not be the police," he said. Roberts is a telecommunications professor and co-director of the Documentary Institute. The graduate documentary program is being eliminated as part of budget cuts, but Roberts kept his job from being cut through the faculty union's grievance process. The president of UF's chapter of the union, John Biro, said the administration was interfering with protections for academic freedom included in the union's recently signed contract by dictating what could be included in a thesis. "It's a hallowed academic tradition that that's to be decided by a professor or the student's thesis committee, not an administrator," he said. In the written statement, Orlando said UF "strongly supports academic freedom and responsibility. "An investigation of whether the university's policies have been followed does not infringe on academic freedom," he said. Restrictions on travel to Haitiare still in place and there are no immediate plans to change the policy, said David Sammons, dean of the UF International Center. As for the students, they're submitting a cut of the documentary Thursday. Bougher said about 25 minutes of the movie was filmed before the earthquake and 20 minutes was filmed after, and the documentary would have been incomplete without the latter footage. "I wouldn't have been proud like I'm proud of this one," he said. Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or [email protected]. -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject. -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
