http://jeconnery.blogspot.com/2011/03/william-cronon-will-be-fine-but-that.htmlBecause Professor Cronon is an employee of a public institution, he and his professional communications fall under the umbrella of the state’s open records laws. This, however we might feel about it, is a fact.
One answer is that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has explicit policies about appropriate use of its email accounts. In general, students and faculty members are only supposed to use their state email addresses for communications clearly related to the educational mission of the university.
Much more important, there is an explicit prohibition against individuals using state email addresses for partisan political purposes. Here’s the crucial sentence: “University employees may not use these resources to support the nomination of any person for political office or to influence a vote in any election or referendum.” (You can read these policies for yourself at http://www.cio.wisc.edu/policies/appropriateuse.aspx.)
Copies of all emails into and out of Prof. William Cronon’s state email account from January 1, 2011 to present which reference any of the following terms: Republican, Scott Walker, recall, collective bargaining, AFSCME, WEAC, rally, union, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Rob Cowles, Scott Fitzgerald, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich, Jeff Fitzgerald, Marty Beil, or Mary Bell.
beethoven said:yes, people who read past the first bits are more likely to pay enough attention to get the jist of this. the thing here is we learn the lesson, again, if we are listening, about some poor sincere guy flaunting shall we say unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways in his blog or free speech or what not, anyroad actions that tend to draw attention from enemies, there being many in this world of politics afterall, and who will find ways to punish..