As I find myself back in the trenches working with school personnel, and using email to communicate, I am reminded of the hundreds of emails that I sent daily/weekly over the course of the last 20 years. My older brother referred to email as “Mary’s latest weapon” back in 1997 while I was living abroad. I have used emails to confirm conversations, give information, ask for support and throw a little snark, and I have done so at all times of the day and night. Obsession? Probably. Ask anyone who has ever worked with me and they would confirm this to be true. At UNC, like here at KIPP, my emails were sent (and received) with colleagues who played critical roles in student education. More broadly, if I could find an email address for someone who was writing or arguing a point about education in the public square, I would send an email to voice my concern or opinion.
This brings me to the great mystery that I think about often - what the heck happened to all of my emails between 2003 and 2010, the ones sent from the UNCAA (Athletic Association) server? Unlike Hillary’s server, this was/is hardly ‘private or personal’ - or is it?
I wrote emails to Steve Farmer, Robert Mercer, John Blanchard, Jan Boxill, Wayne Walden, Cynthia Reynolds, Brent Blanton, Beth Bridger, and many, many students (whose names could be redacted, of course). What happened to them all? The ASPSA advising team and I exchanged hundreds of emails. Wayne Walden and I exchanged emails that included our frustration with the academic mountains his players had to climb. We joked about eating the berries (poison) off the bush outside my office. We joked about it so much that I even made a bumper sticker for us: ‘Got Berries’? Those emails along with the hundreds that I exchanged while working in athletics have not seen the light of day. There has, however, been some cherry picking with my email releases.
In my opinion, this is proof that there has never been full disclosure about the contents of the UNC Athletic Association server. Nor has there been a discussion around why athletics has their own server and why athletic staff, if they are reporting to Arts and Sciences as state employees, continue to use that separate server.
With all of my missing emails (and who knows how many other people are affected), some would conclude that UNC has destroyed evidence that might impact their case.
I have recently received an email notice from the NCAA (request from the cartel) to NOT send them any more emails. They (specifically Mr. Sankey) did not want me to influence the case. That was good for a laugh. Circling the wagons? You bet! Writing emails? Always.
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