On Jan. 26, NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson joined the Faculty Senate session to address faculty concerns regarding the University’s investigation into Chadwick Seagraves, an employee in the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Seagraves was subject to a bevy of allegations, some of which he directly denied, and upon completion of his investigation, the University was unable to “substantiate any significant allegations.”
In a half-hour-long recording taken from the meeting, Woodson, along with NC State General Counsel Allison Newhart and Marc Hoit, vice chancellor of OIT, answered questions about the line between protected speech and unprotected speech, harassment and how faculty could explain the University’s lack of action to students.
Woodson began with a recap of the investigation’s focus and findings before opening the floor for questions. According to Woodson, the investigation focused on two major areas: looking into potential use for university computing for “his online activities” and a claim that Seagraves harassed a student on Twitter.
“We have… reached out to the writer of the Twitter account asking them to cooperate with the university investigation so we could determine whether the person was a student,” Woodson said. “We have no evidence that the person who wrote this is a student at NC State, and they’ve not come forward and cooperated with the University in the investigation. So we weren’t able to substantiate that allegation.”
The University can offer anonymity for accusers and participants in its investigations, but Newhart said there are times NC State needs to verify identities or allow the accused to know who is accusing them, but that “by and large, we take confidentiality very seriously and we maintain it as much as we are able.” Woodson added that NC State could not take a tweet at face value.
“If we made employment decisions and student conduct decisions based on what someone says anonymously on Twitter, we would have a real hard time running this university,” Woodson said.
Technician reached out to the anonymous person behind the Twitter account, and the student gave a statement saying after they received the initial threats, they contacted their adviser who directed them to Student Ombuds Services. The student also said they called the NC State EthicsPoint hotline, in which they remember agreeing to give their name to the University in order for their notice to “move up the ladder.”
“[Woodson] says that they tried giving me these options in order to confirm that I was a student, but I have, I believe they knew and still know,” the student said in the statement.
The student states they have decided to remain anonymous because they have seen the way activists and students get treated when they go public.
“I never wanted my family to get dragged into this,” the student said in the statement. “I never wanted any danger to get near the people I love. I assumed the screenshots, the metadata, the investigation by the Anonymous Comrades Collective would have been enough. But if it takes saying it, [I] can assure you I’m a student.”
Woodson said the investigation included an examination of Seagraves’ work computers, and Seagraves was cooperative in providing them. The investigation found that Seagraves did not use work computers for his online behaviors, and Woodson said Seagraves denied “some” of the online claims of his behavior.
“Regardless, it’s done on his own time and… it’s not subject to the state personnel act and doesn’t allow for dismissal because no laws or policies were broken,” Woodson said.
Woodson said Seagraves is an SHRA employee, meaning he is covered by North Carolina’s Human Resources Act for state personnel, which has “strict” guidelines for how, and for what, he can be punished. According to Woodson, the University cannot prohibit employees from belonging to certain groups or, generally, punish them for actions done outside of work.
In addressing faculty questions about how much NC State can punish speech, Newhart said hate speech is protected by the First Amendment. The University can, however, punish harassment and discriminatory speech, Newhart said.
Newhart said she could not go into detail about why Seagraves was not found to have harassed the student. Though the University can’t punish hate speech, Newhart said, it does have resources for those affected by it, including the bias impact response team and counseling services.
Ultimately, Newhart and Sheri Schwab, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, encouraged faculty to reiterate to students how much the University values diversity and inclusion. Newhart encouraged faculty to use their free speech as a way to stand up against hate speech and reassure students of the values of NC State. Those answers did not satisfy all in attendance.
“These are, of course, words and actions that the students will not necessarily be placated by, saying that ‘We have standards, and we hold them dear, but we’re not really going to do much about it.’ And there’s really no disciplinary action taken,” said Faculty Senate Associate Chair Philip Sannes.
