UTSA rules and regulations ban employees from using State facilitities and UTSA's name to further such ventures.
Wagner violated those prohibitions, and others, by actively boosting hundreds of links to other websites promoting anti-Bush, pro-communist, and pro-revolutionary agendas. He also advertised t-shirts and novelties for sale. He endorsed political candidates.
Neal Wagner's UTSA hosted webpages also solicited sales from and contributions to political organizations. * * * The website in question was modified after the Lightning brought its contents to the attention of David Gabler, UTSA VP of Communications. "The web pages ... will be removed immediately," Gabler told the Lightning. He agreed that they were a violation of University rules and regs. "We are looking into this," Gabler promised. Indeed, within half an hour, those pages had been expunged, though the Lightning has made "mirrors" of many of them so that their true nature can be documented, and not disputed. * * * Associate Professor Wagner has been unavailable for comment, but did issue an apology on his campus website following the Lightning's revelations. Wagner's remarks are reproduced below:
Let's dissect that statement, which was issued on Friday. Editorial comments are in blue.
The so called apology doesn't end this inquiry. The words are too thin, and are obviously intended to minimize the offense. Many questions remain. And surely a man of Professor Wagner's education does not consider more than a thousand links to qualify as a "few." No one questions Wagner's right to free expression. That is not the issue here. What is under scrutiny is Wagner's flagrant and illegal use of State funds and facilities to build his digital soapbox. If the wise scholar wishes to compare the President to Hitler, or claim that Bush is the "Anti-Christ," or extol the virtues of Marxism and Hillary Clinton, then he is certainly free to do so. The US Constitution which he seems so venemously to dislike guarantees that to him. But he has no right to do this propagandizing using public money and facilities. He has no right to do it in the name of UTSA. That is wrong. In fact, it is against the law and a serious abuse of the trust that he holds. * * * How the study of computer science is furthered by political views is lost on this writer. Wagner was hired to teach about computers, not political ideology. He certainly was NOT hired to hawk political t-shirts and boxer shorts on University time and equipment. UTSA officials must take a strong stand against such abuse, or they will have to answer for their lack of control. Their actions, or lack thereof, will be scrutinized. We shall see what we shall see. This outrageous activity at taxpayer expense in unacceptable. It simply does not compute. -Part Two To Follow- |
He should be fired. If he worked for a private company, or if he had been bashing the left, he'd be toast by now.