Research conducted by alumni/ae, faculty and students attempting to democratize a small private college in San Francisco has rapidly developed into a model of investigative research applied in a netwar environment. Operating on the principle of learning by doing, New College activist scholars demonstrated how opening lines of communication could be used to accelerate information-sharing in order to generate spontaneous research and education, as well as to spawn highly creative network organizing and community action.
Following a no-confidence vote in the college president by faculty led by longtime professor Harry Britt, and a demand for trustee resignations on July 18, college alumnus Holly Harwood ramped up her interactive website SSOS with documents and articles, while adjunct faculty member Alison Burek launched a letter-writing campaign. On July 20, an independent alumni/ae association was formed, and online discussions started taking place on local media weblogs. On July 25, former New College students Jeremy Zimmer and James Sheldon initiated flyering at school open houses, and a Stop Silence working group was established.
By July 29, a critical mass of information from correspondents had accumulated for analysis to take place that would assess the most promising lines of inquiry for assignment to a growing number of research volunteers. On July 31, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an A-1, above-the-fold headline story on the New College crisis. That evening, faculty, students, and alumni/ae publicly demanded an investigation into criminal wrongdoing by administrators and trustees. Thursday August 2, the embattled New College president Martin Hamilton resigned.
# posted by Jay Taber @ 6:41 AM
