Before issuing an email such as this one by the University of Missouri, which can potentially create or exacerbate a crisis (understanding any email will appear in the news) those who write such missives should consult their communications and legal departments and then ask themselves the following questions to minimize conflict and crisis:
1. How can this email be interpreted or perceived by someone outside of the organization and that is unfamiliar with the situation?
2. What are the legal and public relations ramifications to what the email says or doesn’t say?
3. What is the intent of the email and could it be perceived to infringe on Constitutional rights or the values and principles of the organization or can it cause a mis-perception that further creates crisis?
4. What is the worst headline aboiut this email that could be written and appear on the front page of the New York Times or Fox News the next day?
5. Have someone completely unfamiliar with the situation to read and provide a third-party viewpoint. Actively listen to their advice and take it because most likely they will be able to read and see things in such a communique that you haven’t even considered.
6. Finally, collaborate with your communications team and prepare a spokesperson and a crisis response plan to handle the difficult questions that will be asked by the media, your students, their parents and your alumni, staff and faculty.
L. Darryl Armstrong PhD
drdarryl@aol.com
1.888.340.006
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/11/10/read-the-jaw-dropping-hateful-andor-hurtful-speech-email-reportedly-sent-to-students-by-university-of-missouri-police/
From The Blaze
Read the Jaw-Dropping ‘Hateful and/or Hurtful Speech’ Email Sent to Students by University of Missouri Police
The University of Missouri Police Department wants students who witness “hateful and/or hurtful speech or actions” to “call the police immediately.”
In a stunning email sent to students, UMPD requested “hurtful incidents” be reported to the police as well as a detailed description of the offender.
“If possible and if it can be done safely, take a photo of the individual(s) with your cell phone,” the email states.
The email concludes with the following disclaimer:
“While cases of hateful and hurtful speech are not crimes, if the individual(s) identified are students, MU’s Office of Student Conduct can take disciplinary action.”
Journalist Madi Alexander posted the email on Twitter Tuesday and posed a number of troubling questions regarding the initiative.
MUPD reportedly confirmed to Mediaite that the email is real.
The race complaints at the University of Missouri came to a head last weekend, when at least 30 black football players announced they would not play until the president left. A graduate student went on a weeklong hunger strike.
Days later, University of Missouri system President Tim Wolfe resigned.
In this Friday, April 11, 2014, file photo, University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe participates in a news conference in Rolla, Mo. Missouri football players announced Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, on Twitter that they will not participate in team activities until the university president is removed from office. The move aligns the team with campus groups who have been protesting the way Wolfe has dealt with issues of racial harassment during the school year. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Students who pressed for Wolfe’s ouster celebrated Monday. Critics considered him out of touch and insensitive. He said the university would draw up a plan to promote diversity and tolerance by April, a wait protesters considered laughably unacceptable. They were also frustrated by his response to black protesters who blocked his car during a homecoming parade. Wolfe did not get out and talk to them, and they were removed by police.
That followed a September incident in which the student government’s president, who is black, said people in a passing pickup truck shouted epithets at him. Early last month, members of a black student organization said slurs were hurled at them by an apparently drunken white student. Also, a swastika drawn in feces was found recently in a dormitory bathroom.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.