George Washington University: Secret Informer Line
Students and faculty at the George Washington University (GW) continue to live under a nightmarish "Compliance Line" policy that invites secret allegations and investigations. The hotline, established in February 2002 and administered off campus by Pinkerton Security, allows charges of any nature to be made anonymously. The administration may then launch investigations and create secret dossiers, without even notifying the target or providing him or her with the means for immediate rebuttal of quite possibly malicious charges. When media attention was first brought to bear on this scandalous policy, GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg issued a public statement in which he called the policy "a little aggressive" and repudiated the actions of Vice President and Treasurer Louis Katz, who apparently instituted the policy unilaterally. Students and faculty only learned of this informer line once it had been created. Despite his statement, however, President Trachtenberg has yet to dismantle the Compliance Line.
- "The George Washington University's Informer Line Continues to Invite Secret Denunciations and Dossiers," May 14, 2002: At the George Washington University (GW), despite widespread public criticism, the administration has yet to dismantle a "Compliance Line" that receives anonymous allegations against students and professors and allows GW officials to conduct secret investigations. Although he publicly backed away from the policy, GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg has done nothing to revoke this outrageous informer line.
- "FIRE's Letter to GW's President Trachtenberg," May 14, 2002
Case Materials
- "Rudeness Police,"
by John Banzhaf, The GW Hatchet, September 21, 2004 - "George Washington U. Professors Blast Hot Line for Anonymous Complaints,"
The Chronicle for Higher Education, May 24, 2002 - "George Washington U. May Cut Faculty Complaint Line,"
by Julie Gordon, The GW Hatchet, May 2, 2002 - "GW Cuts Anonymous-Complaint Line,"
by Jon Ward, The Washington Times, April 29, 2002 - "Column: Administrators Tip Line Is Bad Policy for GW,"
The GW Hatchet, April 25, 2002 - "Faculty React to Complaint Line,"
The GW Hatchet, April 25, 2002 - "GW May Cut Complaint Line,"
by Trevor Martin, The GW Hatchet, April 25, 2002 - "GWU Hot Line Angers Faculty,"
The Washington Times, April 19, 2002
