Central Michigan University has absolved Pam Gates of all wrong doing in an Oct. 15 incident with a student.

Barbara Taylor, interim Affirmative Action Officer, completed the administration’s investigation of the incident between Gates, interim dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Topinabee junior Dennis Lennox II.

On that day, Lennox went to Gates’ office to make a Freedom of Information Act request while videotaping the encounter. The clash resulted in both Gates and Lennox filing complaints with the CMU Police, although the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office declined to take up the issue.

Director of Media Relations Steve Smith said it was determined Gates only pushed away Lennox’s camera.

“Despite allegations made by the student, evidence indicates that the dean did not strike or hit the student,” Smith wrote in an e-mail sent out Monday.

Lennox said the law states that since the camera was attached to his hand, even batting the camera away constitutes assault.

“What was recorded on the video was clear and the law is the law,” Lennox said.

Smith said Taylor’s findings will be forwarded to interim Provost Gary Shapiro and Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe to determine if additional action is required.

In the e-mail, Smith said Lennox refused to cooperate in the investigation.

“That’s his choice,” Smith said.

Instead, Taylor used a written statement and a video recording, both of which Lennox provided to the police on Oct. 16.

Lennox said he believed there was a conflict of interest in the investigation because Gates is the university’s Affirmative Action coordinator.

“We refused to participate because CMU refused to launch an independent investigation,” he said.

However, Smith said Gates is not the Affirmative Action coordinator.

“That was a role that she (Gates) relinquished when she became interim dean,” Smith said.

Gates became an interim dean in January when Shapiro started filling in as provost, following Thomas Storch’s retirement.

Lennox said he sent an e-mail to the office of University President Michael Rao asking Rao to launch an independent investigation and Rao denied it. Rao’s office told him they had no control over the investigation and Taylor could be objective, he said.

Meanwhile, Lennox also has filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan regarding Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe’s ruling on videotaping on campus.

Roscoe said there is no ban on videotaping on campus and that there is no official policy on the subject.

“Most people know what we mean when we say students and professors have the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Roscoe said.

Roscoe said the issue is not necessarily videotaping, but doing so in a distracting or disruptive way.

Lennox said he interpreted Roscoe’s letter differently.

“As I understand, the university is banning videotaping on campus,” Lennox said.

The word “ban” was never used in Roscoe’s letter to Lennox.

Rana Elmir, communications director for the ACLU of Michigan, said the organization still is investigating the case.

“We would have concerns if the university is taking the position that no one is allowed to videotape on campus without the express permission of those involved,” Elmir said.

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