The following letter to the editor appeared in the 9/9/05 edition of The Erie Daily Times-News. You can access it and the accompanying article ("Mistakes were made: Mercyhurst offers explanation of how it handled Garvey probe") via my "goerie" link; keyword: "WILLIAM P. GARVEY". It should be noted that, according to The Times, this statement was not only approved by the Mercyhurst Board of Trustees, it also has the approval of interim president Dr. Michael McQuillen, and Sister Bernadette Bell who is the president of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy, Erie region. With that said, I present the letter:
"The Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees, first and foremost, wishes to make clear our full understanding of the extremely serious nature of the allegations made against William P. Garvey. We are called by the virtue of this institution - mercy - to sympathize deeply with all victims of abuse. The accusations leveled against Dr. Garvey involved actions wholly incompatible with the values we and the college stand for.
Second, we sincerely regret that at times our commitment to those values was not publicly visible and acknowledge that mistakes were made. None of us had ever been through anything like this, and contrary to the surface appearances, this was not a simple, clear-cut situation, especially without the perspective of hindsight.
We had to try to balance competing ethical obligations, compounded by a lack of solid evidence and the fervent denial of the allegations by a respected community leader; to adhere to legal requirements and due process concerns that foreclosed certain options; to respect personal relationships that stretched back decades, and always to oversee and maintain our fiduciary responsibilities to the college. While we understand how others in both the Mercyhurst and broader communities might disagree with the path we have traveled, we hope no one has reason to question our sincerest desire and effort, as a corporate body, to seek the good and right path.
Finally, we wish to clarify the issues that have arisen with respect to Dr. Garvey's position with Mercyhurst College. On Dec. 16, 2004, when he announced his decision to step down as president, we did terminate the investigation into his fitness to serve. Mercyhurst is indeed committed to truth, compassion and individual integrity, but we are not an investigative organization. That is the province of the civil and criminal justice system, not a college community.
On Feb. 23, 2005, Dr. Garvey immediately began a terminal sabbatical and we began negotiations to complete the remaining financial obligations of the college to Dr. Garvey under his existing contract through June 2007 and years of deferred compensation. The college expects to conclude a final agreement within 60 days.
In order to continue its mission of providing a high quality education, the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees must now turn its full attention to hiring a president. In order for this effort to be successful, we need the wholehearted support of the entire Mercyhurst community. We truly hope that with these explanations and clarifications the Erie community will support our efforts to do so."
I find this statement so woefully inadequate. While sympathizing with "all victims of abuse" there is still no "mercy" for the specific abuse suffered by victims at the hands of Mercyhurst's own college president. Garvey should be terminated unconditionally and immediately. His contract must contain some sort of a morals clause and it should be employed to sever any interaction he has with Mercyhurst. Garvey should be banned from campus and any future school association.
I am still waiting for the "truth, compassion, and... integrity" alluded to by those who put their names to this statement. Release the results of the Palmisano investigation. Better yet, release ex-judge Palmisano to talk and answer questions about his findings.
This letter just rings hollow. It is hard to look forward with so much carnage unresolved behind. It's like trying to build a castle on a garbage heap. It will always stink.
predafile@hotmail.com
7 comments:
I fully understand the Mercyhurst Board of Trustees wanting to distance themselves from Garvey and his sexual abuse of boys. I distanced myself from Garvey, too, as a twelve year-old boy, when I stood up to him the only way I knew how. I looked him in the face and told him that I quit. I quit playing basketball and I quit him. I quit to get away from Garvey, his influence, his manipulation, and his abuse. Unfortunately, this document says little and changes nothing. Still, no official at Mercyhurst will stand up and take responsibility for the actions of that institution's representatives.This is a document of public relations, not action or resolution.
Noone expected Mercyhurst to be an investigative body. But they hired one. A good and respected one. Judge Michael Palmisano was lauded by Marlene Mosco ("Judge Palmisano is a man of impeccabble character and unquestioned veracity. He has always been recognized as a fair and impartial adjudicator... above reproach.") in the Erie Daily Times when he was hired to investigate the allegations against Garvey. Failing to mention Ms. Mosco or ex-judge Palmisano in this letter to The Times does not absolve the Sisters of Mercy nor Dr. McQuillen of the actions Ms. Mosco, members of The Board, and other school employees took on the college's behalf. Just because particular actions are in "hindsight" seen as "mistakes" does not absolve one of responsibility for those actions, especially once one is made aware of the compelling veracity and merit of reports (Palmisano's memo) concerning those "mistakes". Ms. Mosco, The Board, Dr. McQuillen, and the Sisters of Mercy need to set about taking proper responsibility, and make this right. Correct one of the mistakes. Release the findings alluded to in the December 15, 2004 memo ex-judge Palmisano sent to Ms. Mosco, William Sennett, and The Board. That is a first step down "the good and right path".
I ask the draftees of this document, those at the helm of Mercyhurst, to please look in their hearts for a virtue equally as compelling as "mercy": "honesty". It seems honesty and mercy are at odds with "fiduciary responsibilities" and "personal relationships". On the good and right path, one has to choose.
STATEMENT OF JAMES A. ROSENTHAL
September 6, 2005
In light of the recent release of the December 15, 2004 Palmisano Memorandum by your newspaper, and the subsequent Letter to the Editor response of the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees, I believe that the time has come for Marlene Mosco, William Sennett, and the rest of the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees to immediately take the following course of action:
(1) A public apology published in the Erie Times-News should be issued to the Rosenthals, Bruce Kennedy and any and all other victims of Dr. Garvey’s abuse;
(2) The complete Palmisano report should be released to the Erie Times News as well as a copy furnished to the Erie County District Attorney’s office. I would hope that the Board has recognized the legal significance of that document, and have taken the necessary steps to safeguard it;
(3) Mercyhurst College should sever any and all existing ties with Dr. Garvey, including terminating his current “retirement” package and sabbatical;
(4) Marlene Mosco, William Sennett, and every other member of the Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees should then immediately tender their resignations, which should be accepted by Mercyhurst College.
It is time for the Erie community to rise up and demand accountability from its leaders for the continued cover-up of this sad state of affairs, and justice for the numerous victims of Dr. Garvey’s abuse. Anything short of the above would be a perpetuation of the abuse that has occurred, and may still be occurring.
Submitted By,
Brian E. Koeberle, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Be sure to check out the live journal page. There are new messages at the bottom.
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Hopefully, Pat Howard does another column on the Mercyhurst story in tommorrow's paper.
Jack: While I cannot disclose my source, I can say with certainty that there were those who questioned Garvey's off court "behavior" with the St. John's basketball team as far back as the 1960's. A young nun, who later left the convent to pursue a career as a lay teacher,(Is it any wonder?)approached Sr. Therese, then the principal of St. John's grade school, and told Sr. Therese that there appeared to be "something going on with Mr. Garvey" and certain male grade school basketball players. This young woman was promptly told to "Shut up," and was transfered to another grade school the following year. In other words, Sr. Therese, and other religious affiliates of St. John's, seemed willing enough to prostitute these vulnerable young men for the sake of a few basketball championships. Think of the lives that might have been saved and spared such tragedy had someone had the courage to intervene almost forty years ago. The Mercyhurst Board of Trustees, in its cowardly, hypocritical response, is no different from its lay and religious predecessors.
What should be uppermost in the minds of many is that the majority of the Mercyhurst Board of Trustees has been fully aware of Garvey's pedophilia for years, and some members may even be victims themselves or have sons who have been victimized. (I know that you are aware of this.)
As a former Erie resident and Mercyhurst graduate and someone whose life has been altered irrevocably by Garvey's sinister predation, I demand justice for myself and my family. Though not a victim myself, I have family members who have suffered--and who continue to suffer. I wonder how many lucky enough to have a family spared this agony truly realize the way in which sexual molestation impacts not only the victim who indeed suffers horribly and unrelentingly, often in silence for years, as you have, but also the immediate family members--how family relationships are rent in two perhaps never to be completely reconciled. As you say, how can "mercy" and "honesty" and "truth" be the compelling forces that drive the Mercyhurst Board of Trustees if it refuses to release the findings of Judge Palmisano's investigation? I am full of rage...It is your courage that has prompted me to speak out.
I will write again.
Matt: Just so you know, I have already shared any information I may have access to with Ed Palattella and Chuck Rosenthal...I would do more if it were humanly possible. Thanks for your encouragement.
Garvey was a big faggot.
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