Outside View: Staben creates yet another black eye for the UI

The University of Idaho sent out what appeared to be an urgent alert at 10:51 a.m. Wednesday warning students, faculty, staff and residents that a tenured journalism professor had been “barred” from campus for “recent admittance to police of meth use and access to firearms.”

The Vandal Alert concluded by urging people to call 911 if they spotted the professor, Denise Bennett, on campus.

The situation sounded precarious, and we are sure staff and students were on edge – any reasonable person, without the benefit of more information, would have been.

It turns out there was absolutely no threat – that much we know from Capt. Tyson Berrett, who heads the campus division of the Moscow Police Department. In the following hours he told media the alert was referencing a November domestic dispute. He said Bennett was not arrested and was never charged for any crimes, and police did not consider her to be dangerous or violent at any point.

Despite acknowledgement from the police that Bennett is not a danger, the university sent out a second alert Thursday linking to a letter signed by UI President Chuck Staben and Provost and Executive Vice President John Wiencek in which the administrators defended their initial alert and again called for anyone spotting Bennett on campus to call 911.

So, if the police say Bennett does not pose a threat, why does the university continue to send out alerts?

The university claims it is all about safety.

Consider us skeptical.

Remember, this is the same university that waited more than 10 hours to issue an alert after professor Ernesto Bustamante murdered UI student Katherine Benoit in 2011.

It is the same institution that took eight hours to use its alert system to inform students, faculty and staff that John Lee had shot and killed three people in town.

In April 2017, it took nearly an hour to issue an alert after four UI students were injured when rocket fuel exploded – the explosion could be heard across town.

This week’s alerts appear to have more to do with retaliation than safety.

Bennett, who has worked at the UI since 2006, was placed on administrative leave Jan. 24 after she sent a profane email to university administrators critical of their handling of grant funding. On Tuesday, in a live stream on Facebook, Bennett again criticized UI administration and read a letter from the UI detailing the reasons she was placed on paid leave. Clearly she struck a chord.

A Vandal Alert was issued a day later and just an hour before a student-led sit-in protesting the suspension was scheduled. The sit-in was canceled, but about 20 students participated in a walkout later that evening.

Bennett’s behavior has not been professional or a positive example for students, however, the university’s response is much more disappointing. The situation should have been handled internally, and without publicly destroying Bennett’s reputation.

This is just another black eye for the UI under the “leadership” of Staben, and we hope Bennett has hired an attorney.