March 17, 2006

Thank you!

We want to thank you for the hundreds of supportive letters, emails and phone calls that began pouring in this week as we prepared to go into the hearing for oral arguments in my appeal hearing. Your messages of hope, faith, and encouragement came in from all over the country and we have kept every one of them close to our hearts throughout this process, sometimes replaying or re-reading a particular message over and over again.

The morning of the hearing we were also buoyed by the energy that Support Committee members, leaders and members of supporting organizations including the California Black Faculty Staff Association, the American Association of University Women (AAUW)—with representatives from several chapters and the California Legal Advocacy Fund leadership in attendance, the Lambda Letters Project (LLP), We Advocate Gender Equity (WAGE), the San Diego NAACP, Concilio for Higher Education, For Chicano Foundation, The Graciela Chichilnisky Support Committee and Columbia University Professor Graciela Chichilnisky and others. A special thanks to members of the African American, Asian, Queer Justice and other media outlets for attending the press conferences that preceded and followed the Hearing as well as the Hearing itself.

Nearly fifty Pat Washington supporters filled the courtroom: former students, community leaders, CSU and UC faculty, social justice advocates and members of the legal community. Other supporters had to go to the overflow-courtroom to watch the proceedings on closed screen television.

Rich Paul, attorney for the California State University, attempted to make the matter of my being fired appear to be just a catfight between me and a bunch of women who didn’t like me “ They” didn’t like me, so “I” got fired. Building on the argument that Judge Jay Bloom used to justify granting SDSU a summary judgment motion denying me a trial; Paul claimed I was fired because my Women’s Studies colleagues just "didn’t like" me. My being fired was the result of personality clashes that resulted from my being a maverick that didn’t do what I was told, made unilateral decisions without consulting the department, and someone who was an unpleasant presence in the Women’s Studies department. Paul claimed that all the evidence showed that I just didn’t play well with others.

Despite SDSU’s manipulation of key facts in my case, my attorney Dan Siegel did an outstanding job presenting cogent arguments that returned the focus to the reasons I was fired: racial discrimination and retaliation for complaining about a racially hostile work environment. Among other things, Siegel reminded the Justices that when one chronicled my career in Women’s Studies at San Diego State University, my colleagues liked me- until I filed a racial discrimination and retaliation complaint with union and University officials. He pointed out that the "dislike" for me escalated as I stood up for myself and others, particularly students of color, who were subjected to racially discriminatory practices within the department.

Attorney Siegel did a superb job of showing how my application for tenure and promotion was not the only aspect of my promotion tainted with racial hostility. Racially–motivated decision-making governed the entire process, with Women’s Studies poisoning the process at every step. Six levels of independent review? Not on your life. Provost Nancy Marlin rubberstamped a decision that was made and reinforced at every level by the Department.

We have no idea how the Appeal Justices will rule in my appeal. We won’t know the answer to that question for two or three months. What we do know is that we are profoundly grateful for the wonderful support so many individuals and organizations have given to this struggle for my reinstatement with tenure, promotion, back-pay and benefits at San Diego State University.

"You are a blessing. And, we thank you." --Pat Washington and Maggie Allington

P. S. Shortly, we will post a more detailed rebuttal (with documentation) to some of the arguments Attorney Rich Paul made on behalf of SDSU on the Pat Washington Support Committee website. Website: http://patwashington.org.