Saturday, May 09, 2015

Professional Victim Professor




 At UH-Manoa, students have the opportunity to anonymously evaluate their courses and their professors online!

I rarely post my evaluations publicly, but this time I will.

This is about Dr Noriko Asato, who is a professional victim who needs  to be exposed to the light!






What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?
I have learned how corrupt the profession of public librarianship is!  I have learned how corrupt the Library and Information Science program is, in refusing to practice hooponopono with interns and internship supervisors. I have learned that this professor, as well as the LIS Chair are both people with absolutely zero moral character and needed to be over-ruled by the ICS Chair to stop their corrupt practices.



This stuff about "I have learned how corrupt the profession of public librarianship is!" Read more at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2015/04/problems-at-hsl.html
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and here's what I wrote about "State in two or three sentences how this course could be improved. " and "Other comments"

The course professor teaches the internship class as well as the “Information Profession” class and therefore is supposedly the LIS department’s specialist in preparing students for the professional world. However, this professor is totally unsuitable in helping students prepare for the professional world.




This professor teaches about ethics, but has not only lied to internship supervisors, and but also encourages interns going along with those lies, and gets upset when those interns refuse to go along with such lies. This professors refuses to mediate conflicts between interns and internship supervisors, violating the spirit of hooponopono. That the professor violates the spirit of hooponopono shows that she is extremely ill-suited to working in Hawaii.



This professor believes that people should suffer in silence about any traumatic moments. When a student expressed negative feelings about an internship, this professor says it’s not good to have anger. Well, the professor doesn’t realize that if she was tell an unhappy customer to “not be angry”, this will cause much more problems. Employers in the education and retail industry advise their employees to NEVER tell angry people to “not be angry” YET this professor is doing EXACTLY what retail and educational employers ADVISE AGAINST!



Whenever a student expresses a disagreement or dissatisfaction, the professors says “I feel threatened” in a whiny voice, even when the students did NOT use profanity, did NOT yell, did NOT say any words that expressed violent thoughts, did NOT use physical force on person or object and did NOT threaten to use any physical force on person or object.  This professor claims to “feel threatened” has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with any threats (which are non-existent) but as a way to make the person feel unearned guilt for refusing to kiss her ass.   This professor is a PROFESSIONAL VICTIM and is an extremely bad role model for students who have to deal with real life customers who express disagreements or dissatisfaction.


This professor is exactly the type of person that would advise Martin Luther King Jr to not protests against segregation.  This professor is exactly the type of person that would advise Susan B. Anthony against to not protest for women’s rights. This professor is exactly the type of person that would advise Nelson Mandela to not fight against apartheid. This professor is exactly the type of person that would advise a rape victim to not contact police.



 In other words, this professor is extremely dangerous to her student’s psychological well-being! The university needs to question this professor about her psychological damaging practices. Any refusal by the university to question this professor is to condone such practices, which will come with negative publicity if this goes public in an online forum.


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About the part stating  that Dr Noriko Asato "has not only lied to internship supervisors, and but also encourages interns going along with those lies, and gets upset when those interns refuse to go along with such lies." 
Dr Noriko Asato ran to the LIS Chair (Dr Rich Gazan) and claimed to feel "threatened" and "very afraid" when I sent emails expressing disagreement with her lying! 

If you are threatened by someone explaining the reasoning for their stances in the following way, then you are severely soft!



EMAIL #1
I know that you wanted to be helpful when you wrote "me, himself and I agreed to terminate this internship" but the reason it doesn't help me is because really, it doesn't fool anyone! People don't like being lied to, and when they see "me, himself and I agreed to terminate this internship", they know they're being lied to!
I'd rather be unemployed for life than to have false statements about me accepting having this internship terminated!

I value honesty a lot that I'm willing to lose a job and my life over it! I have a blog and a facebook page with strong opinions about personal things! I'm actually surprised I haven't lost my life over it yet! I probably lost job opportunities in the past (pre-LIS) because potential employers saw my blog posts and strong opinions! I'm totally at peace with those lost job opportunities because I rather be rejected as a truth-teller than to be hired as a liar! I'm totally at peace with not getting hired because I was honest about my limits in job interviews! I'm totally at peace with being rejected from social circles because I refuse to be a phony just to fit in!
What I'm not at peace with, is people lying to "protect" me. I don't want that type of protection! I only want to be protected by the truth!

But this stuff about "I agreed to terminate this internship" is an extremely serious violation in my culture! I'd rather be called a "piece of ____" than to have someone write that I agreed to this termination! That's how bad it is!

I'm sorry if this sounds combative and I'm sorry if this hurts you! I value truth and honestly to the point where it's sacred to me! I'm really am hurt that a false statement about me agreeing to this termination has actually be sent to another person. I feel extremely violated!




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EMAIL #2

this time, I want to give a cultural context behind my stance.

I am not only influenced by my ethnic culture and the culture of Hawaii, but also the public housing culture of Kalihi, the hip-hop culture and the protest culture of the civil-rights movement.

In such cultures, you are encouraged to take risks to your career and your life to protect your dignity and integrity. In such cultures, you are encouraged to risk economic hardship to protect your dignity and integrity. This is nothing new to me!

In such cultures, you are discouraged from compromising your principles. While compromise is OK when it comes to little things (ie. flyer designs, organizing craft activities), it is strongly frowned upon to pretend that you agree to be terminated, because that is seen as "selling out" (a major sin) and allowing others to "walk all over you".


In such cultures, you are encouraged to be vocal and honest, regardless of the risk to your life and economic security.


While such cultures are misinterpreted as being "combative", actually, you are encouraged to respect others around you, but to also not take disrespect from others.


Now, I understand that not everyone grew up under such cultural contexts. I understand that some cultures value harmony (even to the point of sugar-coating, deception and artful evasions) and "going with the flow". I understand that some cultures frown upon taking economic risks under any circumstances. I understand that some cultures don't value being vocal and standing up for oneself!


Anyways, I write this not to argue, but to help you understand my background and why I feel the way I do!



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EMAIL #3
I want to take this time to go over another cultural concept that you probably didn't get in your cultural orientation!

The concept I want to explain is "let the chips fall where they may"!

The concept "let the chips fall where they may"" means you tell the truth (even if it means a partial-truth) and only the truth, without excessive worrying about the consequences. It doesn't mean being totally blunt, but it does mean you say it like it is, and don't worry too much about whether it will impact your job prospects, your relationship prospects, political prospects or whatever! If it means saying "my job was terminated against my will" then SAY THAT! If it means it makes it harder to get a job ....... so what? Let the chips fall where they may! Living with integrity is more important than money, so if truthfully saying "my job terminated against your will" means you lose future income opportunities, well..........let the chips fall where they may! It is what it is!

"Let the chips fall where they may" also means you should be public about exposing those who did wrong to you, and if that alienates people, well....................let the chips fall where they may! Whatever happens, happens!
As you may see, Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) is a risk-taking oriented society! It is not a "risk-avoidance society." We believe that a person never experiences greatness unless he/she takes some risks! We believe that while speaking honestly comes with serious risk, it also earns respect from honorable people!

Also, Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) is a honesty-based society. That means our culture values "telling it like it is". People in this culture have more respect for someone who said "my job was terminated against my will" (at least it's honest) than someone who said "we agreed to terminate this internship" (a statement that is obviously deceptive and false). Deception and evasive wordings (ie. "we agreed to terminate this internship") are easily detected and never respected in this culture!

Also, Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) have extremely low tolerance for those who discourage risk-taking! Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) have extremely low tolerance for those who discourage truth-telling! Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) have extremely low tolerance for those who say "we all agreed to terminate this internship" when it's not true! Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) have extremely low tolerance for those who think writing "we all agreed to terminate this internship" is a good strategy! Western cultures (and inner city cultures even more so) have extremely low tolerance for those who think it's OK to lie in emails to potential supervisors, even if the lie was supposed to "make me look good". That is considered severely dishonorable and worse than calling someone an insulting name! It's that bad!

I take being honest very seriously and will never tolerate anyone lying about me (even if it's supposed to "make me look good")

Anyways, I know I'm overwhelming you with cultural concepts that are totally alien to your way of thinking! I know I'm overwhelming you with thoughts that might discourage you from helping me. My goal isn't to alienate but to tell the truth! . My goal isn't to alienate to help you understand the mentality of those like me who grew up in the inner cities of the Western world, and to help you understand how sacred it it to be totally honest even under risky circumstances!







Did any of that make you readers "feel afraid"?

Notice that within those messages,
  •  I did NOT use profanity,  
  • I did NOT say any words that expressed violent thoughts,
  • I  did NOT threaten to use any physical force on person or object.

Also, notice that I kept saying stuff like 


  • My goal isn't to alienate but to tell the truth! . My goal isn't to alienate to help you understand the mentality of those like me
  • I'm sorry if this sounds combative and I'm sorry if this hurts you! 
  • Anyways, I write this not to argue, but to help you understand my background and why I feel the way I do!

I tried to sound conciliatory when expressing my reasoning for my disagreement!
Yet, Dr Rich Gazan claimed that I "violated the UH-Manoa Student Code of Conduct"via intimidation!


So expressing a disagreement and explaining your reasons for your disagreement is "intimidation"? 


(note: I have contact lawyers on this, they don't consider those emails "intimidation")



Just imagine if Dr Noriko Asato works as a substitute teacher (which I've done for a decade) where she has to face students who

  • use profanities
  • throw and slam objects 
  • threaten physical violence
  • are members of a gang
  • who don't care if they live or die
  • are very big



If you are threatened by disagreement (like Dr Noriko Asato is) , then how are you going to handle all that? 

Dr Noriko Asato wouldn't even last an hour as a substitute teacher! I've lasted a decade dealing with all that! 



If you want to talk about intimidation, then look at this 




There was a whole bunch of options (ie. try get another internship, take a No-Credit, etc), then this






Dr Noriko Asato, do you realize that letter is an example of "threatening" and "intimidation" tactics? (Irony anyone?)


Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you that my simple request to discuss the issue with HSL director was going to "threaten the existence" the LIS internship program? 


Do you know who you are dealing with?


Do you know you are dealing with someone who blogs like I have nothing to lose?



Do you know you are dealing with someone with connections with the Graduate Student Organization? 


Do you know you are dealing with someone who has written blog posts where I post pictures and real names of bullies I met in real life?


(I actually said to Dr Noriko Asato that "I have written blog posts where I post pictures and real names of workplace bullies I met in real life?". I then emphasized at that time I haven't written a blog post about Tisha Aragaki yet because I wanted that meeting with the HSL director. Then  Dr Noriko Asato she starts whining "I feel threatened, I feel threatened". 

  You expect me to believe that?  GIVE ME A BREAK! At that point, I KNEW she was pretending to feel threatened in an attempt to make me feel unearned guilt for expressing disagreement! 

I even told her straight up "I can't even express a disagreement with you without you claiming to feel threatened" AND  "nothing I said can even be classified as a threat"  )


Notice in that screenshot that she stated ""If you have any problems with this agreement, please feel free to bring this to LIS Program Chair Gazan or ICS Department Chair Chin."



Well, I brought it up with ICS Department Chair David Chin (note: LIS falls under ICS in the campus hierarchy) .


I wrote the following to Dr Chin!



To: my academic advisor Dr. Andrew Wertheimer
Spring 2015 LIS internship coordinator Dr. Noriko Asato
Fall 2015 LIS internship coordinator Dr. Violet Harada
LIS Program Chair  Dr. Rich Gazan
ICS Department Chair Dr. David Chin


This email is in regards to the "LIS Internship Spring 2015 Agreement for Pablo Wegesend" that was dated on March 4, 2015.

One of the conditions stated tells me "you must agree to cease any private or public complaints with the HSPLS."

I, Pablo Wegesend, have and will refuse to sign any agreement designed to intimidate me into suffering in silence. 

I, Pablo Wegesend, have and will refuse to sign any agreement designed to intimidate me into surrendering my intellectual freedom. 

My soul, my honor and my dignity is not for sale. 


Sincerely,

Pablo Wegesend

==

PS #1 : I also note that ICS Department Chair Dr. David Chin is receiving this email, due to a sentence in the unsigned agreement sating "If you have any problems with this agreement, please feel free to bring this to LIS Program Chair Gazan or ICS Department Chair Chin."

PS #2 : This email was not written with the intent to disrespect, just to state my reasons for not signing the agreement


Then I wrote the following to just Dr David Chin


A week ago, I have sent an email to you titled "LIS internship agreement form". Within that email, I have stated that I will refuse to sign a statement designed to intimidate me into suffering silence or surrender my intellectual freedom. 

This is in response to LIS internship coordinator Dr. Noriko Asato, who has written that Agreement Form (with the alleged blessing of Dr. Rich Gazan and Dr. Violet Harada) which states that I cannot be enrolled in an internship course in this coming Fall semester unless I "agree to cease any private or public complaints with the HSPLS."  That statement violates the spirit of Intellectual Freedom as well as a student's right to express grievances related to an academic situation.

A national organization that deals with Intellectual Freedom has been contacted about this situation.

Also, I have notified the LIS Students (via the LIS student listserv) that this issue will be brought in future Graduate Student Organization meetings (note: I'm the LIS representative there) as well as other available forums. If a proposed bill in the legislature related to the formation of the Ombuds Office at UH gets a hearing, I will bring this issue up in my testimony. 

I have also notified the LIS Students (via the LIS student listserv) that this issue will be a topic of my future blog post and I will post campus flyers promoting that blog post.

I am not requesting that you state an agreement or disagreement of my thoughts of my situation dealing with HSPLS.

However, I am requesting that you tell the LIS Program to stop pressuring me to sign a statement of silence and that the LIS Program allow me to take an internship course this coming Fall semester without requiring me to sign a statement of silence. 

I understand that I am putting you in an awkward position of over-ruling faculty members that you may have close working relationships with. However, I am just requesting justice. 


If you want to meet with me individually about this issue, I am willing to do so. 


Mahalo,

Pablo Wegesend



Well, guess what --- Dr David Chin DID over-rule faculty members that he  has close working relationships with!


I think the fact that I notified the intellectual freedom organizations, and said I have connections with Graduate Student Organization, and that I was willing to write blog posts and post up flyers just put them on notice!


So yes, no, I didn't get the meeting I wanted with the head of Hawaii State Library (does she even know I blog?) which was why I posted the following blog post

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2015/04/problems-at-hsl.html


And if anyone at HSL or LIS doesn't like that blog post or this blog post, then they should've gone along with my idea to have me meet with the HSL director and negotiate a solution! If they did all that ...then that blog post and this blog post wouldn't have existed! 



And Tisha Aragaki, look your name up on Google, Bing or Yahoo, my blog post will appear in the first 2 pages! Have you just had a simple conversation about our conflict (instead of crying to Dr Asato, and starting a smear campaign against me) that blog post wouldn't have existed!



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Anyways, I already had an internship set up for Fall 2015 semester! I already told that next internship supervisor about my problems at HSL, even offered to let her look at my documentation. She just giggled  at  the  ridiculous way the HSL people handled the whole issue!



So yeah, if anyone at LIS wants to stop me from doing my next internship because of this blog post.............. I WILL start posting flyers around campus, I WILL contact my connections in the Graduate Student Organization (by the way, their new President is someone I have GREAT working relationship with), I WILL blog more about this, I WILL make YouTube speeches about this,  I WILL go through the chains of command!


To anyone at LIS or HSL who want to talk to me about this blog post, be warned that I WILL note EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO ME on future blog posts! Just like the Miranda warning "anything you say can be used against you on my blog post"


I will even record our conversations, in case Dr Noriko Asato claims to "feel threatened" or if the LIS Chair says  that I "violated the UH-Manoa Student Code of Conduct"


So to the people at LIS and HSL, instead of convincing to take down this blog post, the best thing to do is just write a simple no-caveat apology letter to me about the way you treated me!


===========================

 





PS#1 : There is absolutely NOTHING on here that threatens any physical harm to anyone or anything!

Any claims that this blog post is "threatening" or "intimidating" will be challenged!


This blog is my use of Intellectual Freedom to protest corruption at HSL, LIS and UH-Manoa.  Any attempts to expell me from LIS or UH-Manoa over this blog is a violation of my Intellectual Freedom and my freedom to express grievances on an academic siutation! Any attempts to expell me from LIS or UH-Manoa over this blog will be challenged in multiple ways!





NOTE #2: If anyone ask "why blog about this, why not tell Dr Noriko Asato in person?" I wish I could, but she'll pretend to be "threatened" if I email or talk to her directly. Well, she legally can't claim to be harrassed if I posted on my blog since it's not sent directly to her!


Plus, a few years back,  I did send an angry letter to a previous co-worker at Palolo Elementary School  filled with profanities (which I didn't write in anything towards Dr Noriko Asato).  All the police did was interview me  and ............................................that's it! No arrests, no beatdowns, no aggressive interrogations, nothing! He wasn't even wearing his uniform when I was interviewed on campus!


 So I know the police can't do anything about this blog post!