Portland Community College

[October 30th, 2002] It's not clear whether Mike Booth is a heroic whistle-blower or a pesky troublemaker, but in either case, the folks at Portland Community College have treated him with rogue gloves.

Booth, a freshman at PCC's Sylvania campus, was hired last summer as managing editor of The Bridge, a student-run newspaper. According to the job description, he was responsible for everything from assigning stories to tracking staff hours. He reported to General Manager Tami Steffenhagen, a salaried support staffer at the college.

As the paper was gearing up for its fall publication schedule, Booth became concerned about several aspects of the paper's operation, including tuition waivers Steffenhagen awarded to students who, according to Booth, worked minimally for the bi-weekly paper.

Not sure how to proceed, he called Steffenhagen's boss, Neal Naigus, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, telling him he had some concerns about the GM's conduct that he wanted to discuss in person. Naigus was busy, so they set a meeting for Oct. 16. Not wanting to wait, Booth talked to Craig Bell, dean of student development, who encouraged him to outline his complaints in a memo to Steffenhagen and Naigus.

Booth hammered out a six-page document over the weekend, which he brought to the newspaper office on Monday, Oct. 14. Steffenhagen gave him a frosty reception . Booth says she asked him why he was complaining about her to her boss, at which point he gave Steffenhagen the memo. After reading the memo, she fired him, saying she'd been planning to do so for a while.

Last Friday, Naigus notified Booth that his complaints had been reviewed and, in effect, dismissed.

The review, however, didn't address the timing of the firing. When WW contacted them Friday, both Naigus and his boss, Jan Coulton, said it was their impression that Booth had been canned before he had made his written complaint. On Monday, however, Steffenhagen confirmed that Booth had submitted his memo before he was fired (though she maintained the decision had been made long before for reasons she could not discuss).

Booth says that at this point he's not as interested in getting his job back as getting the college to clarify The Bridge's mission. "Is this a student-run newspaper, or a paper the school puts out for students?" he asks. "There's a big difference."

To Naigus' credit, he says Booth has raised a good question, and he has promised to push for a prompt answer.