[Imcamericorps] Fwd: [bikecoop-staff] Mark in the IMC Building
Carly Nix
nix.carly at gmail.com
Thu Jan 28 13:28:03 CST 2010
Forwarded conversation
Subject: Mark in the IMC Building
------------------------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 8:29 PM
To: Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <
nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike Project Staff List <
bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>, "Lori A. Serb" <loriserb at loriserb.info>
I received a call from Carly earlier this evening about a person in the
building who was making her uncomfortable. She was leaving, but gave me a
description and indicated that Betchem would be here and would know what he
looked like.
I arrived and spoke with Betchem and Atef. Both mentioned issues they'd
noticed with the person and described him to me. I located him in the
anteroom to the Bike Project, where he was alone (there was a meeting of
some sort going on in the BP, which I did not want to disturb.) I asked what
his name was and he told me it was Mark. He was sort of randomly going
through items on the shelf in the anteroom. Mark denied the behavior
ascribed to him and stated that the accusations probably indicated that
those stating that (three others independently told me the same thing) about
him probably were engaged in that themselves.
Mark claimed to be a member of WRFU, but that he didn't have a show yet.
Mark also claimed to be a member of the Bike Project and that they were
trying to help him get a 27" tire for his mountain bike but those are hard
to find so that hadn't happened yet.
Betchem has noted some items missing, which is of concern to him. I don't
believe he's actually seen Mark take them, but he suspects it might be Mark
because of the circumstances. There was other behavior noted by several
people that Mark also denied. None of it was threatening to anyone per se,
but it is of the nature that we'd prefer that it not occur in the building.
Carly indicated Mark was around the building for about 4 hours this
afternoon/evening. Betchem indicated he was around the building for a period
of time this morning. He also indicated having spoken with (some relatives?)
at Paradiso who might be caretakers of Mark and who might know more about
Mark's situation.
I was reluctant to ask Mark to vacate the premises immediately based on what
I saw and heard right now. I intend to return later this evening to make
sure that the building is locked and that Mark isn't spending the night
there.
I request feedback from WRFU and the Bike Project about Mark's membership
status and any concerns they may have about this situation.
We want the IMC to be an open and welcoming place for our community. We also
don't want users of the space to make other users feel uncomfortable. The
current situation suggests to me that Mark may be spending a lot of time at
the IMC without anything in particular to do and this can cause problems for
others. It may be possible to ask him to direct this energy to more useful
volunteer work, for instance, or to come up with other mutually agreeable
solutions. Of course, sometimes this is not possible and we may have to
consider other choices.
I'll put this on the agenda for the Building portion of this week's Finance
meeting at 5pm this Thursday. Please email me before then if there is
anything else you'd like us to know or call me at 344-5609 if you need a
quicker response.
Carly, in particular, if you feel I should escalate my response on this, I
will. Given that the Bike Project was also involved and Mark seemed very
low-key right now, I felt it better to stay in the information gathering
mode before taking any action. I will do what is necessary to make you feel
secure in the space, so call me again if you feel that we should move faster
with this right now.
Mike Lehman
----------
From: *Nicole Pion* <nicole.pion at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 9:16 AM
To: Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Cc: Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <
nix.carly at gmail.com>
Yes, Chris Phenox was te guy who was making us uncomfortable and who was
banned from the IMC for aggressive behavior towards me, Joy and Stephen.
Mark Knight is someone who we were keeping an eye on last year, as it seemed
that he was trying to live at the IMC. I've had reports taht he is
harmless, but his presence can be disquieting. He was sleeping on the couch
yesterday. I agree that if he wants to work on an IMC related project, he
can stay, if not he should leave. However, for some reason he cannot engage
in projects. For example, he used to call repeatedly to ask how to get a
show on RFU, but would never, never, never follow through. More than
anything else, it was frustrating.
Past interaction has shown that he probably has some mental health issues.
However, my instinct is that he is interested in taking advantage of the IMC
- not in contributing. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
Let's just leave on the agenda for Thursday. I'm not sure what to suggest
we do.
Nicole
On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 12:22 AM, Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>wrote:
> It's late, so I'm starting to talk to myself... :-)
>
> I checked the building. All is quiet. The Elm St. stairwell door at the top
> of the stairs, second floor was unlocked, so I locked it. Both doors at the
> bottom of the stairwell were locked, so all seemed OK.
>
> After checking my files, the letter I had ready last year was for Chris
> Phenox AKA Fillilove. Don't know now about any relationship to Mark Knight
> or not? Maybe someone else?
> Mike Lehman
>
>
> Mike Lehman wrote:
>
>> If it is the same guy, I'm not going to waste much more decisionmaking
>> time on this. I would like to confirm this is the case for certain, though.
>> I have the letter already ready to go, we just never got the chance for me
>> to give it to him.
>>
>> Barry wrote back and let me know that the fellow told him his name was
>> Mark Knight (Barry was a little unsure, but had it spelled right, so I think
>> we're pretty certain on that since Chris has it, too.)
>>
>> In any case, I'm going to do the dishes, then going do a walk through just
>> to check the building. I'll be checking email later and in the morning.
>> Mike Lehman
>>
>> Chris Ritzo wrote:
>>
>>> Is this the person that was making Nicole feel uncomfortable last year?
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 8:52 PM, JOY <imcbooks at gmail.com <mailto:
>>> imcbooks at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I assume this is Mark Knight. We had similar issues with him last
>>> year. There may be something in the archives about it, but I don't
>>> remember if we determined what to do.
>>>
>>> Joy
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 8:29 PM, Mike Lehman
>>> -- This message has been scanned for viruses and
>>> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
>>> believed to be clean.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Imc-bookkeeper mailing list
>>> Imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net
>>> <mailto:Imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>
>>> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/imc-bookkeeper
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- Joy Davis
>>> UCIMC Office Manager
>>> 202 S. Broadway Ave., Suite 100
>>> Urbana, IL 61801
>>> imcbooks at gmail.com <mailto:imcbooks at gmail.com>
>>> 217.344.8820
>>> www.ucimc.org <http://www.ucimc.org>
>>>
>>> -- This message has been scanned for viruses and
>>> dangerous content by *MailScanner* <http://www.mailscanner.info/>,
>>> and is
>>> believed to be clean.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Imc-bookkeeper mailing list
>>> Imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net
>>> <mailto:Imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>
>>> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/imc-bookkeeper
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
> believed to be clean.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Imc-bookkeeper mailing list
> Imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net
> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/imc-bookkeeper
>
--
Nicole Pion
Outreach and Development Adviser
AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
----------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 10:18 AM
To: Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>
Cc: Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>
Nicole,
That helps clarify things on who's who. The Bike Project had a similar take.
He does seem to get some limited engagement with them, but then spends a lot
of time just hanging around, which seems to be leading to issues. Let's
discuss more Thursday.
Mike
Nicole Pion wrote:
> <mailto:imcbooks at gmail.com> <mailto:imcbooks at gmail.com
> <mailto:rebelmike at earthlink.net
> <mailto:imcbooks at gmail.com <mailto:imcbooks at gmail.com>>
> 217.344.8820
> www.ucimc.org <http://www.ucimc.org> <http://www.ucimc.org>
----------
From: *Lori Serb* <loriserb at loriserb.info>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 12:10 PM
To: Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Cc: Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <
nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike Project Staff List <
bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
I do not have any record of a Mark attending WRFU meetings or paying a WRFU
membership. The only Mark I know of (and Carly knows him) is the Mark who
co-hosts the Sundays 6p-8p Wing-T sports show. I don't have complete
records, so someone else may vouch for Mark.
Without any more information about his description, I will say at the fall
GEO social in the Stage room I had to ask 2 people to leave the event that
were not grad students, were making attendees very uncomfortable and clearly
had no real business to attend to at the IMC at that time.
One of them was a white man in his mid 30s tall and lean with blonde hair
who insisted he WAS a graduate student in the past, and he had a grievance
that GEO did not address at that time. He lurked around the computer
"surfing the web" and eating our food until I told him he needed to leave. I
had to be rather assertive, but I know I made the right decision and that if
I didn't take matters into my own hands no one else would.
This issue comes up repeatedly at the IMC when I have paid for space for
events and the volunteers I worked with at those events felt uncomfortable.
I will back up any decision Carly makes on having him removed from the IMC.
I also hope we can start keeping a descriptive record of people who were
asked to leave the IMC, because it would help me and others make informed
decisions in the moment about people sharing the space.
Lori
----------
From: *luke thompson* <lbthomps1981 at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 1:28 PM
To: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>
Cc: Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
Lori,
That would be mark that claimed he was a graduate student a long time ago.
I know he had told fred and I his story one night when he was poking around
quite a bit(for the majority of open hours one thursday) but never actually
getting around to either working on a bike or buying one.
Luke Thompson
Thursday Night Co-op Staff
----------
From: *Emma Barnes* <ebarnes0 at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 1:44 PM
To: lbthomps1981 at gmail.com
Cc: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>,
Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <
nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike Project Staff List <
bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
I checked the Bike Project filing box for new memberships filled out.
There's no one with the name Mark or Marc who recently became a member.
Emma
----------
From: *Fred Davidson* <fgd at illinois.edu>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 1:52 PM
To: lbthomps1981 at gmail.com, Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>
Cc: Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
I've been following this thread and tried to place the guy, and now I've
placed him -- I remember that conversation and can now place the guy.
OK -- if he shows up at thurs hours, Luke: let's just counsel him out?
FD
>bikecoop-staff mailing list
>bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net
>https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/bikecoop-staff
----------
From: *Vincent Pham* <vporganization at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 1:56 PM
To: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>,
Bookkeeperlist <imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <
nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike Project Staff List <
bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
I noticed Mark last night as I was leaving and I have also gotten a bad vibe
from him. It seems that he knows enough about the organizations in the IMC
to say what needs to be said ("I'm a member of TBP, I'm waiting for a show
from WRFU, I'm a grad student") so that he still allowed around. This issue
of him creeping out IMC workers and volunteers seems to be a prevalent one,
not just for TBP but across multiple organizations. I know that the IMC is a
pretty open and accepting place but we don't also want to be a place where
creeps hang out since that reputation is much harder to get rid of.
Vince
----------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 2:26 PM
To: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>
Cc: Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>
Lori,
Thanks. It may be that the fellow from the fall was the same guy, kind of
hard to tell at this remove.
I'm pretty certain that he's using this claim about being a member of
various groups as an excuse to hang around, but now that I've confirmed that
he's not really a member, I think we'll be able to deal with the situation.
I think some additional policy may come of this. Certainly when the first
floor space is rented out, it isn't open for public use.
Mike
----------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 2:33 PM
To: lbthomps1981 at gmail.com
Cc: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
Luke,
OK, thanks for confirming this. More in response to Vince's later email.
Mike Lehman
----------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 2:50 PM
To:
Cc: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
Vince,
I think you sum things up pretty well here. Along with Luke confirming that
Mark's behavior is part of a long term pattern of behavior and the various
other issues that others have reported, some online in this thread of emails
and a few that I have heard in person and that I didn't place online, I'm
going to suggest the following course of action.
The IMC has a tradition of being an accommodating and welcoming place. We
also realize that we don't want to enable the behavior of people who impose
on others in ways that make the IMC space an unfriendly or hostile
environment. Staff and volunteers in the building have the right and the
power to take action to ask individuals violating IMC policies or otherwise
making them or others in the IMC space uncomfortable to leave the space and
not return temporarily. If this is done, we typically indicate to the
person(s) when and where they can return to engage in a conversation about
how they might be able to appropriately use the IMC space in the future, if
they wish to do that.
The body that makes these decisions is typically the Steering group. Its
next meeting is Thursday, Feb. 4. I propose that we ask Mark to leave the
IMC and to return at that Steering meeting to discuss these issues with us.
Please note that this should not be discussed on public lists so as to
preserve the privacy of the individual involved. I presume that the BP Staff
List is not public?
What we typically have done in cases like this in the past is propose
specific hours when he can be in the building. This would allow him to be
engaged, but limit his tendency to wonder and get into trouble. On the other
hand, sometimes we find out that things have been going on that are somewhat
worse than we know at first as people begin discussing the situation. Thus,
we have also done blanket bans for several months or more at a time. And
there are people who have received permanent bans because they either did
things bad enough to get that or simply refused to work with us at all.
Whatever happens is really in Steering's hands, so people do need to voice
their concerns and participate in crafting a solution at that meeting,
whether Mark chooses to attend or not.
Mike Lehman
----------
From: *Fred Davidson* <fgd at illinois.edu>
Date: Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 6:40 AM
To: Mike Lehman <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Cc: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
Mike:
There was as similar incident with a guy named Steve Petmeke last year. He
was being disruptive in the Bike Project, and we (that is, the co-op staff)
voted that he could only be there when I was staffing the co-op, which means
Thurs 6-9 PM. Steve seemed to get along with me.
He did show up after that decision was made, and there was at least
circumstantial evidence that at or near the co-op he threatened a 12-year
old kid. I spoke with a police sergeant at that incident.
After further discussion, we decided that he would be banned entirely from
the bike co-op. He has not been back anyway, and so we have never (to my
knowledge) had to enforce that ban.
The reason I tell this story is to raise a point about your message, below,
Mike. If a disruptive person comes into the IMC but only patronizes one
place, does any discussion of prohibition still need to go through the IMC's
steering committee? Can a tenant ban somebody from their space independent
of IMC review?
Fred
(BP Thurs Eve. staff)
----------
From: *Mike Lehman* <rebelmike at earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 10:07 AM
To: fgd at illinois.edu
Cc: Lori Serb <loriserb at loriserb.info>, Bookkeeperlist <
imc-bookkeeper at lists.chambana.net>, Carly Nix <nix.carly at gmail.com>, Bike
Project Staff List <bikecoop-staff at lists.chambana.net>
Fred,
I think that it's best to coordinate and pass along news of such
restrictions so that others are aware of them. The lines between us are
fairly clear to each other, but they often aren't to people who act out in
ways like this. There's then the tendency once restrictions are in place
with one group to find themselves in conflict with others in the building.
So it's best that others in the building are aware of the issues with
someone in case their actions are displaced toward others.
I would hesitate to say that because someone is a problem for the Bike
Project, for instance, they'll be a problem for RFU.
On the other hand, as in the case with Mark, once someone manages to attract
enough attention that the issue gets raised that they create a problem that
needs to be addressed, it is often the case that others come forward to say
that they also have been troubled by the same person and just hadn't yet
quite put 2 and 2 together. So it's good to get these conversations started
be being aware of what others have encountered. This is one of the reasons
why such issues should go to Steering, because it's the place where such
coordination can take place.
Mike Lehman
--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/imcamericorps/attachments/20100128/3cf62f39/attachment-0001.html>
More information about the Imcamericorps
mailing list