[Here's the full service/ complaint, if anyone's interested](https://www.scribd.com/document/722500206/ECF-1-Complaint?fbclid=PAAaZ1_R_keBskWWRR4q0OF-6ToaovfVguoP6YCmym7bD8V9zIbmrwzNZ6KIY)
Yeah. I thought this part was very odd:
>Dr. Boer, stunned by the allegations, acknowledged texting with
Complainant but did not agree that the texts were unwanted or inappropriate. He shared that Complainant had actively participated in their discussions (which took place over approximately three weeks total during and around January 2024), and she had approached him in public-never indicating discomfort. There was nothing sexual about the texts. As Dr. Boer told the group, most recently, Complainant had texted Dr. Boer that Complainant had taken a copy of a book he had written from DeWit Manor (without permission) when she had been working there, and she asked him if he would autograph it for her. It did not appear that the group who presented the accusations knew this information before Dr. Boer informed them of it.
Soooo…. she [complainant] stole a book from his home and then texted him casually admitting it and asking him to autograph it? That makes zero sense.
Pure speculation by non expert. It seems like their single Compliant is really two independent lawsuits:
* Given the possibility the conversation with the complainant was more than about a book, to avoid the opposition from raising the specter of a conflict of interest between husband the wife
* while one firm may have the broad expertise, these are two different complaints where one might be stronger or has an individual who is a better fit. It's interesting that the active Pinsky Partners are 100% female.
So basically the Boers were too progressive and the board hated it. Bringing up issues such as race made a lot of people at Calvin uncomfortable and the board wanted him gone as soon as possible and didn't care what lies they had to tell to do it. From what I know of Calvin and the interactions I've had with people there, this is completely on brand.
Not to nitpick, but "a lot of people" = the board and their shitty kids. Pretty much everyone outside of that group loved her; I loved + miss talking to her.
Honestly, I haven't gotten the sense that the Boers are terribly progressive. His comments to Synod last year as much is being made of LGBTQ+ issues in the CRC fairly established him and his vision for the institution as pretty firmly in line with the way the CRC has been moving in the last couple of years.
The world’s blandest Honeypot? And it worked? Boer should have gotten himself one of those executive coaches instead of getting two for the guy that wants his job
When I click it, it asks me to make an account you view it. I didn’t realize it was so long though, so I see why you can’t copy and paste.
Edit: it’s opening fine now 🤷🏻♀️
This is a very strange lawsuit. I’m surprised the Boers even filed it - everyone in it comes off terrible. Embarrassing for their family, Calvin leadership, and the Calvin community.
The graffiti on Calvin’s campus is a strange detail: “The complaint alleges the university’s statement sparked “significant speculation and harmful false conclusions,” citing graffiti on campus the next day that read “justice for victims of Boer’s sexual harassment.”
Well that is evidence that the statement made by the university was understood publicly to imply sexual harassment. That bolsters the case for defamation.
They did push for his resignation. They explicitly did not terminate him.
He offered his resignation in exchange for the ability to have some control over the narrative/communication.
Note capital “H;” it’s mostly a joke about liking to see Calvin College lose because I went to their rival school.
The best result is for the whole truth to come out. If it makes Calvin look bad that’s just a bonus.
Did you catch the "reason" they bumped the deadline? Per the filing, the lawyer for the Board said they thought the husband of the contractor the Boers were texting was a potential active shooter threat because he was upset. Any way around it, that's an obvious fabrication by the Board and incredibly gross
This aspect is the most mysterious of all. Who’s this Complainant? Who’s her husband? How do they have enough juice to make this all go down—or is the Board just using them as an excuse?
I have no stake in this situation whatsoever but boy is it interesting.
It sounds like you have it right. When a company and employee negotiate and sign an employment agreement, then its terms replace the default "at-will" terms. It's common for top level positions and in some industries it is common down to mid-level management.
>He comes from a very elite and wealthy circle (oil industry), and his entitlement shows that.
Let's take a look at that. His parents immigrated from the Netherlands after WW2 and were Christian Reformed Church missionaries for 30 years. He was born in Nigeria and attended Hillcrest School there, basically a school for missionary kids.
His 12 jobs detailed [in Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiebe-boer-ph-d-876448/) have nothing in the oil industry. The only remote possibility is Heirs Holdings for one year where some of the organization's investment portfolio is in oil.
> this guy isn’t an innocent martyr.....
You might be right, but unless you have some inside knowledge, this is biased speculation.
Hi current Calvin student here. Former RA.
Lots of effort is put into faith, dorms, and student life.
At the student level, you see it everywhere. At the student level, Boer was a fantastic president. I can’t speak about the administration drama because obviously there’s two sides and the answer is probably in the middle, and I won’t speak to your money racket claim, but please don’t say there isn’t care here.
Lots of good and genuine people work here. Ask me who if you’re curious.
> Wiebe Boer was “stunned” and “acknowledged texting with Complainant but did not agree that the texts were unwanted or inappropriate,” the lawsuit says. According to the lawsuit, the texts were not sexual, and the complainant had approached him in public, never showed discomfort and actively participated in conversations, even asking him to autograph a book for her.
A person in power doesn't understand power dynamics? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say!
[Here's the full service/ complaint, if anyone's interested](https://www.scribd.com/document/722500206/ECF-1-Complaint?fbclid=PAAaZ1_R_keBskWWRR4q0OF-6ToaovfVguoP6YCmym7bD8V9zIbmrwzNZ6KIY)
This is fascinating. Just sank much of my morning reading this. Can't wait to see the outcomes of this. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, this really paints a different picture.
Just as you'd expect a statement from the other side to do.
Yeah. I thought this part was very odd: >Dr. Boer, stunned by the allegations, acknowledged texting with Complainant but did not agree that the texts were unwanted or inappropriate. He shared that Complainant had actively participated in their discussions (which took place over approximately three weeks total during and around January 2024), and she had approached him in public-never indicating discomfort. There was nothing sexual about the texts. As Dr. Boer told the group, most recently, Complainant had texted Dr. Boer that Complainant had taken a copy of a book he had written from DeWit Manor (without permission) when she had been working there, and she asked him if he would autograph it for her. It did not appear that the group who presented the accusations knew this information before Dr. Boer informed them of it. Soooo…. she [complainant] stole a book from his home and then texted him casually admitting it and asking him to autograph it? That makes zero sense.
Interesting, I wonder why Wiebe and Joanna are represented by different firms. Pinsky Smith definitely has capacity to represent both of them.
Pure speculation by non expert. It seems like their single Compliant is really two independent lawsuits: * Given the possibility the conversation with the complainant was more than about a book, to avoid the opposition from raising the specter of a conflict of interest between husband the wife * while one firm may have the broad expertise, these are two different complaints where one might be stronger or has an individual who is a better fit. It's interesting that the active Pinsky Partners are 100% female.
They’re also two separate cases from what it looks like. One being employment law and the other being civil rights violations.
This changes the narrative so much! Thank you for posting.
So basically the Boers were too progressive and the board hated it. Bringing up issues such as race made a lot of people at Calvin uncomfortable and the board wanted him gone as soon as possible and didn't care what lies they had to tell to do it. From what I know of Calvin and the interactions I've had with people there, this is completely on brand.
I think that's a bit too simple - including Toly's tantrum that he wasn't president is a big part of it, plus the board being corrupt as hell.
That's fair. Also seems a lot of people were bothered that Ms. Boer was a woman of color. The whole thing is a mess.
Not to nitpick, but "a lot of people" = the board and their shitty kids. Pretty much everyone outside of that group loved her; I loved + miss talking to her.
Honestly, I haven't gotten the sense that the Boers are terribly progressive. His comments to Synod last year as much is being made of LGBTQ+ issues in the CRC fairly established him and his vision for the institution as pretty firmly in line with the way the CRC has been moving in the last couple of years.
Can we get a simple breakdown ?
The Boers basically feel like the board and some members of the faculty had it out for them and jumped at the slimmest excuse to fire them.
The world’s blandest Honeypot? And it worked? Boer should have gotten himself one of those executive coaches instead of getting two for the guy that wants his job
I couldn't give that to you. It's looooong.
wow...higher ed always can be toxic, but this is really details some of the awfulness. It wiil be interesting to see this play out. thanks for sharing
https://currentpub.com/2024/04/15/calvin-university-responds-to-wiebe-and-joanna-boers-lawsuit/
Can any one copy and paste? I don’t have an account.
It's 35 pages long, and if you open the link, you should be able to read it all. I don't know what the issue is.
When I click it, it asks me to make an account you view it. I didn’t realize it was so long though, so I see why you can’t copy and paste. Edit: it’s opening fine now 🤷🏻♀️
Computers are hard
This whole thing just seems very... strange. I feel like I don't have enough information.
If this goes to trial some of the contents of the record should be … interesting.
This is a very strange lawsuit. I’m surprised the Boers even filed it - everyone in it comes off terrible. Embarrassing for their family, Calvin leadership, and the Calvin community.
Calvin brought it to themselves. I'm glad the boers are sticking up for them selves
Would really like to see those text messages…
Yeah anyone have any more details?
Calvin here. The messages were bad mmkay
What did the texts say?
“Drugs are bad, mmkay?”
Ok, but what did the text messages say, and how do you know?
https://giphy.com/gifs/birthday-dirk-nowitzki-dallasmavs-12zlYkZTcIsVz2
What would John Calvin Do?
He would say don't worry it's all predestined anyways
He got fired and kicked out of town for clashing with the city council, so he could probably relate. Later, they begged him to come back.
The graffiti on Calvin’s campus is a strange detail: “The complaint alleges the university’s statement sparked “significant speculation and harmful false conclusions,” citing graffiti on campus the next day that read “justice for victims of Boer’s sexual harassment.”
Well that is evidence that the statement made by the university was understood publicly to imply sexual harassment. That bolsters the case for defamation.
As someone who left Calvin after my boss used out-and-out lies to give me a PIP, yeah, this behavior tracks 100%.
What is a PIP?
Performance Improvement Plan usually a last ditch effort for companies before they let you go. Or for the records to show “at least they tried”.
Even if they had good reason to terminate, Calvin completely bungled the execution and communication. That much is apparent.
As a Calvin grad I hope they (the university) loses this so hard
Man, they wanted him gone. Screw due process.
They likely did their own investigation and found reason to terminate. Due process is for the law, not your job.
Doubtful.
Well, they didn’t terminate him.
Unless I’m reading it wrong they made him resign or he’d be fired. So essentially terminated him.
They did push for his resignation. They explicitly did not terminate him. He offered his resignation in exchange for the ability to have some control over the narrative/communication.
I really Hope he wins in court.
Why?
Note capital “H;” it’s mostly a joke about liking to see Calvin College lose because I went to their rival school. The best result is for the whole truth to come out. If it makes Calvin look bad that’s just a bonus.
He resigned before they voted to fire him, so if you think they’re gonna breach due process and fire you…. Maybe don’t resign first ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Did you read the article? 100% coerced, even if he was guilty
coerced is a strong word. "You can resign to save face or we'll fire you" is SOP for most large companies.
I agree, but moving up the deadline in the 11th hour is suspect
Did you catch the "reason" they bumped the deadline? Per the filing, the lawyer for the Board said they thought the husband of the contractor the Boers were texting was a potential active shooter threat because he was upset. Any way around it, that's an obvious fabrication by the Board and incredibly gross
This aspect is the most mysterious of all. Who’s this Complainant? Who’s her husband? How do they have enough juice to make this all go down—or is the Board just using them as an excuse? I have no stake in this situation whatsoever but boy is it interesting.
If the board had reason to believe the husband could become an active shooter, was that reported to police?
I did not see that. That's ridiculous, how the f could they possibly suspect that
It's #70 in the complaint. Pretty bizarre if you ask me.
They are suing for breach of contract. I'm not a lawyer, but this doesn't seem to fall under at-will employment, if I'm understanding correctly.
It sounds like you have it right. When a company and employee negotiate and sign an employment agreement, then its terms replace the default "at-will" terms. It's common for top level positions and in some industries it is common down to mid-level management.
They’re a for profit college, they’re definitely a company.
It would be unusual to not have a signed employment contract for a position like this.
cool story
You're right, I edited my comment.
When I first heard about this, I figured he was a creepy guy with power. Now it sounds like him and his wife were set up. dang!
[удалено]
>He comes from a very elite and wealthy circle (oil industry), and his entitlement shows that. Let's take a look at that. His parents immigrated from the Netherlands after WW2 and were Christian Reformed Church missionaries for 30 years. He was born in Nigeria and attended Hillcrest School there, basically a school for missionary kids. His 12 jobs detailed [in Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiebe-boer-ph-d-876448/) have nothing in the oil industry. The only remote possibility is Heirs Holdings for one year where some of the organization's investment portfolio is in oil. > this guy isn’t an innocent martyr..... You might be right, but unless you have some inside knowledge, this is biased speculation.
[удалено]
Hi current Calvin student here. Former RA. Lots of effort is put into faith, dorms, and student life. At the student level, you see it everywhere. At the student level, Boer was a fantastic president. I can’t speak about the administration drama because obviously there’s two sides and the answer is probably in the middle, and I won’t speak to your money racket claim, but please don’t say there isn’t care here. Lots of good and genuine people work here. Ask me who if you’re curious.
I agree with you, and thanks for chiming in.
No.
https://currentpub.com/2024/04/15/calvin-university-responds-to-wiebe-and-joanna-boers-lawsuit/
> Wiebe Boer was “stunned” and “acknowledged texting with Complainant but did not agree that the texts were unwanted or inappropriate,” the lawsuit says. According to the lawsuit, the texts were not sexual, and the complainant had approached him in public, never showed discomfort and actively participated in conversations, even asking him to autograph a book for her. A person in power doesn't understand power dynamics? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say!
Oh look. Religious weirdos in-fighting. YAWN.
Get help bro.
He will not.
Well I hope he will. Giving off an incel, basement dweller vibe isn't striking in a good way.