When push comes to shove: Faculty seeks inquiry after NCMC president allegedly assaults protesters

PETOSKEY — After a physical clash was recorded at a recent event between water protection advocates and a group of people, including North Central Michigan College President David Roland Finley, faculty members of the school are requesting an investigation into Finley's actions.

Specifically, college faculty are asking an inquiry be conducted by a neutral third-party to eliminate the possibility of the president overseeing his own investigation.

The incident in question occurred at a lecture on June 22 hosted by the college, featuring a spokesperson from Enbridge — a company that owns crude oil and natural gas pipelines — in which a group of Anishinaabek protesters attempted to display a banner in protest of Line 5, a decades-old Enbridge pipeline that crosses the Straits of Mackinac.

Paul Meneghini, Enbridge's manager of community engagement for the Great Lakes region, was set to talk about an overview of a planned tunnel project at the Luncheon Lecture, according to a press release from the college.

Environmental advocates have called for the pipeline to be shut down over concerns that an oil spill in the Straits would be ecologically devastating. In an effort to address safety concerns, Enbridge has proposed an underwater tunnel to house the portion of Line 5 that runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

The project has been in the works for years, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently pushed the permitting timeline for the tunnel project back to spring 2025.

More: Michigan, Wisconsin and Canadian tribes come together to fight Line 5

More: As legal sparring continues, Army Corps pushes Line 5 permit timeline to 2025

Finley is accused of leading actions that “escalated into a physical altercation" as he and others prevented the protesters from gaining entrance to the lecture, leading to the "assault" of an “Indigenous water protector” and “various minor injuries for many involved,” according to an account from protestor John Woodward, who recorded a video of the incident allegedly showing Finley “assaulting protesters ... as he attempts to rip the banner from their hands.”

Now, two weeks after the confrontation, the college’s faculty are publicly appealing for scrutiny into Finley's behavior.

“The alleged incident raises concerns about suppressing dissenting viewpoints and physically intimidating individuals exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” said Chet Jessick, president of the Faculty Association, on behalf of his colleagues in a letter submitted June 30 to the NCMC Board of Trustees.

“Can you imagine if the alleged action had been done by the president of the University of Michigan or Michigan State's president?" asked Jessick during an interview with the Petoskey News-Review.

Jessick also noted Finley’s reported actions are contrary to the college’s employee handbook, which, “clearly states that employees shall refrain from violent behavior and conduct that threatens, intimidates or coerces," he said.

“A thorough investigation is imperative to restore confidence in the college’s leadership role in protecting free speech and civil rights and to ensure that our campus remains a safe and inclusive environment for robust intellectual discourse,” Jessick said.

Calling the protesters “trespassers,” a statement from the college alleges video of the incident “clearly demonstrates there was no evidence of physical violence leading to anyone being bloody and bruised.”

However, Anishinaabek attorney Holly Bird, who is representing the protestors, said her clients were indeed physically harmed and are considering filing assault charges against the school.

She also disagrees with the characterization they were trespassing.

“They signed up for tickets for the event and were utilizing their First Amendment right to vocalize their opinion,” Bird said. “When you have a public college, you would hope they would be protecting people’s First Amendment rights and especially if someone is Indigenous and they are on their own homeland. None of the water protectors were being physical with anyone, they simply voiced themselves ... and were unfortunately met with brute force."

Prior to the lecture, Petoskey Department of Public Safety Director Adrian Karr asked the college to designate a place for protesters to gather in anticipation of a disruption.

However, according to Karr, that didn't happen.

Instead, when the protesters appeared, the physical altercation took place, involving banner-wielding water protectors — five of whom were later identified by local law enforcement — and several college officials, including Finley, former Emmet County Commissioner and Luncheon Lecture series coordinator Charlie MacInnis, and others.

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Bird said she applauds the faculty association for their request for an investigation.

“The president should be treated no different than any other staff if an event like this were to occur,” she said.

The News-Review attempted to contact Finley and North Central’s Vice President of Marketing and Strategy Carol Laenen but did not receive a response.

— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at 231-675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com. Follow her on Twitter, @adoylenews

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Faculty seeks inquiry after NCMC president allegedly assaults protesters