Uncensored:Rachel Marsden

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Tom harrison deleted this page on December 1, 2006, providing the following reason(s):
"blp concerns; arbcom ruling"
This is a copy of the article prior to the action(s), provided for historical purposes.

Rachel Marsden (born 1974) is a Canadian media personality and political commentator, known for her outspoken conservative positions and for her involvement in several controversies. She is currently a columnist for the Toronto Sun whose columns periodically appear in U.S. publications.

Contents

Education and media career

Marsden attended Simon Fraser University, where she graduated in 1997 with a degree in biology and a minor in French. Subsequent education includes a diploma in broadcast journalism from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (2000)[1] and a program for conservative journalists offered at the National Journalism Center (2003). She returned to SFU in 1998 and enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program in criminology.[2][3]

Rachel Marsden, right, with Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor.
Rachel Marsden, right, with Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor.

Marsden was involved in various capacities in local radio and TV. One version of her c.v. claims that she was a production assistant and assistant to Connie Chung at ABC News' 20/20 in New York.[4] ABC, however, has denied that Marsden was a paid employee, but she may have been an intern.[5]

Marsden has often courted controversy, and some have suggested that she has modelled her personal style after American media personality Ann Coulter, whom she has described as "a friend." In recent years, Marsden has been a guest on The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, where she has offered a Canadian point of view, and on CNBC's Dennis Miller program.[6] For two months in the summer of 2005, she had a twice-weekly column in the National Post. Soon after, she began a regular column in the Toronto Sun. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Post,[7] David Horowitz's Front Page Magazine, United Press International, as well as the online newspapers Canada Free Press, NewsMax.com, and PoliticalUSA.

Harassment controversies

Liam Donnelly

Main article: Marsden-Donnelly harassment case

Marsden first came to national attention as a student at Simon Fraser University in 1997 when her accusations against swim coach Liam Donnelly of a date rape became public.[8]

Marsden and Donnelly laid complaints against each another with the SFU harassment office in 1995. On the advice of his lawyer, however, Donnelly withdrew his own complaint and refused to attend the university sexual harassment tribunal's hearing. The panel found him guilty in October, 1996, and he was fired on May 23, 1997.[9] Marsden was given $12,000 to compensate her for the impact on her life.[10]

Donnelly appealed the ruling and went public with his side of the story. He denied any romantic relationship with Marsden and asserted that she had in fact been harassing him. He claimed that Marsden showered him with unsolicited gifts, including provocative pictures of herself[11] and a subscription to Playboy.[12] She also had sent him emails with explicit offers of sex.[13] (These came a month after Marsden claimed Donnelly had raped her.)

SFU reversed its decision, rehired Donnelly, and paid his legal fees of $60,000.[14] The University issued a statement that Donnelly's original firing had been based solely on Marsden's testimony, but cast doubt on her veracity. [15]

The case attracted much media attention. The legitimacy of the university's investigative procedures and the conclusions drawn by the panel were cast into doubt. An internal SFU review discovered that the university's harassment policy coordinator, Patricia O'Hagan, had a personal relationship with Marsden and had shown her drafts of the initial report.[16]

As a result of the case, SFU radically revised its policies for dealing with harassment.[17] Eleven harassment cases were reopened and their decisions reversed. University president John Stubbs first took medical leave[18] and then resigned in the wake of the scandal.[19]

Patricia O'Hagan

Marsden's complaint to the SFU harassment office had been handled by that office's director, Patricia O'Hagan, who later claimed Marsden showered her with unwanted attention. However, during the university's examination of its own procedures, SFU's administrator had faulted O'Hagan for her conduct with Marsden (see above). In October 1997, O'Hagan, who at that point had left the university's employ, complained to the Vancouver Sun that over the preceding 12 months, Marsden had sent her gifts and telephoned her some 400 times.[20]

Neil Boyd

In 1998, Marsden returned to SFU to study criminology. In May 1999, she was warned by the university to avoid locations where Neil Boyd, a criminology professor at SFU, might be found. Four months earlier, Boyd went to the police with copies of e-mail and voice mail from Marsden. He complained she had been asking Boyd, who was married, for dates. The university also asked Marsden to remove comments about Liam Donnelly (see above) from her website.[21] After the initial warnings, no further action was taken against Marsden.

Michael Morgan

In November, 2002, Marsden was arrested and charged with criminal harassment of Vancouver radio personality Michael Morgan.[22] They had been romantically involved in 2001 and 2002, but after their break-up, Morgan complained to the police about harassment by Marsden, including "vindictive and threatening" messages on his answering machine. During the investigation, it was learned Marsden surreptitiously set up Morgan's email to automatically forward to her copies of his incoming email.[23] In 2004, she pled guilty [1] to criminal harassment and was given a conditional discharge that included one year of probation. She completed the sentence and has no criminal record.

Marsden's media profile

In 2005, Marsden was featured on "Sticks and Stones," a documentary on CBC Television's The Fifth Estate about increasing political polarization in the media of the United States, especially in shows such as The O'Reilly Factor and Fox News. After Marsden asserted her right to criticize the personal lives of public figures on her radio show, reporter Bob McKeown challenged her about the controversies involving allegations of harassment against Liam Donnelly and Michael Morgan (see above). Marsden insisted that her personal life was "not relevant to what I do" and declined to comment further.

The conservative dailies National Post and the Toronto Sun have hired her. The Western Standard has been highly critical of her;[24] the Canada Free Press has been more sympathetic, its editor, Judi McLeod, describing her personal controversies as "trouble with bogus boyfriends." Conservative media in the U.S. have been accepting of Marsden, and she is one of the few Canadian pundits to have exposure in American neo-conservative publications and TV.

Political work

According to her c.v.,[3] Marsden was once a member of the Young Liberals. By the time she had entered the public stage as a pundit, however, she was a conservative.

For a time in 2003-2004, Marsden worked in the constituency office of Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal, under the name "Elle Henderson." She was, at the time, facing criminal charges in the Michael Morgan affair (see above). Grewal had hired her in December, 2003, over objections from Conservative central office.[25] When the Vancouver Sun discovered her true identity and contacted Grewal, Marsden's contract was terminated. Grewal explained that the timing of the termination was a coincidence and that Marsden had completed the work for which she was hired.[26]

In November 2005, the National Post reported that a regional Conservative organizer approached Marsden to run as the party's candidate in the 2006 election against federal New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton in the downtown Toronto riding of Toronto-Danforth, but Marsden declined the opportunity.

External links

Notes and sources

  1. ↑ Robin Brunet, "Then & now: BC Business magazine celebrates 30 years in publishing and looks back to ask: whatever happened to whats'isname and whats'ername," B.C. Business Magazine, November, 2002, v.30(11) N'02 pg 62 (CBCA-ACC-NO: 5510096)
  2. ↑ 2 June 1999, The Toronto Star
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rachel Marsden's c.v. (circumstances of production unclear)
  4. ↑ web.archive.org
  5. ↑ Brian Hutchinson, "Canada's 'Republican Babe of the Week': Rachel Marsden is a sharpshooting political pundit with a sex-kitten image who made headlines in the past over a controversial sexual harassment complaint", National Post, 9 August 2003, A21, discussed by Antonia Zerbisias, May 2005.
  6. ↑ 'Rachel Marsden', IMDb
  7. ↑ Marsden, Rachel, "Canada's cry: 'Why us?'", New York Post, June 6, 2006.
  8. ↑ Victor Dwyer, 'A campus divided: disturbing new allegations rock Simon Fraser' Maclean’s v. 110, no. 30 (July 28, 1997): pp. 42-3 (archived here).
  9. ↑ 'University defends firing of coach who skipped hearing,' The Kitchener-Waterloo Record, June 6, 1997, pg. A12 (archived here
  10. ↑ SFU news, "Independent arbitration board established to review controversial Donnelly dismissal," June 19, 1997 (here)
  11. ↑ Robert Matas, "SFU report details sex allegations Panel based ruling supporting student's claim of harassment on balance of probability," Globe and Mail, 17 July 1997, A4: Marsden insisted that Donnelly had selected the photos from her portfolio.
  12. ↑ David Finley, Liam Donnelly's Conviction by Prejudice: Lessons for Harassment Policy, section 6: she had explained this action as having been done "with the hope that he would be able to take out his sexual frustrations on the magazines instead of on real women."
  13. ↑ Robin Brunet, 'The barracuda speaks,' British Columbia Report, November 10, 1997, v.9(11) N 10'97, pg 36-37 (archived here): 'She added that she had sent the steamy e-mails in “a desperate attempt to entice [Mr. Donnelly] into meeting with me so I could obtain accountability and an apology from him for the abuse, harassment and rape I suffered at his hands.”'; cf. also CTV Television, Inc., W5, November 18, 1997 22:01:50 - 22:15:50 Eastern Time (archived here).
  14. ↑ Robert Matas, "University improves payout to coach SFU decision among several reversals after review of harassment investigations," The Globe and Mail, 2 May 1998, A5.
  15. ↑ The Mediator's Report: "the findings of the harassment panel were based on Ms. Marsden's credibility. Inconsistencies between her statements before the panel and her response to Mr. Donnelly's harassment complaint cast doubt on her credibility."
  16. ↑ "SFU reaches settlement with fired swim coach," The Globe and Mail, 25 July 1997, A7
  17. ↑ 'A difficult search for a delicate balance,' Maclean’s v. 110, no. 26 (July 1, 1997): p. 102.
  18. ↑ "Embattled SFU president asks for medical leave," Canadian Press Newswire, July 29, 1997, section Jl 29'97
  19. ↑ Ian Bailey, "Simon Fraser president quits over handling of sex cases," Canadian Press Newswire, December 12, 1997, section D 12'97
  20. ↑ Marina Jiminez, “Former SFU official was victim of obsessive behavior, she says,” Vancouver Sun, Oct. 22, 1997, A1 (archived here)
  21. ↑ Shelley Solmes, "Marsden warned away from SFU teachers," Vancouver Sun, June 1, 1999, A1; "Leave faculty alone, university tells woman — Student in major harassment case returns to class," The Toronto Star, 2 June 1999 (archived here)
  22. ↑ Rod Mickleburgh, “B.C. woman faces charge of harassment: ex-SFU student who accused swim coach now suspected of stalking businessman,” Globe & Mail, Nov 22, 2002.
  23. ↑ Citation: R. v. Marsden (2004 BCPC 0369; File No: 140482-1, Vancouver) available here
  24. ↑ Kevin Steel, "The Strange Allure of Ms. Marsden: How does a serial stalker, convict and fraud artist end up Canada's hottest young conservative pundit? Quite easily, actually," July 11, 2005, p. 50-51 pdf here
  25. ↑ Peter O’Neil, "Marsden says she’s paying for her anti-Harper views," Vancouver Sun, Monday, May 10, 2004 (archived here)
  26. ↑ Peter O’Neil, “BC Tory MP ends his work contract with Rachel Marsden” Vancouver Sun (May 8, 2004), A3 (archived here)
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