By Jonathan Smith, Editor in Chief
A former ACU student who once was removed from the Optimist staff for plagiarism now stands at the center of a national controversy over allegations she made against the nominee for United Nations ambassador, John Bolton.
Melody Townsel, now a Dallas public relations executive, sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in early April asking it to block Bolton’s nomination for U.N. ambassador.
In her letter, Townsel accuses Bolton of chasing her through her Moscow hotel halls in 1994 and “behaving like a madman.” Townsel, who worked with U.S. Agency for International Development at the time, came to Moscow to complain about a company USAID had contracted-a company Bolton then represented as private attorney.
Ever since President Bush nominated Bolton to represent the United States in the United Nations in early March, Bolton’s temperament has come under attack by those who believe he is not fit to represent the United States in the United Nations.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee looked prepared to vote on Bolton’s nomination April 19. Some speculated Bolton would be approved 10-8 along a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting Bolton.
However, after the committee heard Townsel’s allegations, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he wanted more time to further investigate the allegations. This prompted Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. and chair of the committee, to postpone the vote until next month.
“Townsel will be among the many people that the committee will interview before the vote on Bolton, which is scheduled for May 12,” Andy Fisher, press secretary for Lugar, said in an e-mail.
During her time at ACU in 1984, Townsel served as Tuesday News Editor of the Optimist. She plagiarized two columns word-for-word from the Dallas Morning News on Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, 1984.
Dr. Charles Marler, professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication and adviser of the Optimist in 1984, said Townsel offered her resignation after being confronted with and confirming the charges. Her resignation included a letter in the Optimist apologizing for her actions.
Townsel declined to comment to Optimist questions Monday night regarding the accounts of plagiarism.
After the Optimist contacted Townsel on Monday night, a letter signed by Townsel was posted on a political Web log, the Daily Kos, late Monday night admitting to plagiarizing columns at one university. The letter also tells that months later, a review she wrote for another college newspaper closely followed the format of another writer. The letter said the review was not plagiarized, but Townsel and her editors mutually decided she would no longer write for the paper.
Although the authenticity of the letter has not been determined, the letter appears to be written in response to her conversation with the Optimist on Monday night.
“I’m deeply ashamed to be forced to revisit these events so publicly,” Townsel wrote in her letter. “As you judge me, please keep in mind that I was 21 years old when this happened. Today, at 42, I can state emphatically that I’ve worked hard my entire professional and personal life to put my incredibly poor decisions and actions behind me.”
Townsel left ACU soon after being removed from the Optimist to continue her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she worked for the student newspaper, the Shorthorn. Marler said he received a call from UT-Arlington several months after Townsel left ACU regarding another situation of plagiarism with Townsel.
John Dycus, former adviser of the Shorthorn, recalled the event.
“I remember Melody as being very bright,” said Dycus, adviser of the UT-Arlington Shorthorn when Townsel worked for the paper. “I remember thinking she didn’t have to do this. She was bright enough; her mechanics were good enough; her research skills were good enough. This wasn’t necessary.”
