Submitted by philip on
By Tommy French, Chairman of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees
Editor’s note: The following statement was issued by Tommy French, Chairman of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees.
Last June, Louisiana College, made an official request that Charles Quarles return the recording device containing the original recordings that he made surreptitiously of faculty and administration personnel.
Dr. Quarles purchased this device with Louisiana College funds and had it delivered to his house. His reply to our official request was that he had lost the recording device.
Having heard through social media that Dr. Quarles still had these recordings in his possession and was going to release them to the news media and others, I assumed he had found the original recording device which contained the original recordings.
On March 5, 2014, I sent a second official request to Dr. Quarles to return the original recording device with the original recordings to me as chairman of the LC Board of Trustees. To date he has not responded to my letter.
Recording devices and recordings in this advanced technological age can be altered or edited by most anyone who has minimal technical ability. In other words, recordings can be altered or edited to cause someone to appear to say the opposite of what he actually said or to be taken out of context.
If Dr. Quarles will return the original recording device with the original recordings, I will submit them for a forensic analysis by an independent and certified audio technician who will examine them and determine the accuracy of the recordings.
If it is determined that the recordings are true and factual and have not been edited, altered or redacted in any way, then the Board of Trustees will have the factual information it needs to make an appropriate decision regarding this matter.
Tommy French is pastor emeritus of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge and chairman of the Louisiana College Board of Trustees.