Boston University promotes the neo-conservative agenda

[wysi]

Hi all

Just as a disclaimer to what I'm writing below, I am a 1988 grad of Boston University. In another post earlier today, I requested information about Gore v. Bush. Here is the background information as I mentioned in that post:

"My alma mater (Boston University) recently sent out a fundraising advertisement which featured a story regarding a new endowed professorship in Law. The benefactor for this particular chair is a BU-trained lawyer who worked for * in 2000 to stop the recount. What I want to do is to write a scathing reply to the University regarding this (being a bit curious why they would be so proud of helping to subvert democracy in the US, and contributing directly to the deaths of thousands); in order to do this more effectively, I need to be able to back up my assertions with reference to some solid legal arguments and opinions."

The benefactor's name is Philip S. Beck, and he has created an endowed chair in Law worth $2 million.

DUers have already responded to my request for information (so I don't need any, thanks!), but I wanted to say that if any DUers felt that it was their patriotic duty to write to Boston University and tell them what you think about this issue, I would be very happy for you to do so. I can't provide you with a direct link to the relevent newsletter (it appears to be a print-only issue to alumni, but I would be happy to clarify any issues about it). You can reach the office of the President at this email address:

[e-mail]

Here is the text of my message to the editor of the newsletter (cc'ed to the President of BU):

Dear Ms. McCracken:

It was with great dismay that I read the article entitled "Endowed professorship is payment on a debt" on the front page of the Fall 2005 Advancement. In the article you profile Philip S. Beck, a Law graduate who has just created an endowed professorship. Mr. Beck's achievements are listed in the article, including a paragraph-long description of his work on behalf of then-Governor Bush in Gore v. Bush, 2000.

It would appear, based on the appearance of this article, that Boston University is proud of Philip S. Beck. I, however, as a fellow alumnus of Boston University, am ashamed of any association that I might have with Mr. Beck, and am even more deeply ashamed of the apparent pride my alma mater takes in being associated with Mr. Beck. For you see, Mr. Beck was deeply involved in one of the most egregious assaults on democracy and the rights of voters in the history of the United States (for an analysis, see Vincent Bugliosi's article "None dare call it treason", http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010205/bugliosi), an assault that led directly to the installation of the Bush regime. I would argue that these actions have had significant consequences in terms of national and world events; certainly the Iraq war (and the subsequent deaths of thousands) would never have taken place but for Bush's appointment, and some have speculated that, but for Bush, 9/11 would never have taken place either. That BU would wish to be associated with these events, and is somehow perversely proud of this association, is appalling to me.

After reading the article, I wondered how Mr. Beck could sleep soundly at night, but then remembered that since Mr. Bush was installed, the very rich (a group which presumably includes Mr. Beck) have profited greatly; I can only guess that enormous sums of money are enough to assuage any qualms about playing a part in the destruction of American democracy and the murder of untold thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. I can only hope that the endowed professorship created by Mr. Beck will lead to scholarship and teaching that will, in the best spirit of academic freedom, repudiate the views of Mr. Beck, and instead reinvigorate our understandings and beliefs in the foundations of Amercian democracy against those who would subvert it for financial gain.

Joseph Matthew Boden
CAS 1988

Just so you know, I'm not giving them any money. ;-)

[Dora]

1. Good Luck with that.

I work at a university in a non-academic department that must do a lot of fundraising for survival. We take money from anyone who will give it to us, regardless of politics. I haven't yet seen or heard of any donors being turned away because of their opinions, political activities, or boorish personalities.

Trust me on this: BU will not say "no" to taking this man's money.

[wysi]

3. Oh, I have no illusions...

... about them not taking the money; after all, they had investments in South Africa during the 1980s when I was a student there (this during a period in which anyone with a conscience would not have been making money in South Africa). But I needed to register my disgust, and I'm happy for anyone else who wants to do the same to feel free to do so.

I suppose what I would like is for them to stop acting quite so proud of their association with this.

[funflower]

2. First, buy all the lawyers (or law schools anyway)

My liberal alma mater has recently been deluged in funds for endowed chairs and "institutes" pushing the conservative agenda.

[The Witch]

4. This is the same university

where the fuhrer, i mean chancellor, said in the student newspaper that "the students could rot in hell" before the guest policy changed and that "i'm not advocating students should be virgins, although that wouldn't offend me..."

the iron hand of john silber is far-reaching.

[wysi]

5. Indeed it is.

Silber caused me to cast my only ever vote for a Republican. When he ran for Governor of MA in 1990 as a Democrat (?) I simply had to vote for Weld. MA was in real economic trouble at the time, and Silber would only have worsened things with his autocratic style (plus a return to dark ages "morality" would have been in the offing as well).