They ought to go on and get that swine thrown off the Board. That would be a nice turnaround. Even Ed Koch was offended.
On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 5:14 PM, Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: > Statement of Chairperson Benno Schmidt of The City University of New > York Board of Trustees > May 6, 2011 | The University > > “I believe the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees needs to > reconsider the Board’s decision to table the motion to approve the award > of an honorary degree to Tony Kushner. I would not ordinarily ask for > reconsideration of a decision so recently taken. But when the board has > made a mistake of principle, and not merely of policy, review is > appropriate and, indeed, mandatory. > > “Freedom of thought and expression is the bedrock of any university > worthy of the name. If it were appropriate for us to take politics into > account in deciding whether to approve an honorary degree, I might agree > with Trustee Wiesenfeld, whose political views on the matters in > controversy are not far distant from my own. But it is not right for > the Board to consider politics in connection with the award of honorary > degrees except in extreme cases not presented by the facts here. The > proposed honorary degree for Mr. Kushner would recognize him for his > extraordinary talent and contribution to the American theater. Like > other honorary degrees, it is not intended to reflect approval or > disapproval for political views not relevant to the field for which the > recipient is being honored. Any other view is impractical as well as > wrong in principle. Would we want it thought that we approve of the > politics of everyone who receives a CUNY honorary degree? Certainly I > have moved the approval of honorary degrees for persons with whose > opinions I differ. > > “In addition, I am concerned about the procedural unfairness of our > action. The objection arose at the eleventh hour without any > opportunity for research and preparation necessary for the presentation > of a full and balanced appraisal. Accordingly, the Chancellor and I > agree that reconsideration of the motion to table the honorary degree > for Mr. Kushner is not only the right thing to do, but is our obligation. > > “I will ask the Secretary of the Board to convene an Executive Committee > meeting to reconsider this matter.” > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >
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