Letters
Posted at sa4c.com with permission of the author.
November 11, 2004
Mr. John Golden
Chair, Colgate University Board of Trustees
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, New York 13346
Dear Mr. Golden:
As an alumnus and parent of a Colgate student, I write in protest of the seemingly intractable stance of Colgate University Trustees, who march in lockstep with the earnest social-engineering elements of the current university administration.
I am a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and have seen much that is good and some that is bad in that fraternity over the years. In recent times, the good has far outweighed the bad, as is the case in many other Greek fraternal organizations at Colgate. That said, I find it ridiculous to maintain that somehow university ownership of fraternity and sorority houses would somehow constitute a panacea for perceived problems. In support of my belief, let me simply cite the less than competent administration of many currently owned University residences (starting with Gate House, the decrepit “temporary” structure that allegedly is being phased out after approximately a decade of gulag-like temporary existence).
I could go on and on about the pros and cons of the fraternity system and its future at Colgate; but all of that has been discussed by both sides near ad nauseam during the debate on all of this, the favorable arguments having been rejected out of hand by the Administration. Instead, let me simply reiterate what I said some years ago, during another assault on individual rights at my treasured alma mater: if the current unlawful and unethical seizure of the fraternity/sorority property succeeds, I can only wish that I had given more money to Colgate in the past, so as to emphasize my determination to provide no contributions in the future. I am sure there are many alumni like me, despite unsupported claims to the contrary on the part of the Administration.
Sincerely,
Jonathan M. Klarfeld, ‘60
Director, Print and On-Line Journalism