Letters
10003 Cairn Meadows Dr.
Spring, TX 77379
May 8, 2005
Dear Dr. Chopp,
Your letter of April 7 concerning university acquisition of Greek properties raises more questions than answered and poses the ominous threat of “Big Brotherism”, at its worst. Please respond to the following questions to clarify Administration positions further;
- Your letter suggests that over the years there was abject
failure by college administration to provide necessary discipline and
mature guidance to Greek organizations to achieve mutually desirable
endpoints (without having to own their properties). During my undergraduate
years the Greeks disciplined themselves with “quiet help”
from the college. An explanation of why there has been an absence of
coordinated discipline with Greek organizations is in order.
- This “buy-out” campaign appears to be a
heavy papering over of circumstances that should have been handled by
the university maturely, with all affected, in common effort to resolve
what problems exist. You wouldn’t get away with this in the business
world. Why this rush to judgement and ill-advised, dictatorial action
without other plans being advanced first?
- Were parents of students in Greek societies notified
in advance of this decision and given the opportunity to counsel with
their child before this rush to judgement? Shouldn’t the parent
have had the right to provide guidance to their student and be part
of the solution?
- If parents weren’t asked to provide guidance they
should have been. After all, they contribute to paying your salary and
that of others. Or doesn’t that matter?
- What professional resources exist on campus to manage,
a) the real estate in a profitable manner (what is R.O.I.?), b) real
estate valuations, appraisals, and challenge excessive taxes, c) oversee
maintenance and worthy construction as needed, d) ensure fair apportionment
of any earned income (from interest or other income producing origin)
back to each Greek organization.
- What will this new bureaucracy cost? How many people
will be added to staff? How much foundation money or tuition dollars
will be diverted from educational dollars to manage this taking?
- What mechanism has been established to ensure the evenhanded
administration of Greek requests, discipline and programs? Who will
have the final say in Greek programs? What limits will be established?
What are they?
- How do you expect young students to ever be challenged
and learn to run a small business with all its pitfalls and successes
if an “uber” committee comprised of faculty, many of whom
don’t know ingress from egress, can’t balance their checkbooks,
have no personnel management experience at all and are passing judgements?
- What assurance will you personally give in writing to
each Greek organization that their future on campus is assured, without
legal mumbo-jumbo and excessive interference or restrictions in managing
their Greek business?
- What do you hope to accomplish by crushing the entrepreneurial
spirit and challenges an independent Greek organization offers their
members to fail/succeed?
- At what point in time do you anticipate the Greek organizations may repurchase their properties and return to self-disciplined organizational structure?
Quite frankly, you overstate the “troubling pattern of behavior”. Students attend college to learn, primarily, and, also, experience and contribute to “troubling pattern(s) of behavior” within reasonable limits. That’s part of the learning process. How else do they exercise their freedoms and develop independence unless away from parental oversight and a chance to raise some hell? College is a multiplicity of experiences including those that frustrate holier-than-God PC college leadership.
From 1946-50 the university was filled with veterans who wouldn’t tolerate this usurpation of basic human and Constitutionally guaranteed rights – and there was plenty of “troubling”. But, it worked – we disciplined ourselves.
Unless, of course, there is a conscious, contrived effort to make students conform to the liberal, politically incorrect dogma that has obviously and badly infected college educational objectives?
Your letter leaves much to be desired as an example of reasoned intra-college/Greek negotiations exhibiting an overbearing and dictatorial demeanor. The trite but in this case, Chopp true, “MY way or the highway” is an unacceptable solution that has been poorly handled by all levels of college leadership, top to bottom.
I expect more reasoned resolution and answers.
Very truly yours,
Edward A. Ross, Jr. ‘50