Platform of the 2006 Independent Candidates for the
Colgate University Alumni Corporation
A Call for Change –
Platform of the Independent Candidates for the
Colgate Alumni Corporation Board of Directors
We, as individuals, have decided to run for election to the Alumni Corporation Board of Directors. The eight candidates before you are individuals: many of us have never actually met and, ultimately, our decisions on matters if elected to the Board of Directors will reflect our own personal perspectives. But, there are several basic tenants we share that will guide our actions and we believe that you, the Alumni owners of Colgate University deserve to know what motivates us.
We believe this is an important election and should be contested based upon differing ideas about how best to encourage the transformation of young people into independent adults during their tenure at Colgate. We are proud that we are giving Colgate alumni a real choice in the election of their leadership for the first time in over thirty years. We hope that all alumni will take advantage of this great opportunity to participate in shaping Colgate's future. Here is where we stand:
Freedom: We believe that freedom in all its forms - intellectual, academic, religious, social and personal - is essential to the transformation from adolescence to adulthood. When in doubt, greater freedom should always win over lesser freedom. We believe the Bill of Rights contains the finest enumeration of personal freedoms available to human kind, and we support the University formally acknowledging that students will be afforded all rights available to them under the Bill of Rights while at Colgate.
Accountability: The ultimate goal of the Colgate experience is to form persons into independent adults, capable of facing the actual challenges of life. This means that individuals must be accountable for their own actions, and there can be no accountability without freedom, as only free persons can be held accountable. Therefore, we support careful review of all policies at Colgate, particularly those related to student social and residential life, to determine if an erosion of personal freedom and individual accountability has become an unintended consequence of recent administrative decisions.
Individuality and Independence: We believe that one of Colgate's strongest traditions is fostering individuality among its graduates, which arises from a commitment to independent development. Students may join any group, any club, any activity, any fraternity or sorority or not, based on their own individual choice. Rules that mandate what groups may not be joined are only one step removed from rules which mandate what groups must be joined. In this regard, we are opposed to the compelled sale of Fraternity and Sorority Houses to the University as an unwarranted intrusion into the lives of students. This policy is an unnecessary, deeply divisive issue that distracts Alumni and the administration of the real goals of advancing Colgate's academic ranking and helping our undergraduates better their own lives.
Academic Excellence: We support Colgate's historic commitment to maintaining the highest standard of academic excellence. We believe furthering Colgate's academic mission requires broader and more successful Alumni involvement in the life of the University.
Deo Ac Veritati,
ERA I Clint W. Blume '56
ERA II James H. Rand IV '66
ERA III Blaise Corcoran '75
ERA IV Peter J. DeCheser '83
ERA V Thomas C. Carlson '93
ERA VI Amy E. Palmer '95
ERA VII Sean Fitzmichael Devlin '05
AT LARGE Andrew A. Spievack '05