Community Support Essential

Well said, Paul. It will take the support of the community to keep the issue of faculty misbehavior from simply disappearing with the passage of time. The administration is banking on three things to make this go away without their having to act. First; the aggrieved students are transients who will leave in a few months. Second; they (President Rawlins et al) are within months of retirement and third, the community will view it as a university problem and not become involved.

The only way I know of to change this equation is for long term community members to pick up the standard. We are at a critical point in the university's lifecycle. Candidate interviews begin soon for President Rawlins' replacement. Part of the process involves public Q&A sessions. Presenting the candidates with questions regarding their views on Streamas' and Leonard's actions will go a little way toward continuity.

The only other way to get the university's attention is to threaten funding. If the donations keep rolling in, enrolment isn't down and the legislature doesn't get involved, the administration doesn't see an issue like this as a problem. For them, there is no down side to just waiting it out.

If you care, contact your elected officials. If you are a donor, send a note that your donations will be delayed until the administration acts. Contact the Board of Regents and let them know you believe this kind of thing will eventually impact enrolment. The administration pays a lot more attention to those kinds of things than they do press conferences, letters to the editor or the local editorial page. Hit them where they live (the pocketbook) if you want action.