"If these were the days of dueling, I would meet you on the Lawn at dawn." |
On the firing of UVA President Teresa SullivanIn the United States of America, we are blessed with a strong supply of great universities. Yes, the academics, athletics, and cultural traditions of the University of Virginia are of the highest caliber, but they are by no means unique. Fact is, you can get much the same at several hundred other institutions around the country. What makes us unique is that here, the transparent search for truth (or Truth, if you're in the humanities) must be conducted with honor. If you cannot abide that condition, you must leave. This uncompromising ethical stance is what drew me to UVA as a student, and what continues to inspire pride in my alma mater to this day. To lose honor would reduce UVA to just another fancy college. I would like to think, as the Honor Committee does, that the firing of President Sullivan was appropriate and honorable, but poorly-communicated. And yet I do not. I do not believe that the Board of Visitors' intentions and methods are honorable. I do not believe their decision is justified. I do not believe they have the best interests of the University at heart. Put plainly, I smell a rat. Fortunately, one of UVA's most ingrained traditions is to follow the well-turned phrases of our founder, Thomas Jefferson. In this time, as in so many others, let his words be our guide: "For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." A terrible error has been committed by the Board of Visitors, one which may well violate the stout and simple principles of our honor code. We must correct this error, no matter how powerful or dramatic that corrective action may be. We fail to do so at the peril of our institutional character. —Adam Renn Olenn, College '95 |
