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Skorton's Murky Tenure
In his recent column in the Cornell Daily Sun,
President Skorton hailed his recent trip to Iran with five other university
presidents as an effort to "surmount the barriers that divide and endanger us
all." But Skorton's trip raised more questions about the barrier of information
erected by Day Hall regarding the academic exchange.
Before President
Skorton's visit, the Cornell Chronicle reported that "the group will not meet
with Iranian government officials or engage in political talks." Everything on
Skorton's trip seemed to contradict this message.
The most obvious example
of this inconsistency was that the university presidents met with Iranian Minister
of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi. Skorton explained that
it was simply a "courtesy visit." Maybe, maybe not. But why couldn't we have
known about it?
Additionally, Skorton justified the entire exchange with
political rhetoric; in fact, the title of his column was "Why Speak with our
Enemies?" One of the main issues Skorton addressed was the impact of U.S.
immigration policy on Iranian exchange students and the detainment of Iranian
students and academics by the government.
Another participant, President
David Leebron of Rice University, even admitted that he brought up the issue of
safety for academics, not to mention the U.S. role in the Iran-Iraq war with
Minister Zahedi.
Cultural diplomatic exchanges were common place in the
Cold War. Musicians such as Dave Brubeck had opportunities to tour the Eastern
bloc to give people there a glimpse of American culture. I don't question the
motives of Skorton's trip, but if he wanted to act like a diplomat, he should
have been better prepared to represent the university.
The administration
should have allowed more interests within the university to add their input to
Skorton's agenda. This trip should have been a momentous occasion for the entire
university to outline a comprehensive message for the Iranians. Instead, it became
a P.R. gaffe bungled by administration elites.
Even the Bush White House,
not commonly known for its openness, has an online interactive forum called "Ask
the White House" in which people can ask administration officials questions
regarding policy and political issues. Wouldn't it be easy to incorporate
something similar with Day Hall?
President Skorton's exchange with Iranian
academics is just another example of the lack of transparency that has marked his
tenure here. The construction freeze, the lack of details revealed about the
dangers in Olin Library before this year, and the State of the University being
held at 8am on a Friday,are just a few examples of this unfortunate trend. Living
in Donlon and publishing a column in the Sun is merely window dressing.
Incorporating a more transparent and open window into the critical functions of
the university could vastly improve the way it operates and the image it presents
to the outside world.
President Skorton hailed his recent trip to Iran with five other university
presidents as an effort to "surmount the barriers that divide and endanger us
all." But Skorton's trip raised more questions about the barrier of information
erected by Day Hall regarding the academic exchange.
Before President
Skorton's visit, the Cornell Chronicle reported that "the group will not meet
with Iranian government officials or engage in political talks." Everything on
Skorton's trip seemed to contradict this message.
The most obvious example
of this inconsistency was that the university presidents met with Iranian Minister
of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi. Skorton explained that
it was simply a "courtesy visit." Maybe, maybe not. But why couldn't we have
known about it?
Additionally, Skorton justified the entire exchange with
political rhetoric; in fact, the title of his column was "Why Speak with our
Enemies?" One of the main issues Skorton addressed was the impact of U.S.
immigration policy on Iranian exchange students and the detainment of Iranian
students and academics by the government.
Another participant, President
David Leebron of Rice University, even admitted that he brought up the issue of
safety for academics, not to mention the U.S. role in the Iran-Iraq war with
Minister Zahedi.
Cultural diplomatic exchanges were common place in the
Cold War. Musicians such as Dave Brubeck had opportunities to tour the Eastern
bloc to give people there a glimpse of American culture. I don't question the
motives of Skorton's trip, but if he wanted to act like a diplomat, he should
have been better prepared to represent the university.
The administration
should have allowed more interests within the university to add their input to
Skorton's agenda. This trip should have been a momentous occasion for the entire
university to outline a comprehensive message for the Iranians. Instead, it became
a P.R. gaffe bungled by administration elites.
Even the Bush White House,
not commonly known for its openness, has an online interactive forum called "Ask
the White House" in which people can ask administration officials questions
regarding policy and political issues. Wouldn't it be easy to incorporate
something similar with Day Hall?
President Skorton's exchange with Iranian
academics is just another example of the lack of transparency that has marked his
tenure here. The construction freeze, the lack of details revealed about the
dangers in Olin Library before this year, and the State of the University being
held at 8am on a Friday,are just a few examples of this unfortunate trend. Living
in Donlon and publishing a column in the Sun is merely window dressing.
Incorporating a more transparent and open window into the critical functions of
the university could vastly improve the way it operates and the image it presents
to the outside world.
Jordan Fabian,
Editor-At-Lar - Thursday, December 4, 2008
WVBR SOAPBOX ARCHIVE
~Burgergate: the media food-fight (Fri 11/13)
~WVBR News Presents: The Student Trustees (Sun 4/12)
~Student Trustee Candidates Speak Out in Forum (Tue 4/7)
~WVBR Interviews Slope Day's Pat Maloney (Fri 3/27)
~Dragon Day Disappointment (Tue 3/24)
~WVBR News Endorses Chris Basil and Nikki Junewicz For S... (Mon 3/2)
~Why We Endorsed a Candidate (Mon 3/2)
~Marijuana Legalization (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
~The Media Aids Terrorists (Tue 2/10)
~No Mo' Gitmo, Oh-Oh (Tue 1/27) 1 Comment
~Skorton's Murky Tenure (Thu 12/4)
~State of the Republican Party? A-OK! (Tue 11/18) 1 Comment
~What To Do About NBA Basketball (Fri 11/14)
~Marijuana Mandate in Massachusetts (Tue 10/28)
~Teunure Denied Based on Political Viewpoint or
Someth... (Tue 10/21)
~No Honorary Degrees, Says Faculty
Senate (Mon 10/20)
~Sam Levine, Once Again, On the Presdiential Election (Fri 10/17)
~GM foods soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Stem Cell Soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Education Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sarah Palin Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sam Levine on The VP Debate (Fri 10/3)
~BBC's Blatant Bias Rebuffs Climate Change Challengers (Tue 9/30)
~Sam Levine on Sarah Palin (Fri 9/26)
~McCain is Able (Tue 9/23)
~The Cornell Review's Response to the
SA (Tue 9/16)
~Sam Levine on Racism (Fri 9/12)
~A Legacy of Political Hunters (Tue 9/9)
~Sam Levine on Palin/McCain (Fri 9/5)
~Sam Levine on His Senior Thesis (Fri 9/5)
~WVBR News Presents: The Student Trustees (Sun 4/12)
~Student Trustee Candidates Speak Out in Forum (Tue 4/7)
~WVBR Interviews Slope Day's Pat Maloney (Fri 3/27)
~Dragon Day Disappointment (Tue 3/24)
~WVBR News Endorses Chris Basil and Nikki Junewicz For S... (Mon 3/2)
~Why We Endorsed a Candidate (Mon 3/2)
~Marijuana Legalization (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
~The Media Aids Terrorists (Tue 2/10)
~No Mo' Gitmo, Oh-Oh (Tue 1/27) 1 Comment
~Skorton's Murky Tenure (Thu 12/4)
~State of the Republican Party? A-OK! (Tue 11/18) 1 Comment
~What To Do About NBA Basketball (Fri 11/14)
~Marijuana Mandate in Massachusetts (Tue 10/28)
~Teunure Denied Based on Political Viewpoint or
Someth... (Tue 10/21)
~No Honorary Degrees, Says Faculty
Senate (Mon 10/20)
~Sam Levine, Once Again, On the Presdiential Election (Fri 10/17)
~GM foods soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Stem Cell Soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Education Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sarah Palin Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sam Levine on The VP Debate (Fri 10/3)
~BBC's Blatant Bias Rebuffs Climate Change Challengers (Tue 9/30)
~Sam Levine on Sarah Palin (Fri 9/26)
~McCain is Able (Tue 9/23)
~The Cornell Review's Response to the
SA (Tue 9/16)
~Sam Levine on Racism (Fri 9/12)
~A Legacy of Political Hunters (Tue 9/9)
~Sam Levine on Palin/McCain (Fri 9/5)
~Sam Levine on His Senior Thesis (Fri 9/5)
