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How to interpret silence from Low Library?
Dear
President Bollinger:
Since last December, concerned
alumni have sent letters and emails to you, to Dean Valentini, and to University
Librarian Ann Thornton, expressing confusion and outrage over the decision to
stifle the Marching Band’s long-running Orgo Night show. In response, they have received form letters
essentially stating that the University administration knows best and that no
action will be taken in response to alumni concerns. Some of those form letters have repeated the specious
justifications originally trotted out to explain the decision, as if repeating
false information makes it true.
Some alumni have attempted to raise
the Orgo Night issue in personal conversations with university administrators,
but have been politely rebuffed.
This group of concerned and
interested alumni has attempted to engage in a discussion of the issues through
a series of essays, which you have received via email and in hard copy, along
with Trustees, other high-ranking officials at Columbia, leaders of the Alumni
Association, faculty, and Deans. We have
received no response.
How should we interpret this silence? Should we assume that the University
administration simply has no interest in engaging in any meaningful
discussion? Should we assume that the same
University administration that solicits and happily receives our donations has
no use for us when we try to participate in how our Alma Mater operates? Is this how Columbia cultivates interested,
engaged, and active alumni?
On the facts and substance of the
underlying issue, there is simply no dispute.
In earlier essays, we have shown that Orgo Night is, and should remain,
a cherished and unique tradition at Columbia. We have also shown that the reasons given for
banning the Marching Band from Butler Library fail to withstand scrutiny.
The interests of the many students who welcome the Band’s performances far outweigh the interests of the
objectors,
especially since alternate quiet study space is so readily available. You have not articulated any rational basis
for the university to suppress the Orgo Night show. You (and that includes Dean Valentini and Ms.
Thornton) have made no attempt to refute these facts or to engage in discussion
with us or with the current Band leaders.
It is difficult for any observer not to conclude that the motivation
for attempting to silence the Band is to avoid future controversy and appease the
small number of individuals who periodically object to some portion of the
content of the Orgo Night program.
President Bollinger, you are known as a fierce advocate for
free speech. You often say and do the
right thing when that bedrock right is challenged on campus. Yet, in this case it appears that you have opted
for censorship over student speech, and have adopted a heavy-handed
approach totally lacking in due process over an open public debate. You and Dean Valentini have determined that placating
anyone who objects for any reason to the content of the Marching Band’s program
is more important than the ongoing value of the tradition and the interests of current students,
parents, and alumni
who support the continuation of Orgo Night.
We are truly puzzled by your seemingly inconsistent stance
here, and we find the University’s disingenuous explanations disturbing. If this is what our Alma Mater has come to,
we are truly saddened.
Where do we go from here? We are alumni who love Columbia, who actively
participate in alumni events and reunions, who return to Columbia for homecoming
and Days on Campus, who interview high school students for the Admissions
Office, and who attend athletic events to cheer on our Lions. We are alumni who have in the past donated
our time and our money, who purchase Columbia-branded merchandise from the
school store, and who proudly announce our Columbia affiliation. We are alumni who have proudly sent our
children to Columbia and continued generational legacies, or who hope to do so
in the future. And yet it seems none of
that has value in your eyes.
What do we want? We want you and Dean Valentini to stop
ignoring us and putting us off with platitudes and form letters. We want you to address the real issues we
have raised and engage in meaningful discussion. We have suggested two avenues of solution, but we’re happy to consider all
options.
It’s time to respond, President
Bollinger. If you want our support, our
time, and our money, you must accept the responsibility of engaging with us
when your decisions that affect our university give us cause to wonder
whether the current administration still deserves our support.
Below are the names of just some
of the many alumni who are waiting to hear from you. Some of us are onetime Band members;
many are not. The Columbia University
Band Alumni Association (columbia.band.alumni@gmail.com) would be a good place for you
to start an honest discussion. Or reply
to this email. But continued silence is
the wrong way to regain the trust that has been lost. This is a self-inflicted wound that must be
healed.
- H
We
are Hamiltonius:
Ziyad Abdelfattah CC ‘15
Barry Ableman CC ‘85
Mike Abramowitz SEAS ‘71
Hilary Baboukis CC ‘11
Betsey (Fike) Benagh CC ‘94, SEAS ‘94
J. Tyler Benedict CC ‘13
Joel Brockner CC ‘14
Paul Bua CC ‘93
Dan Carlinsky CC ’65, JRN ‘66
Nicole Cata CC ‘11
Kevin Chapman CC ‘83, P ‘18
Sharon L. Gerstman Chapman
B ’83, P ‘18
Edgar Cheng CC ‘94
Kathleen Christatos B ‘07
Steve Coleman CC ‘83
Michael B Cooper CC ‘88
Tamsin Davies SEAS ‘07, MS ‘13
Colin Felsman CC ‘09
Ashley Kelly Fisher B ‘04
Barbara Geary CC '87
Dr. David Gerstman CC ‘56
Barbara Geary CC '87
Dr. David Gerstman CC ‘56
Samantha Gilbert B ‘15
Barry M. Goldberg SEAS ‘04
Adam Grais CC ‘90
Steve Greenfield CC ‘83
Ziyad Gower SEAS ‘17
Melissa Harris B ‘95
Joseph M. Harary CC ’83, L ‘86
Jaclyn Henderson B ‘12
Adam Heyman SEAS ‘91, MS ‘92
Howard Hoffman CC ‘81
Corrington Hwong SEAS ’92, CBS ‘06
Lee Vibhusha Ilan CC ‘87
Evelyn Jagoda CC '14
Don W. Joe CC ‘81
Ron Keller CC ‘80
Dennis Klainberg CC ‘84
Olivier Knox CC ‘92
Alexis Bickford Lambert B ‘95
Paul Lerner CC ‘11
Jason Lingxuan Li SEAS ‘14
Michael Marubio CC '87
Joshua Masur CC ‘90
Kevin McDonald SEAS ’12, CC ‘13
Sam McPherson CC '80
Daniel Miranda SEAS '10
Alexandra Mitchell B ‘15
Sam McPherson CC '80
Daniel Miranda SEAS '10
Alexandra Mitchell B ‘15
Adam Peller SEAS ‘93
Liz Pleshette CC ‘89
Roy Pomerantz CC ‘83
Angela Richardson CC ‘02
Jon Ross CC ‘83
Samantha Rowan B ‘96
Zachary Ryan GS ‘06
Joe Schwartz CC ‘92
Justin Shubow CC ‘99
Justin Shubow CC ‘99
Christopher C Sten CC'77, B '79
Layla Tavangar B ‘15
Layla Tavangar B ‘15
Constantino Tobio CC ‘96
Tim Todreas CC ‘83
Karl Wagner CC ‘16
Catherine Webster CC ‘87
Amanda Wild SEAS ‘11
Lyle Zimskind CC ‘90, SOA ‘03
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