October 9, 2005
Ladner's Fate to be Decided Tomorrow
While the majority of the city enjoys the last of a three-day weekend, American University president Ben Ladner will be facing a Board of Trustees charged with deciding whether or not to end his tenure at the university's helm. Since August, Ladner has faced increasing questions concerning almost $500,000 in spending charged to the university, and as students and faculty have organized against him, he has stridently defended his leadership and criticized the media coverage against him.
Hoping to push the university's trustees into firing Ladner without severance pay and looking to implement various reforms, students have organized a protest tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. on the main quadrangle. In an email to DCist, student organizer Kristin Rawls wrote:
...the organizers of tomorrow's event hope to send a clear and decisive message from the American University community that Ben Ladner must be terminated from his position immediately without severance pay. Given that a majority of AU students and faculty members are now united in opposition to Ladner, we believe that this University cannot possibly begin to repair itself from the damage to its morale, integrity, and reputation until Ladner is gone.Fellow organizer Lyndi Borne, who addressed the Board of Trustees in the past, described a proposal students would be pushing:
...that the Board be restructured so that at least 40% of the Board is composed of students and staff with voting rights -- this means 10 seats out of 25: e.g. 5 faculty and 5 students.DCist will be on hand to take pictures and report back on the day's events.
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Staff is not the same as faculty. The students should know that.
And yes, AU staff have been ignored in all the reporting, as everyone concentrates on students and faculty, but our lives are affected by this too, and many of us would like to see him gone and some new policies instituted.
Having a board of trustees with 40% students/faculty is ridiculous. No university comes even close to that. Good job, students. You had a chance to be taken seriously and you've blown it.
Oh come on - that's such a negative attitude. If there was ever a time to change things at AU, now would be that time.
As an alum, I see nothing wrong with studens and faculty having a voice on the board. Lord knows a serious change on that board is necessary. Besides, it looks to me like the students are exhibiting excellent negotiation skills...
Sheesh..with tuition at almost $30K, you gotta believe some of that money was being played with.
A 40% student/faculty ratio on AU's board should be considered. The fact that other schools don't reach that ratio is not reason enough to dismiss the proposal. If everyone thought that somethings shouldn't be done because no one else does them, there'd never be any innovation.
Perhaps the students came up with that ratio as a negotiating tactic. If they had said 10%, there isn't room to negotiate to a lower more agreeable ratio. It would have been an all or nothing demand.
after reading this in the City Paper, I'm beginning to question what sort of education one recieves at AU:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/special/2005/nano100705.html
did the AU students have credibility before this? they certainly dont have as much now.
oh come on Angela. It can't be a surprise to you that college kids do stupid things. One party is hardly representative of an entire student body. And I don't think that curriculum has anything to do with what might result from peer pressure.
Michael - sure it does; if your college experience isn't going to teach you that getting urinated on isn't worth an iPod, when are you going to learn?
Not just any iPod, Matt. An iPod NANO! And apparently the students of American University are getting SHIT ON by their president for much less than high-tech gadgetry.
At least it's metaphorical shit, though.
Honestly, though, "Not Sacrificing Your Dignity for Shiny New Things" should be a required course for entering freshmen at every institute of higher learning in America.
Right. But where would we get our future members of Congress and lobbyists from, Matt?
Hmmmm...crap.
Um, I think this is getting a little out of hand in blaming AU students in general. The idea that college students would do really dumb things isn't new...
And 16 students out of 5800 undergrad isn't really that scientific to be blaming the whole school.
Obviously, I have to be an AU student, and I can say for certain that all of my showers have been with WASA certified water.
As to Ladner, I can only hope that the members of the board that approved his contract also be removed if we knock off Ben. Prventing Lander from talking when having massive leaks to the Post isn't exactly kosher, but is good education for all of us future Congressmen and Lobbyists
The idea of getting pissed on for an ipod perfectly blends the homosexuality and the hipsterism that dominates AU.
Sounds like Mike's just bitter that all he got was a Shuffle.
who hasn't had a morning where they think, "hey, whoa, things kinda got out of hand last night..." but, on the other hand, how many of you can say that fellow graduates of your institutions of higher/lower education have woken up and said, "wow, that was awesome that someone pissed in my face and i got a 2 gig NANO for it. and i'm psyched to be in the city paper for it."
come on. i mean, if anything, he should have held out for the 4 gig model.
I'm so un-hip that I don't even know what a "Shuffle" is.
Hi Michael,
I think you were responding to lb's comment. My comment is above my sig and you'll see I was defending the kiddies.
I agree with what the last guy said, except for the part about all arabs not being terrorists. That's just crazy.