As a university student at a school in Rhode Island, I am writing in response to Elliot Levy’s piece regarding the continued tenure of Boston University Chancellor John Silber (‘Trustees to blame for Silber’s long reign,’ Nov. 19, pg. 7). Although I am not a Boston University student, I am familiar with some of the opinions and controversies of John Silber, and all I can say is that I wish there were more academic leaders in this country like him.

Mr. Levy, other than citing the well- known BU Academy controversy and the instances when Silber used the term ‘whore,’ presents no real substantive case for removing him. Levy mentions the university’s endowment and the fact that some of its many contributors have opted out of contributing until Silber acquiesces to demands for his retirement. However, no hard figures were presented in Levy’s article about this potential detriment. Just about how much funding will be lost? We don’t know because it’s only speculative, and that is not something any board of trustees will buy.

The fact is American students are getting dumber, and as they graduate high school dumber, it follows that they enter college dumber. The saving grace for higher education in the United States has been the abundance of foreign students and faculty that have settled into our campuses, as they benefit from a much less regulated system than in their homelands. Many academic leaders are acutely cognizant of this dynamic of the dumbing-down effect for U.S. students, though to my knowledge it is only Dr. Silber who has remarked publicly about this and has made any noble attempt to deal with this atmosphere of degeneration.