Silber Perpetuates Stereotype

I am writing in response to this evening’s student forum with Dr. Silber. The forum opened up with a wonderful introduction by a Student Union representative that focused on stereotypes, especially the mostly negative stereotype that members of the Boston University community have of Chancellor/President Silber. Silber incorporated this idea well into his opening remarks by expressing his concern with said stereotype and preached that the only way to climb out from under the naivety of a stereotype is to become informed. Like so many of my fellow classmates, I too have been sucked into the Silber stereotype that is perpetuated on campus by publications such as the Daily Free Press and the Boston Globe, which love to portray our Chancellor/President in a less than desirable light. In my effort to educate myself ont he policies and opinions of Silber, I decided to attend the forum. After this evening however, I find myself feeding more into the negative press that Silber has received. I found Dr. Silber to be off topic, rambling, evasive and defensive throughout the forum. Rather than fill valuable time directly addressing student questions, Silber danced around each topic, filling space with personal anecdotes and stories from his career as an educator of higher learning. In response to each student inquiry, President Silber continually took jabs at the students, propagating that “holier than thou” attitude we have all come to know and hate. I was especially upset to hear his response to the construction of a BU Rape Crisis Center. I believe he said that we wouldn’t need one if women stopped riding the T late at night and wanding around the city. Noone asks to be raped President Silber, and one’s journey home late at night from campus or work should not be an excuse for the scum of the city to have free reign on women. While I appreciate President Silber’s willingness to be as accesible to the student body as possible through forums such as these, he needs to abandon his militant stance on Boston University life. Take a lesson from the recent guest policy reforms, Dr. Silber. Your open ear and mind has lead to an overwhelmingly positive student response. You should keep this in mind when addressing the student body. Rather than using elaborate rhetoric and defensive jabs, listen attentively to the people who pay your salary. Being an authority figure doesn’t mean you have to be close-minded. Former President Westling was anything but and was able to build a tremendous working rapport with both the students and faculty alike. The best authority figures are ones that listen and act WITH students, not against, to create a friendly and intellectually fostering environment.

Melissa Coughlin melcogs@bu.edu 617-254-8675 CAS ’03