The Messiah was scheduled to arrive just five days from now. Now he may never come. If immortality is attainable, John Silber is trying damn hard to achieve it.
Clinging to the lingering moments of his reign as head of Boston University, Silber seems to want a grand finale consistent with the rest of his career: Scrappy. Opinionated. Brash. Controversial. Assertive.
Nov. 1, 2003 was scheduled to witness the marriage of president-elect Daniel S. Goldin and Boston University. Husband and wife, through sickness and health, till death or a budget crisis do us part. Yet in anxious anticipation, like a groom looming awkwardly at an alter devoid of a bride, the ‘Goldin Boy’ must wait.
Who gives this woman away? As father of the bride, Silber seems to have cold feet. Like an overprotective parent, John Silber rejects all suitors courting his beloved daughter. She will forever be daddy’s little girl. And rightly so: despite widespread and mostly baseless student disapproval, John Silber has managed to transform our university from a second-tier tribute of mediocrity to an internationally recognized institution.
Yet, like any good dramatic wedding, the moment came: ‘If anyone has good reason why these two people should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.’ Never one to hold his peace, Silber, it seems, is making waves.
According to The Boston Globe, the executive committee of the Boston University Board of Trustees, of which Silber is a member, held a meeting Friday during which it determined a ‘vote of no confidence’ in Goldin’s ability to lead BU. The committee also scheduled an emergency full board meeting for this Friday to further review and possibly vote on the topic.
Why the sudden reversal of position on a person trustee Chairman Christopher A. Barreca called a ‘visionary’ on July 8? According to the Globe the committee questions the ‘suitability’ of Goldin’s ‘temperament.’
Just what, um, I mean, it’s like, ok, here, well … vague? May I ask for a little clarification?
Goldin has served as an administrator at NASA for longer than anyone else in the organization’s history. I find it hard to believe someone of his credentials has an inherent character flaw that would inhibit him from adeptly running our university.
You don’t always like the person your daughter comes home with, but the true measure of good parenting is a willingness to trust in the values you have instilled in your child to give them the ability to choose the partner right and unconditionally accept that individual. A good parent is always cherished, even as their role in a child’s life dwindles.
The date is set. The cake, flowers, band and photographer are all booked, classes are officially canceled and now the waffling begins? Perhaps I missed something, but shouldn’t this have come out months ago? If Goldin is incapable of the job, then why consider him in the first place? Has he had a psychiatric breakdown in recent days that will render him incapable of performing his duties?
The crux of the matter seems to be that Silber just can’t let go. It is rumor throughout the university that he and Goldin have gone toe-to-toe about his continued involvement in university affairs. Silber has agreed to resign as chancellor and become president emeritus in order to assure Goldin that he will have no more say in university decisions. Yet Silber will not stand idly by and watch his baby be handed off without a continued role in university goings on. Too bad.
John Silber has done great things for our school, but his time has come. So the Boston University Academy no longer benefits from the Gay-Straight Alliance. Who cares? Since 1971, Silber’s tenure has added to our esteemed faculty four Nobel Laureates and six Rhodes Scholars.
The tangible benefits of John Silber’s presidency are undeniable.
But John, it is time to let go. Why taint your legacy with front-page coverage of murky waffling? For over three decades your administration has been synonymous with definitive. Why stop now? Make one poignant address, one last stand of moral absolutism and Kantian ethics, a hard line intellectual assertion of the good you have done and the mistakes you have made then tip your hat and fade into the sunset over Kenmore Square knowing you have left us better off then when you came. Scrappy. Opinionated. Brash. Controversial. Assertive.
Cory Hardy, a senior in the College of Communication, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press.