10/29/2022

JRB,

            Are you a lucky charm? The day you go to Philly, they stage a come-from-behind 10-inning victory in the World Series! WOW!

            Is the WH decorated for Halloween? The live cams are down, so I can’t see for myself what the WH looks like. Did you decide to save resources & pass on the pumpkins this year? I’ve got some candy to pass out, but that’s the extent of my Halloween prep this year.

            Are you buddies with NE Sen. Ben Sasse? He was in the news for his astute comment about the attack on NPP’s husband, noting “every single American needs to be lowering the temperature…Disturbed individuals easily succumb to conspiracy theories and rage. The consequences are bloody & un-American.”

What do you think of his candidacy to be Pres. of U of FL? No surprise, it has incensed the faculty. Some object to his stances on social issues while others are troubled by the process. It’s too bad because he might do a good job in that role.

Did you read his piece in the Atlantic about his radical reform ideas for higher ed including “ditch(ing) the credit hour” & tying tuition to a percentage of future earnings so that those who get lucrative jobs will have to give back more than those who don’t.

Why is there such a ruckus when, as Forbes points out, University Presidents don’t have that much power? “They’re constrained by a board of trustees, faculty governance, entrenched campus power centers, endowment rules, major donors, and sprawling bureaucracies.” It would be nice to see some change, but I fear the status quo will prevail, especially at a place with 60,000 students.

Please give Han Lay a call. She is the Burmese beauty queen who spoke out at the beginning of the coup. She’s in Canada now, doing her best to “share what is really happening in Myanmar… by sharing information to the international community." She’s worried that her family back in Mawlamyine will be harmed & could use some encouragement.