Finding Humor in the Howl
By Joseph Asch, Hanover, N.H.
Published on Friday, August 3, 2007
To the Editor:
Though it is too early to write the history of the petition trustee insurgency, it is not too soon to nominate the top howlers in the debates about trustee elections and the constitution fight.
My personal favorite remains Trustee Emeritus Peter Fahey '68's alarmist remark that if last year's constitution were not ratified, our 238-year-old College would enter a "downward death spiral" ("Five Reasons to Vote, and Vote 'Yes,'" Sept. 21, 2006). With alumni giving at a record level, applications as high as they have ever been and turnout in alumni elections surpassing anything in the past 15 years, I don't think Fahey's career as a prognosticator looks promising.
However, Rick Routhier '73 comes a close second in the laugh-out-loud race. He recently suggested that Trustee Stephen Smith '88 go beyond rhetoric and set himself to work on serious reform ("Rhetoric or Real Reform?," July 27). Among several examples, Routhier cited the need to reform the manner of staffing of the Alumni Council's Nominating Committee, which chose the candidates that lost all of the trustee elections over the past four years. The humor in Routhier's remark stems from the fact that Routhier himself headed this committee from 2005-2007! What does it say about the Nominating Committee that Routhier feels that its members were not well chosen?