THE NATION’S BEST PARTY SCHOOLS—THE I’S HAVE IT…AGAIN!!!

8/15/15

I wrote the following missive to the Chicago Tribune; the Trib published it on Wednesday, 8/12 in slightly redacted form.   Their editing was largely mild and understandable, but they did drop the last sentence, which I thought was the best line in the letter.     

With all the bad news emanating from my alma mater of late, one would think the administrators at what remains one of the world’s great universities would have more to bewail than an award that should be far from a source of shame.

ILL--!

Thanks.

8/8/15

As a long ago graduate of the University of Illinois and a continuing financial supporter of my alma mater, I am bothered not a whit by the Princeton Review’s designation of the Big U as the nation’s Number 1 Party School.  The wailing and gnashing of teeth emanating from the school’s administration in response to the “award” is not only silly but also demonstrative of the pusillanimous attitudes that pervade modern day academia.

Who in the world thinks that my alma mater is “…a place where people can just goof off,” as a university spokesperson lamented after the Princeton Review’s pronouncement?   Illinois and its students consistently rank in the top five universities in the country by employers.  UIUC’s business, agriculture, and especially its engineering, math, and science programs, are among the best, if not the best, in the nation.  22 Nobel Prize winners are, or were, associated with the Big U as either alumni or faculty members.  If you are an Illinois resident, Champaign is perhaps the best bargain out there in higher education.  And if you a resident of South Korea or China, you know the U of I; much of the technological infrastructure of both countries, and of others, has been built by U of I alums.

Students at my alma mater work very hard under intense pressure just to keep up with their hyper-achieving colleagues.   Is it any wonder that they also play hard when given the opportunity?   Do we wish that some of the students would play hard in less destructive ways?   Certainly.   But kids are kids and temptation is temptation; attempts to keep our kids in cocoons can ultimately be as destructive as the activities about which the U of I administration is currently wringing its hands.  Part of going to college is learning how to deal with the stress and temptation that will be our near constant companions as we proceed through life.

Yes, students at the U of I work very hard and play very hard.   Is the latter so terrible?  The world is not run by people who spent their Saturday nights in college in the library, even so magnificent a library as those on the Urbana campus.

Mark M. Quinn

Naperville

PULLING THE TRUMP CARD…AND COMING UP DEUCES

8/15/15

So what is there to say about the “Donald Trump Phenomenon” that seems to be gripping the not only the Republican Party but also the time and imaginations of political junkies of all stripes?   Maybe nothing original, but, from the perspective of a self-described genuine conservative (a moniker that conveniently allows one plenty of leeway), I think Mr. Trump’s still quixotic quest for the White House can be summarized as follows:

Mr. Trump reflects and largely embodies some very legitimate views and some very understandable concerns about issues of vital importance to a large portion, perhaps the predominant portion, of the electorate.   His stances (or, more properly, attitudes regarding; Mr. Trump has no policy stances as far as one can tell) on, among other things, illegal immigration, economic nationalism, and the incompetence and pusillanimity of our preening politicasters are shared by legions of people who work, pay taxes, and vote, and who have a large measure of responsibility, and should take a large measure of the credit, for keeping this economy and country running.

Mr. Trump’s problem, however, is at least two-fold.   First, he is a decidedly imperfect vessel for addressing the problems he highlights.  He is neither trustworthy nor as competent as he seems to think.   He has a history of stiffing creditors and taking a scattershot approach to his business endeavors along with showing incredibly poor judgment in those with whom he does business and in those frivolous activities with which he chooses to fritter away his time.   Note his being a paid cheerleader for dubious multi-level marketer ACN and his beyond fatuous “The Apprentice” show.  Those with solid judgment and a sense of integrity don’t associate with the likes of ACN and those who place any value on their time don’t squander it on trendy piffles like “The Apprentice.”

Second, Mr. Trump has a habit of saying stupid, ill-informed, and gratuitously insulting and demeaning things about people he doesn’t like or merely disagrees with.   Everyone likes spirited debate and, truth be told, we all like to aim a zinger at our opponents and feel a usually short lived shot of satisfaction when such barbs find their marks.   But one should at least be clever and pointed in one’s insults.   Comments about the manifestations and origins of the anger of previously largely unknown anchor people and the desirability of seeing certain women on their knees are not only demeaning and gratuitously insulting; they are also pathetic, uncouth, puerile, and reflective of an inability to control one’s urges or to effectively express one’s opinions.  

By making such inane pronouncements and graceless, thoughtless, misogynistic attacks, Mr. Trump delegitimizes the legitimate views and concerns for which he is acting as a herald.  He defeats his own purposes…assuming that Mr. Trump has purposes that transcend gratifying his own ego.