Wesleyan’s Treatment of Professor Bernstein Is Utterly Disgraceful

Dear Argus,

I would like to add my voice to those who believe Wesleyan’s treatment of Howard Bernstein over almost two decades to be utterly disgraceful. It’s consistent history of injustice towards him in the matter of his professional status looms large among the reasons why I have never seriously pursued the acquisition of an academic post for myself at Wesleyan. A school must indeed think itself wealthy if it can so easily afford to throw away gifted teachers.

It is curious to read of Carla Antonaccio’s boast, in the name of the Advisory Committee, that it ‘ will not respond to student pressure when making decisions.’ How ingeniously he twists the fact of near-universal praise for Bernstein’s teaching skills, into some form of illegitimate coercion! The message is clear: Wesleyan (and a great many other universities) eyes with suspicion any teacher who has the love and esteem of his students. Yet many of us know of other faculty members who have been so adept at manipulating the system, that they’ve managed a way of staying on the payroll for years without doing any teaching at all!

It appears that hypocrisy is becoming the national pastime.

Sincerely Yours,
Roy Lisker
Middletown Resident