To My University

I learned to rely upon my brain and my heart.  I learned to be passionate about what was right and to fight to make it so with all the tools at my disposal.  I learned that there is strength in numbers and that showing up is the least one can do.  

I read the classics.  I read modern histories.  I learned about the inevitable ebb and flow of dominion over land and people.  I thought about right and wrong as we closed classes two springs in a row to protest the President's warmongering.

We were rude and unruly.  We occupied buildings and marched through campus.  

No one was deported.  No one held back funds until our ship was righted to their satisfaction.

The world went on, swinging back and forth from civil liberties to far-fetched fantasies, finding an occasional moment of peace and ease.  The University survived.

Now, faced with a crisis reminiscent of the McCarthy era, the University has a choice: acquiesce to a bully or stand your ground.  

Yes, it's a lot of money.  Yes, it's a research catastrophe.  

It's also an opportunity to show that you stand behind what Ezra Cornell said at its founding:

I trust we have laid the foundation of [a] university … where any person can find instruction in any study.