From: Michael Farrell (michael.a.farrell@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Feb 28 2006 - 20:19:16 PST
FYI My letter is at bottom:
Mike Farrell
President Emmert asked me to respond on his behalf to your message about the
Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) Senate debate
regarding a memorial to honor Col. Boyington.
The ASUW Senate, an arm of student government on campus, is a forum in which
students discuss a wide range of issues, including the proposal for the
memorial. After considerable debate, the resolution failed by a tiebreaker
vote. As ASUW Senate Chair Alex Kim describes in the message below, students
thought long and hard about their decision and cast their votes for a
variety of reasons. Some of the reasons that have been publicized are
addressed in Mr. Kim's report.
According to Mr. Kim and our student body president Lee Dunbar, who
co-sponsored the resolution, many students felt that we should honor all
veterans appropriately rather than single out one, even though Col.
Boyington was a Medal of Honor recipient. I am also attaching a message from
Mr. Dunbar, with some of his thoughts on the matter. A new resolution has
been introduced and is working its way through the Student Senate for the
University to establish a memorial to all of its Medal of Honor recipients.
Student Senators are expected to vote on this resolution in the coming
weeks.
It should also be noted that thanks to the work of Dean Emeritus Brewster
Denny and the contributions of many UW alumni, several years ago the
University erected a fitting memorial to UW students, faculty and staff who
lost their lives in World War II. We also have memorials on campus for
students who gave their lives serving their country in World War I and
students who fought in the Spanish Civil War.
Different versions of what transpired during the debate have circulated
through the electronic media. I hope you will take a moment to read Mr.
Kim's account and
Mr. Dunbar's comments. I also hope that regardless of one's point of view on
this issue, the exercise of democracy that occurred at the Senate meeting
can be seen as a meaningful learning opportunity for the students engaged in
the debate.
Sincerely,
Eric S. Godfrey
Acting Vice President for Student Affairs
________________________________________________________________________
It has recently come to our attention that the actions of the ASUW Student
Senate have been greatly misrepresented to the student body and the general
public. As such I wanted to clarify what actually occurred.
The Student Senate exists to create official student opinion by bringing
together student representatives from all across campus. The resolution
concerning Colonel Boyington (available online at
http://senate.asuw.org/legislation/12/R/R-12-18.html
<http://senate.asuw.org/legislation/12/R/R-12-18.html> ) cited the Colonel's
exemplary service record, including the fact that he was awarded the Medal
of Honor for service in World War II. The resolution called for the creation
of a memorial in his honor. Passage of the resolution would not have
necessarily resulted in the creation such a memorial, but would have
recommended it to the University of Washington.
The debate within the Senate was fair, balanced, and respectful. Senators
representing a diverse array of viewpoints spoke on the resolution, raising
numerous points as to the merits and demerits of the resolution.
1.) The ASUW Student Senate declined to support the construction of a
memorial for an individual. This in no way indicates a lack of respect for
the individual or the cause, merely that the Senate did not support the
construction of a memorial. The Senate weighed factors such as financial
viability, the logistics of implementation, which historical points are
relevant, and the difficulty in assessing which veterans should be
memorialized over others. Questions regarding these factors were not
addressed in the legislation itself and thus became points of debate during
the meeting.
2.) Senators speak on behalf of the opinions of their constituents.
This legislation has been posted publicly for nearly a month and senators
have used that time to discuss the issues with their constituents. There is
no way to distill a central argument of the Senate for or against any piece
of legislation the Senate discusses. While the vote itself is a yes or no
decision, the reasons senators choose to vote in a particular manner vary
widely. Therefore, it is inappropriate to represent a decision by the Senate
as resulting from any single statement or point-of-view.
3.) No senator speaking in opposition to the resolution suggested that
deaths in war are the equivalent of murder. One senator, in making a motion
to remove references to the number of Japanese planes shot down, suggested
the focus of the resolution should be on the man's service to his country.
The sponsor of the amendment suggested that death in war was sometimes a
"necessary evil" and that the focus of the honor should not be on the
necessary evil, but rather on the service. That motion passed
overwhelmingly. A further amendment to remove the text of the inscription of
the Medal of Honor from the legislation subsequently failed overwhelmingly.
4.) No senator stated that we should not pass the resolution on the
grounds that Colonel Boyington was a "white male." One senator stated that
we have many monuments and memorials to white males, but did not suggest
this was a reason to not support the resolution.
Throughout the debate in the Student Senate, the tone was very respectful.
If you have any additional questions, please contact:
ASUW President Lee Dunbar (asuwpres@u.washington.edu), Student Senate Chair
Alex Kim (asuwssch@u.washington.edu), Student Senate Vice-Chair Erin Shields
(asuwssvc@u.washington.edu) or Director of Operations Karl Smith
(asuwbdop@u.washington.edu)
Alex Kim
Student Senate Chair
Associated Students of the University of Washington 206.543.1780 (office)
206.669.9562 (mobile)
http://senate.asuw.org/ <http://senate.asuw.org/>
________________________________________________________________________
I want to take this opportunity to share some thoughts that I hope will
provide further insight into the situation, which I fear has been
misrepresented to the public. First, I want you to know that I personally
have great respect for combat veterans and the sacrifices that they have
made for all of us. It is for this reason that I co-sponsored the proposal
to create a memorial and that I am continuing to work on a second
resolution.
Ironically, the principal reason the first bill did not pass is that many of
us, including myself, came to realize that it would be inadequate to
memorialize only one of the UW's five Medal of Honor recipients. A new
resolution that is inclusive of all of these heroes is being drafted right
now and should be introduced shortly. I am confident that this new
resolution will pass.
As for comments by a few students that have been taken as disrespectful, I
want to assure you that all of us have learned a great deal from this
incident. One of the senators I work with most closely, in particular, has
told me how remorseful she is for any insult felt from her choice of words.
The University of Washington is a large campus with many students and there
are bound to be disagreements and opposing views among us.
Regardless of my personal feelings, I feel it's crucial to allow, indeed
defend, free expression of ideas and beliefs--a right that Pappy Boyington
fought to protect.
This experience has been an educable moment for all of us, to say the least.
One of the things I have been particularly appreciative of throughout this
episode is the understanding and support given by the Board of Regents and
the UW administration. Whatever their personal concerns, they have
recognized that my fellow students and I are learning some very important
lessons from this incident that we will carry with us throughout our lives.
Sincerely,
Lee Dunbar, President, ASUW
Office of the President
University of Washington
Room 301, Gerberding Hall
Box 351230
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-5010
Fax: (206) 616-1784
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006, Michael Farrell wrote:
> Dear Sir:
>
> As a retired military individual and an educator, I was saddened to
> hear about your institutions recent vote not to honor Pappy Boyington,
> an alumnus of your institution, a Medal of Honor Winner, a national
> hero. and as institutions go an excellent way for the alumnus
> association to raise funds given his notoriety. As more and more of
> our youth get further from their own military forces given base
> closings, and lack of military service; there is no connection to
> those sacrifices, burdens, and achievements of those persons in uniform.
>
> As an Educator, I am able to work with members of the military; the
> image of which is far different from that of WWII. The average
> Sergeant today in the United States Army has as a minimum an AA
> degree, and usually a BA/BS degree. Most officers have at least one
> Graduate degree. Although mistakes are made, the military has
> recognized the value of a well rounded, educated military force, able
> to think on its feet. Our forces are not some Barbarous force raping
> and pillaging. This does a disservice to currently serving military
veterans as well.
>
> I would hope that your school consider COL Boyington for the
> recognition he deserves.
>
> Sincerely;
>
>
> Michael Farrell
> 2478 Shelby Court
> Yuba City, CA 95991
>
>
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Tue Jul 18 2006 - 21:41:19 PDT