L. Jay Lemons, president of Susquehanna University, sent out a letter this past week to assuage his college’s students, alumni, and staff that the decision to eliminate the school’s nickname and mascot — the Crusader — was “not taken lightly.”
Over the last three weeks, The College Fix has chronicled Susquehanna’s “Crusader” dilemma, beginning with President Lemons’ op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer denouncing those who complain about “political correctness,” to last weekend’s examination of the video presentation put forth by Lemons and other Susquehanna officials to “educate” folks on the topic.
The recent letter addresses several specific concerns and allegations, among them that, although the college had held numerous “listening sessions” to get community input about any name change, Lemons really had already made up his mind.
“This decision was not made prior to the listening sessions,” Lemons responds.
However, later in the letter, Lemons admits that “the conversations and [corresponding] survey were not a referendum”:
Make note of that: Only six percent of “alumni, students, faculty and staff” responded one way or another, and approximately half of those wanted to keep “Crusader.”
And make note that Lemons says “the merits for making a change were more compelling for me and the trustees” (emphasis added).
Kathy Lubbers, the Susquehanna alumna who also used to teach at the school, says that “[Lemons’] letter pretty much came out and said that even though the majority of respondents wanted to keep the name … the Board ultimately felt otherwise. In other words, the opinion of the Board of Trustees was more important. ”
Lubbers created the “Crusaders for Crusaders” Facebook page as well as the Change.org petition asking Lemons and the Board to reconsider their decision.
She adds, “It’s hard to not think of this as a foregone conclusion when the majority of respondents – hundreds then and thousands now – were not given more consideration.”
Further strengthening that view is Lemons’ statement that, despite the opinions of thousands (and, again, at least half of the six percent who responded to the survey), he concluded “a name that carries a negative connotation for so many will limit SU’s ability to grow in the future.”
How many is “so many,” President Lemons? If about half of the roughly 1,300 who actually responded held such an “negative” view, that is a “so many” of around 650. What did these folks say about a name change, precisely? How many were merely indifferent?
At this moment, Lubbers’ Change.org petition has garnered over 2,275 signatures urging Lemons and the Susquehanna Board to reverse their decision.
Lubbers says that while she understands that ultimately there may not come a reversal, what she and the signatories want is a reconsideration, especially given the critical response following the decision.
Elsewhere, Susquehanna alum Luke Wenzel has started a “Crusader” t-shirt campaign to raise awareness of the “keep the Crusader” cause.
Read President Lemons’ full letter.
RELATED: Susquehanna University buckles to political correctness, ditches ‘Crusader’ nickname.
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