Dear UW Student,
Suppose that you have a choice of attending University X or University Y. University X tells you, “We will prepare you to be competitive in the Wyoming job market.” University Y tells you, “We will prepare you to be competitive in the job market anywhere in the world.”
University X also tells you, “We will not allow you to be exposed to ideas that might offend rich and powerful corporate interests doing business in Wyoming.” University Y tells you, “We won’t ever censor your exposure to ideas. We consider it our job to expose you to the full spectrum of ideas, even if they might offend the rich and influential.”
Which University would you rather attend?
If you would rather attend University X, you need read no further. If you would rather attend University Y, I have bad news for you. You are attending University X. I would like to do something about that, and I need your help, especially if you and your family live in Wyoming.
Starting last October, I have been objecting to the changes occurring here, mostly by writing letters, rather like this one, to the Board of Trustees, the UW Faculty listserve, WyoFile, and two Wyoming newspapers. But it has occurred to me that I could do much more, because you and your parents are the ultimate stakeholders in this University, and thus are the ones who should have the ultimate say in what sort of a University we should have.
I am preparing a presentation. Its title will be something like, “The ‘Carbon Sink’ Censorship Hysteria, and other UW Stories: What Kind of University Would You Like to Have?” I would travel to any Wyoming community, large or small, that would like to hear it.
If you are interested in helping me do this, talk with your parents and others in your town, and see if there is interest in having me come and meet with local folks to discuss these issues. If so, or if you have questions about any of this, please contact me at petershive@gmail.com.
This is entirely a grassroots operation. I have no association with, or support from, any organization. I will fund it myself, at least until I start feeling the financial pinch. My main credentials are an almost 50-year career of mentoring U.W. students (virtually all of whom have had careers in the energy sector), and an intense pride in what this University used to be, a pride that, incidentally, embraces the University’s record of serving the needs of our state.
I am certainly daunted by the arrogance of my project. I am saying that I disagree with the opinions of the Coal Lobby and also of the most influential and vocal members of the Wyoming State Legislature, the U.W. Board of Trustees, and the current University Administration. I have, in effect, given up on the rich and powerful, and now want to know what the “little people” (people more like you, your parents and myself) think. The accompanying humility is that, if those people also believe that I am wrong, I will happily abandon this fight.
Peter N. Shive
Emeritus Professor
