ISSUE OF ANARCHY A SMOKE SCREEN

Editor, Times Argus:

As a core faculty member at Goddard College and director of the Goddard Business Institute, I would like to respond to Robert Piasecki's out-of-context claim that I declared myself an anarchistic at the Goddard Rally for Democracy last Thursday ("Goddard Group Gathers To Denounce Greene," April 26) and then move past this "anarchy" smoke screen to discuss Goddard's real struggle.

In my talk I was responding to the April 23rd editorial, "Anarchy 101." I noted that my colleagues at the conventional business and planning schools where I taught economics and finance for 30 years (Columbia, Cornell, Yale, Tufts, and MIT) would be quite amused and amazed to learn that they had been associating with an "anarchist." I said sarcastically that if being an "anarchist" meant being opposed to the concentration of power in large institutions, power that was not accountable to the larger society, then I was an "anarchist." The Times Argus' characterization of me as an "anarchist" should have been, in reality, "Democrat." Quoting my conclusion without reporting the premise it was based on, your reporter sensationalized my remark in a misleading, inaccurate and irresponsible manner.

The issue at Goddard College is not anarchy. It is about bringing the college's philosophy and practice into balance with leadership that values democratic principles. The college's difficulty is in resolving the contradiction between its top-down structure of authority and its 60-year, democratic tradition of shared decision-making. The vertical structure with its concentration of information and authority clashes with the horizontal culture promoted by the college's ideals.

If Goddard can bring its structure and culture into line, and become a college that integrates democracy and education, where students combine self-directed education with the learning of democracy firsthand through genuine participation in a democratic institution, then it may be able to return to the forefront of progressive education. As a small independent school, Goddard cannot compete with well endowed liberal arts colleges; realizing its commitment to progressive education may be our best bet at attracting students and surviving.

Richard Schramm
Core Faculty Member
Goddard College
Director, Goddard Business Institute