THE LETTER

Editor's note: The following is a reprint of the letter which was read aloud in community meeting, and was subsequently printed in the NudePaper (in its previous incarnation) in the fall of 1994.

The NudePaper that fall took a great deal of criticism for its decision to print the letter anonymously, out of concern for Richard Weinberg's job. The staff of that NudePaper stuck to their decision, and it is this staff's opinion that they were right to do so.

Two years later, it is a great pleasure to be able to reprint the Letter with the following words added:

By Richard Weinberg

On August 23rd, 1994, Goddard College and all who are associated with it suffered a loss when Earl Thompson was fired. He was fired because he expressed opinions which differed with those of the new administration. In this bastion of progressive education and thought, a man who exemplifies what Goddard is supposed to stand for, was fired for just that.

In South Africa, the axe was sharpened for Nelson Mandella. In the U.S.S.R., it was sharpened for Sakarov. In Russia under Stalin, the axe was sharpened for anyone foolish enough to speak his mind. At Goddard College, the axe was sharpened for Earl Thompson.

If there is no outcry of indignation, if the firing of Earl is allowed to stand, then the job of each and every employee at Goddard is in jeopardy, should he or she be foolish enough to express a differing opinion. If the firing of Earl cannot be undone by the collective voices of the staff and students of the Goddard community, then free speech, part of what the authors of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights had in mind when they put their thoughts and opinions on paper on behalf of all, will have taken a giant step backwards here at Goddard. A step backwards that smacks of the McCarthy era. And each and every one of us will have to speak in whispers and muted voices in the rooms and corridors here at Goddard. We will have to look around us to see who is watching and who is listening. We won't be able to trust each other. We won't be able to share ideas. We won't be able to express ourselves. We won't be able to have free dialogue. We will be afraid that the act of free speech will be our own undoing. We will become a group of indentured servants who tremble in the shadows of our masters, who walk with our heads bent and our eyes lowered. We will become less than what we are--less than free people. And when we call ourselves men and women, we will be liars. We will have allowed ourselves to be subjugated. We will be cowards.

Richard Greene does not belong at a place like Goddard. He is an authoritarian personality who, apparently, does not truly believe in democracy. He is best suited to command a military school. For the good of Goddard College all of the decent people who work here and all of the students, Richard Greene and his henchman and kindred spirit, Dan Gribbin, need to be gotten rid of! They are a malignant growth, eating at the very fibre of Goddard. Take a look at the faces of the employees. What you are seeing reflected there is uncertainty and fear.

Students of Goddard, get off your laurels and take back your college! You really do have the power. We all work for you. And YOU CANNOT BE FIRED!