Last week’s blog post on September 15, 2014 included the following question:
“Will Either Candidate for
Pennsylvania Governor Respond Publicly to PASCU’s Six Questions?”
PASCU’s invitations to both candidates, and both statewide political parties, were delivered on August 25, 2014 and included a September 17, 2014 deadline for response. Those three and one-half weeks passed with no response whatsoever from either candidate or either party. Hence, we have our answer:
Neither Corbett Nor Wolf Agreed to Publicly
Answer PASCU’s Six Questions!
I hoped that both candidates would provide answers to the six questions and, as a result, that PASSHE’s Majority Stakeholders could benefit from their answers in deciding which if either candidate they might wish to support in the upcoming election for governor on November 4, 2014.
In view of the silence from both candidates, I have listed below the six questions and PASCU’s Response regarding what that silence might portend for PASSHE’s Majority Stakeholders going forward.
Recall the context for PASCU’s first three Questions:
‘The purpose of the fourteen PASSHE universities, according to Act 188, is to provide: “High quality education at the lowest possible cost to the students.” Official PASSHE data show, however, that the Act 188 statutory purpose of the PASSHE universities has not been delivered to the students since 2002. And in January of 2014, PASSHE unveiled its new strategic plan entitled “Strategic Plan 2020: Rising to the Challenge,” which makes no mention of PASSHE’s Act 188 statutory purpose. [Questions 1, 2 & 3]’
Question 1: If elected Governor of Pennsylvania on
November 4, 2014, will you publicly endorse and support the Act 188 statutory
purpose of the fourteen PASSHE universities cited above?
PASCU Response 1: Neither candidate is willing to answer this
question publicly. I.e., neither
candidate is willing to endorse and support an existing Pennsylvania law (Act
188) in the face of evidence that the purpose of that law is being ignored by the
PASSHE Board of Governors on which the PA Governor sits!
Question 2: During this election campaign for
Governor of Pennsylvania, will you publicly endorse and support the Act 188
statutory purpose of the fourteen PASSHE universities cited above?
PASCU Response 2: Since neither candidate was willing to
publicly endorse and support the Act 188 statutory purpose of the PASSHE
universities after being elected governor on November 4, 2014, it is perhaps
not surprising that neither candidate was willing to campaign in support of
that same purpose.
Question 3: In view of the dual failure cited
above—PASSHE’s failure to deliver Act 188’s statutory purpose to the students,
and PASSHE’s failure to even commit publicly that it is trying to deliver
it—what public assurances, as a Candidate for Governor, can you give to
PASSHE’s students, parents and alumni that, if elected Governor, you will use
the power of your office to help correct both failures?
PASCU Response 3:
Taken literally, the silence of both candidates in response to this
question basically says that neither candidate is willing to provide any assurances
to the Majority Stakeholders with regard to helping correct either or both of
these egregious PASSHE failures.
Recall the context
for questions 4, 5 and 6:
‘PASCU’s Mission is
“To ensure that the statutory purpose of public higher education in
Pennsylvania as specified by Act 188 of 1982: ‘High quality education at the
lowest possible cost to the students’ is indefinitely preserved and faithfully
delivered.” [Questions 4, 5 & 6]’
Question 4: As
a Candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, are you willing to campaign publicly
in support of PASCU’s Mission?
PASCU
Response 4: Since neither candidate agreed
to support the statutory purpose of Act 188, it also follows that they wouldn’t
support PASCU’s goal of preserving and delivering that statutory
purpose. Question 5: In your opinion, is it appropriate for the State, the 25% financial stakeholder in the 14 PASSHE universities, to control 100% of the 174 PASSHE governance seats, while the students, parents and alumni donors, the 75% financial stakeholders, control 0% of PASSHE’s 174 governance seats?
PASCU Response 5:
Neither candidate wanted to answer this question because to do so—to
admit that the status quo is unfair to the Majority Stakeholders—they would
then have to admit to the need to do something about it! The silence of both candidates on this
question confirms: a) both political parties benefit from the status quo; and
b) both parties will cling to the status quo to preserve those benefits.
Question 6: As a candidate for Governor of
Pennsylvania and, in view of the great funding/governance disparity that exists
between the Majority and Minority stakeholders, are you willing to campaign
publicly in support of changing Act 188 to align the governance-shares of the
Majority and Minority financial stakeholders to more closely match their
respective funding-shares, as advocated by PASCU?
PASCU Response 6: Why
would either candidate offer to correct a problem they won’t admit exists?
The First Amendment and the Hope of the “Fourth
Estate”
Since candidates
for elected office can easily ignore inconvenient questions from non-partisan,
not-profit organizations such as PASCU, and can do so with impunity, we can
only hope that the members of the press will pursue these same questions on
behalf of the thousands of PASSHE students, parents and alumni donors whose
interests continue to be ignored by elected officials from both PA political
parties.
I say that because of the critical role that America’s
Founders created for the press in safeguarding the future of our democratic
republic, a role emphasized in 1974 by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart
when he said: “The primary purpose of the First Amendment was to create a
fourth institution [a.k.a. Fourth Estate] outside the government as an
additional check on the three official branches.”
PASSHE students, parents and alumni can only hope that the
press will live up to that primary purpose.
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