The Blogging President
New UO president Richard Lariviere has officially taken office, and one of his first acts as head honcho was to start a blog. Right now it’s mainly an outlet for photo ops and such, but, along with the OLCC’s blog, this marks another bureaucratic blog for the OC to monitor and lampoon.
The biggest revelation so far from Lariviere’s blog: He is, in fact, a man with a taste for dapper hats.
No sign of a two-way wristwatch radio, though.
Link?
Fixed.
Caption:
“You folks are runnin’ a real nice business here. And it’d be a real shame if somethin’ were to happen to it, see? So maybe we reach an agreement… I make sure nuthin’ happens to your fine establishment… and maybe you make sure there’s an envelope filled with $100 bills sittin’ behind that there counter for me every Wednesday. Capiche?“
See, I was thinking more along the lines of: One of Elliot Ness’ Untouchables shakes down a suspected speakeasy. “C’mon, sister. Don’t play dumb with me! I know this a no-good, two-bit gin-joint just as well as you. Now tell me where the booze is before I send you all to Sing Sing!”
I think that the business model for most universities better fits Vincent’s characterization. I have made a few comments in budgetary meetings that compared certain ‘fees’ and ‘payments’ to popular stereotypes of how La Cosa Nostra runs things. They weren’t always well-received, but they did clarify the question(s) being asked at the time.
On a more serious note,
That the President has made a point of having a blog speaks volumes about his attitude toward technology compared to past leadership. Hopefully this means that he’ll push for more tech infrastructure at the U of O because in almost every category we are terribly behind our ‘peer’ institutions.
Other Caption: I am only demanding the non-profit Duckstore divert 10% of the profits to the UO Foundation ! If that happens we will supply you with enough slave made O branded tricycles to make you all filthy rich. If the deposit is not made this month this whole popsicle stand is going to be shut down. Instead of selling green and yellow mardi gras beads I will make sure this whole place gets filled with books. And the flat screen TV will come down too ! Where is that damn latte I ordered ? And another thing if we cannot reach a agreement on this you can keep your silly Duck Store fashion photo shoots off my damn campus.
Until he fires Melinda Grier, I assume he’ll be at best mediocre.
Don’t be shocked in Melinda Grier is the subject of disbarment proceedings sometime in the foreseeable future (i.e. before the end of this year).
Is it a really a blog if you don’t let people leave comments? A response from a philosophy major would be appreciated.
Is it a really a blog if you don
JMB: Do tell. This would be an interesting topic of discussion, considering Melinda Grier was one of the banes of my existence at the U of O.
I can’t provide many details since it’s 3rd or 4th hand information (not sure who the exact source is, or the veracity of the info), but apparently the Justice Department has been building a case against her (mostly related to the University’s strong-arm tactics regarding the Diversity Plan and refusing FOIA requests) and it’s supposedly going to come down within the next few months.
Do you know how many complaints have been filed against Melinda Grier? She has failed to comply with several FOIA requests and has squelched several details surrounding the the UO AA policy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Randy Gellar get the boot. Or perhaps they will get “transfered” to a new division like that mall cop Kevin Williams.
If Melinda gets fired it will be because
1) Lariviere is honest
2) Lariviere is dishonest and wants a dishonest lawyer who is at least competent
3) Lariviere is reasonably honest as these things go and just doesn’t want to deal with Frohnmayer’s baggage.
So far is all we know about Lariviere is that he is bald and likes hats. Smart. We’ll learn a lot more when we see which of Frohnmayer’s incompetent and crooked cronies he fires first, and how long it takes.
For what it’s worth, I wrote President L. a short e-mail welcoming him to Eugene and he was not only nice in his response, he responded the day after I wrote it. He even threw in a little Arabic for good measure.
I don’t know how that translates into anything, but it’s more than I ever got out of a House Rep, Senator or Das Frohn.
It means nothing. I used to get polite responses from Frohnmayer (OK, in English) until I started asking him tough questions.
I was always shocked at how a sharp legal mind like Das Frohn could keep an imbecile like Grier around.
Frahnmayer kept Melinda around because she was always happy to lie for him, and the way he ran UO that was a lot more necessary than was competence.
Ya’ll should take the OLCC survey. In suggestion I wrote:
“There is no reason for the existence of your department or commission. You are at best petty tax collectors or at worst, neo-prohibitionists bent on harassing the poor with your asinine regulations. Please do yourselves and resumes a favor by resigning and denouncing your mistake of joining such a corrupt and evil group.”