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With the recent transfer of power from Ruth Simmons to Christina Paxson, many people are wondering whether or not the Brown community will take to the university’s new president. Though Paxson seems both qualified and ready to lead, she can’t avoid the question on everyone’s minds: Is Brown really ready for a white president?
The real issue here is that Paxson’s election goes against everything we once stood for. Brown University once stood for progressive thinking, liberal learning, and cultural awareness. However, by choosing Paxson, the corporation is choosing to rebrand Brown. No longer can we call ourselves “alternative” or “progressive” when our president is the living embodiment of the white man’s burden.
Personally, I still can’t wrap my head around this issue. Speaking of wrapping, can she use that scarf that’s in all of her pictures as a head-wrap? Then at least we can pretend she’s a really light-skinned Arab or grew up in British India or something. Anything is better than being straight-up white.
This transition would be a whole lot easier if she had some Native American blood. Maybe she’s part Chippewa?
I’m still in shock that the corporation could make such a rash decision. Choosing Paxson just undermined years of painstaking effort building up our academic street cred. How will anyone know Brown is diverse and trendy if we have a white president? What’s next? Reinstating the ROTC?
To make matters worse, she’s got a husband. A HUSBAND. It doesn’t get more heteronormative than that. That’s already two strikes against her. Honestly, if she wasn’t a woman, I’d transfer immediately.
Ready or not, Brown has a white president. Only time will tell if she can continue to improve Brown and lead us to greater heights as an institution. Not just because she’s white, but because she’s a good president.
In a word: I’m not ready.
