Clout peddling has consequences

Kudos to Chuck Goudie for his June 1, column, "Two top-paid state hires on hot seat for U of I clout list. However, good as it was, the column only touched the surface of what is a nationwide problem - the warping of the academic missions of our colleges and universities along with related academic corruption.

Mission warp and corruption not only serve to accommodate political-clout-backed applicants who may very well be academically unqualified, but likewise, counterfeit-amateur athletes. The latter-so-called student-athletes make up the professional football and men's basketball teams that are part and parcel of the school's government-subsidized sports entertainment business. Their clout is broad based, coming from all those who want the school to field winning teams at any cost.

As a consequence of clout, thousands of academically qualified applicants are denied access to America's top schools.

So where are the presidents? In far too many cases they are not serving as responsible leaders in higher education. More likely they are going along to get along - looking the other way and avoiding job-threatening contentious issues.

Frank G. Splitt

Mount Prospect