Please see Weixlmann’s response in bold. I hope to provide my commentary on his response in a post later today.

Your passionate email probably deserves a longer response than I can afford it, given my other responsibilities, but I have made what I hope are some useful observations below –>
Provost Weixlmann,

Certainly you do not suppose that any decision made on my part, your own or any other, for that matter, is based solely on logic. There are many logical lunatics who operate without compassion. My argument is not entirely rooted in logic. My conclusion that Dr. Meyer is beloved is based upon the many outspoken voices of fellow alumni and former faculty. We do not spend our time and energy to reach out to influential members of the SLU community, such as yourself, seeking understanding regarding your actions, as a mere pastime. We do so because we are concerned about the implications of such actions when they contradict the Mission of the university. Beloved people, and institutions, can certainly do wrong.  

<I UNDERSTAND.  AGREED.>

According to Father Biondi’s March 2008 State of the University address, the university had already spent more than $18,000 in legal fees associated with the case against Dr. Meyer. In the spirit of extending compassionate care, why has the university continued its battle with Dr. Meyer rather than devoting its resources toward alleviating ignorance and injustice? In fact, with tens of thousands of dollars devoted to lawyers, I wonder if the university’s tendency to draw out the litigation process and drive up legal fees is not an effort to drive another into poverty.

<DR. MEYER SOUGHT TO TAKE FOR HIS OWN A TRADEMARK OF THE UNIVERSITY’S.  HE WAS ASKED, EARLY ON, TO RELEASE HIS CLAIM AND COMMIT NEVER AGAIN TO DOING THAT.  INSTEAD, HE REFUSED, AND SO LITIGATION HAS CONTINUED.  SHOULD THE UNIVERSITY HAVE IGNORED THIS THREAT?  WHILE SOME MIGHT ANSWER NO AND OTHERS YES, I TRUST MOST ORGANIZATIONS WOULD WISH TO DEFEND WHAT IS THEIRS THROUGH REASONABLE MEANS.  THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING.>

It is my understanding that the Jesuit ideals that SLU strives to embody are based upon promoting good to its fullest extent, loving and not casting judgment. To quote an employee at Boston College, Jesuit ideals are based upon the “life and mission of Jesus Christ, who welcomed children, ate with sinners, defended the vulnerable, and proclaimed the Reign of God. Any activity claiming to represent Jesuit ideals will reflect these same priorities.” I contend that SLU’s Mission will not be realized in an environment characterized by censorship and apathy.

<THERE IS NEITHER CENSORSHIP NOR APATHY HERE, AND WE’RE WILLING TO “EAT WITH SINNERS.”  I.E., CONTRARY TO SOME OF WHAT’S BEEN WRITTEN, THE UNIVERSITY HAS SIMPLY REQUESTED TWO THINGS: (1) A FULL RELEASE OF DR. MEYER’S LEGAL CLAIM AND (2) HIS AGREEMENT TO ALLOW THE PAPER TO FUNCTION UNDER ITS CHARTER WITHOUT HIS INTERFERENCE.  HE IS NOT BEING ASKED ANYTHING WE WOULDN’T ASK OF ANY OTHER FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER.>

With thousands of dollars invested in legal proceedings, not to mention late nights, furrowed brows and frustration over these matters, I can only hope that the leadership at Saint Louis University can continue to make wise allocations of its resources. I do not purport to know the whole story and I am left to rely upon public records, media coverage and the blogs and e-mails of concerned community members. In my last letter to you, I requested the truth regarding the situation, including the motives of the university in its continued legal proceedings and how I can further express my opposition to such actions.

<IT IS NOT EFFICIENT TO RESPOND TO YOU OR OTHERS, AND IT IS PROBABLY OF LIMITED EFFECTIVENESS.  BUT I RESPOND, IN LARGE MEASURE, BECAUSE THAT’S HOW I WAS RAISED — BY MY PARENTS AND THE JESUITS.  DESPITE WHAT THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW ME MAY THINK, MY UPBRINGING ALSO DEEPLY INFORMS THE SPIRIT IN WHICH I CONDUCT THE UNIVERSITY’S BUSINESS.>

I understand that you cannot comment on personnel matters, but I would sincerely appreciate your insight regarding how this campaign furthers the university’s mission.

Regards,

Colleen Jaycox

I am disheartened to hear of your cold and calloused remarks toward my fellow Saint Louis University alumni in the wake of the controversy over the university’s actions against Dr. Avis Meyer. Most specifically, I am referring to your e-mail responses to Eric Holthaus and Amy George Rush. After all, these are the sons and daughters of SLU, results of the fine education you and your colleagues purport to have bestowed upon them.

We come to you now to voice our concerns and you offer one-line responses. Our opinions mattered dearly as we participated in class discussions and voted in the student senate. As students, we were given a voice through the University News. Now as we come together over this matter – through phone calls, letters, e-mails, blogs and web sites – and you contend that we are misinformed.

I ask that you please inform me, as well as my fellow alumni and concerned community members, of the truth in this matter. After reading media accounts, Fr. Biondi’s state of the university address from March, and statements from Mr. Berry and Mr. Fowler on the matter, I remain unconvinced that the actions of the administration against Dr. Meyer are warranted. The answers you and the rest of the administration have thus far provided leave me unsatisfied and ashamed of my alma mater.

It is one thing to go after our beloved and highly respected professor and an entirely different matter to respond to our concerns hardheartedly. We are expressing our worries with regards to the legal war that the university continues to wage against Dr. Meyer and the personal attacks that have ensued. Now we must add to the list of our grievances, disappointment in the way that you are addressing our objections.

Without loyalty to outspoken alumni, donors, tenured faculty and the incensed voices of hundreds who have spoken out regarding the university’s actions toward Dr. Meyer and the University News, what are the administration’s motives as you continue this assault? What more can we do to voice our vehement opposition to this campaign?

Should you be unable to appropriately address the concerns of both myself and fellow alumni, I have included Fr. Biondi as well as the directors of Alumni Relations, Donor Relations and Student Development on this letter, in hopes that this situation will be fittingly resolved.

Respectfully yours,

Colleen Jaycox
College of Arts & Sciences, Class of 2007

Dr. Meyer is a true educator, dedicated primarily to his students, secondarily to his journalistic craft and thirdly to the integrity of Saint Louis University. After 30 years teaching journalism and news writing, editing, and even film criticism, all the while serving as faculty adviser to the University News, Meyer is at risk to lose his tenure while dually burdened with excessive legal fees and stress associated with his battle against Saint Louis University.

As a student in both Meyer’s News writing and Film Criticism courses, I learned how to write right. Used to receiving top marks in all of my courses, I worked harder than ever to earn two A minuses. Aside from the blow to my GPA (and ego) I learned to take my compositions to a higher level and to take my education much more seriously. Upon my graduation from SLU, in May of 2007, I was honored with a heartfelt speech from Avis and the presentation of an academic award from the department.

In 1987, Father Lawrence Biondi came to Saint Louis University with a vision to make SLU the premier Catholic institution in the United States. What did he see at SLU when he arrived, but the hard work of people like Avis Meyer? I believe that it is still Biondi’s aim to improve the university and the quality of education, faculty, facilities, athletics and even aesthetics available to its students. What I cannot believe is how this ugly fight against Meyer will do anything but detract from the bounty Biondi envisions.

It is a shame that the university has invested tens of thousands of dollars into this legal battle rather than pour funds into scholarships, facilities or resources toward SLU’s mission. It is a tragedy that the university continues to attack such a well-respected, genuine man such as Avis Meyer. It is an atrocity that the university denies any wrong-doing or misjudgment regarding any of their actions whatsoever pertaining to this situation.

Thankfully, SLU Alumni will not stand by silently as this ridiculousness ensues. Many are threatening to withhold further donations to the university because they feel that letters and petitions do not speak loud enough for an administration ruled by the iron-fist of its president in conjunction with the monetary canon of its donors. As a recent graduate still paying off debt incurred during my time at the university, I can only ask that others voice their opinions on the matter.

I’d like to commend fellow alumnae Michele L. Parrish and Diana Leigh Benanti for their outspoken and eloquent posts, as well as alumnus Andrew Emmerich for writing to influential members of the media and SLU community.

The struggle began over the student newspaper, the University News and has escalated into a legal circus, complete with the emotional and financial drain associated with such.

I urge you to visit http://saveavis.wordpress.com to learn more about the struggles of Dr. Meyer against the university.

If at all possible, please provide your support for the cause by writing to influential members of the press and the university community to make them aware of the situation and your feelings on the matter.