To the editor:

After some thought … this really pisses me off. It is a damn shame that an institution has to pimp itself out for $20 million, alienating current and former students and faculty alike. Furthermore, having all these town hall meetings will most likely prove useless because according to President Obama – I mean President Dove – it’s a done deal.

Renaming Paul Smith’s College to Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College in exchange for a $20 million donation from Weill and her husband is senseless. Since when does a philanthropist makes these type of demands? Isn’t philanthropy defined as “private initiatives, for public good, focusing on quality of life?” Can anybody tell me in recent times what educational institution has given into such bribery? Hypothetically, if I had $20,000,000.01, can I outbid Mrs. Weill and rename Paul Smith’s to Stan Siepka-Paul Smith’s College? Well, I don’t exactly have that type of disposable income. If I did, I assure everyone I do not have the need to inflate my ego by having my name override a heritage that has been in place since the start, that Mr. Phelps Smith had in naming it after his father.

Please, and I really mean please, let’s not give into a name change. Keep the name of Paul Smith’s College intact and unchanged.

Stan Siepka, MCFE, CFE, CHM

MEDDAC – medical support assistant

SFC (retired)

Graduated 1989 – culinary arts

Henderson Harbor