This whole Rex Sinquefield/KKK/public education thing becomes even weirder with a statement from Lindenwood University that has left everybody we’ve talked to shaking their heads.
Lindenwood President James D. Evans put out a statement:
“A participant in Lindenwood’s Speaker Series recently cited Ralph Voss, a Missouri journalist who made a disparaging allegation about Missouri’s K-12 public education system. Although the University vigorously defends academic freedom and our speakers’ first-amendment rights, we categorically repudiate Voss’s derogatory statements and proudly stand with Missouri’s dedicated and effective K-12 educators, many of whom we have graduated.”
The participant, Rex Sinquefield, ERRONEOUSLY cited Ralph Voss. He claimed that Mr. Voss said things he did NOT say. Evans repudiates “Voss’s derogatory statements,” which were not what Sinquefield said they were. That strikes us as some kind of a double negative that might actually indicate Lindenwood supports what Ralph said. But we’ll leave that to the Lindwood PR department’s statement writer to figure out.
We don’t know whether Evans is referring to what Sinquefield erroneously claimed Voss said or whether Evans doesn’t like Voss’s statement that liberals have left K-12 education in a mess, which Sinquefield did not mention in the Ralph part of the speech. .
Well, at least Lindenwood proudly stands with Missouri’s “dedicated and effective K-12 educators,” which is more than what Sinquefield was doing in his remarks at Lindenwood.
Perhaps James D. Evans should read the story the Missourinet ran on Saturday that included the pertinent part of Ralph’s column from 2007 that Sinquefield mangled. Or he could read it in any number of other internet posts and regular publications.
This is one of those occasional things that careens around for a while and is kind of strangely entertaining to those of us who cover the news and then dies out, becoming one of those bizarre episodes that for a–we hope–brief time seems to grow increasingly bizarre.
Wonder if Lindenwood would like to add Ralph Voss to its speaker series. You know, in defense of academic freedom and the First Amendment and such.
People are so riled up about Rex’s comment. I understand that the KKK should never have been mentioned. But what I don’t understand is why bloggers continue to harp on Rex – who has apologized – rather than taking a close look at the critical education issues in our state. If we spent half as much time working toward real change as we do taking potshots at one person, we might actually get somewhere.