By Jason Schwalmy
Mr. Benjamin Foster, a professor of accountancy at the University of Louisville, is a visible figure on campus. His name is familiar to many students, as he has written for both The Louisville Cardinal and The Louisville Patriot, and as one of The Cardinal’s most vocal critics, he has frequently made his presence known to this publication and its staff.
It is unusual for a student organization to encounter such persistent opposition from a member of the faculty. However, Professor Foster has demonstrated unfailing respect in even his most vehement criticisms, in stark contrast to The Patriot’s often-venomous publisher/columnist Brian Yates, who once described feminists as “nothing more than ugly women screaming for attention.” As such, Professor Foster’s critique -not easily dismissed as rambling, spiteful exhortation – merits attention, and occasionally, response.
Much of Professor Foster’s column in the Dec. 1 issue of The Patriot concerns The Louisville Cardinal’s advertising contract with the university. The arrangement, he believes, “frees up Cardinal resources that would otherwise be necessary to generate advertising revenue.”
Foster fails to observe that every week The Cardinal runs dozens of advertisements purchased by local businesses and other universities; University of Louisville advertisements comprise only a small part. In fact, our advertising department can proudly claim that it exceeded its projected sales level for the fall semester.
Professor Foster is also critical of The Cardinal’s “organizational structure.” It is unlikely that he is very familiar with this structure, as he is not employed by our publication, but he might be happy to learn some of the steps our staff has taken to maximize oversight of our work. Along with an editorial board serving as a democratic body to determine the paper’s content, The Cardinal also employs a full-time faculty adviser and has a board of directors comprised of industry professionals.
While he was clearly unhappy that “the Cardinal editor refused to publish even [a 100-word letter],” Professor Foster has had the opportunity to publish opinion columns on multiple occasions. Surely such an active interest in our publication must be difficult to maintain along with a full teaching load, and we regret that, if only in the interest of fairness to other readers, we cannot publish every single submission that he sends.
Professor Foster believes his public statements have made him “the object of some controversy.” In fact, most of the controversy has arisen when he, along with members of The Patriot staff, has been at the forefront of campaigns seeking the termination or expulsion of both a Cardinal writer and University of Louisville sociology professor John McTighe.
Ultimately, Professor Foster’s participation in campus politics and student affairs – aside from being an unusual pastime for a non-student – appears somewhat insidious, as it comes only in limited, rarely constructive forms.
However heartfelt the motivations that prompt his actions, these sentiments seem much less legitimate in light of his unwillingness to balance aggressive personal critiques with equally frequent positive steps intended to affect change.
While he has often opposed statements made by university faculty members regarding race, he has not spoken in an official capacity at a cultural diversity forum or organized panel of his own. So long as his most notable attempts to take an active role involve seeking the elimination of colleagues, Professor Foster’s activism will continue to appear less as a righteous crusade for the underrepresented, and more as a personal vendetta.
The students who share Professor Foster’s values are fortunate to have such a spirited advocate in their corner, and those who disagree with him should nevertheless be thankful that the mechanisms protecting free speech exist for us all. Mostly, the student body should be grateful to the administration for its protection against breaches in decorum that are damaging to students’ interests.
