FanPost

A Final Plea to Big Donors


Later this year UCLA's newest graduates will step into a world they helped to make. Among all the skills and insights they gained one would seem to be more important than all the others: competence. It is at once the most basic and demanding skill in the workplace.

Frankly, it's hard to keep from choking on rage in discussing Dan Guerrero and the decision of whether or not to donate to UCLA while he remains in office. I hope big donors will view the latest sign of Dan Guerrero's leadership style by reading the comments following the loss to Washington in Pauley Pavilion.

Jonah Bolden is all of 20 years old. Is it possible that at that age he might make a mistake in judgment (in appearing in the video) that he wouldn't make a few years later? Should he have known the names of all the schools in the Pac-12? I don't know, but I'm sure his inability to name all 12 teams shouldn't have been shown on a scoreboard. I'm sorry to say this, but if I were his father, I'd say something like, "Son, maybe you ought to go to a school that thinks twice before putting you in an embarrassing situation."

We all live at the intersection of hope and memories, and for what it's worth, I remember that as a freshman (more than 50 years ago) I was so excited by two philosophy classes that I bought a set of five paperback books with selections from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.

They still sit on my shelves: The Age of Belief, The Age of Adventure, The Age of Enlightenment, The Age of Ideology, and The Age of Analysis. The 21st century is too new to be given a title, and the generalizations always fall short anyway. But that said, I still have an early candidate for the times we live in: The Age of the Powerless.

Now, for all I know, Dan Guerrero and Gene Block may be kind-hearted people in their personal lives. But I think it's true that they have failed in their respective roles at UCLA; Guerrero with his ineptness and Block, by allowing Guerrero to continue with his ineptness. And in that respect their job tenure is part of what I see as a larger trend: the refusal of those in power to listen to any form of dissent.

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I doubt that anyone knows all the reasons big donors give to UCLA — although I'm sure helping others is high on the list — but I believe that, paradoxically, by continuing to give money they embrace despair, not optimism, because they are strengthening the hand of Dan Guerrero and Gene Block. So, how about looking at things from a different perspective? How about considering the possibility that by withholding donations, alumni and other supporters are giving UCLA the priceless gift of accountability?

A rabbi named Hillel once asked questions that are as relevant today as they were in the days of the Roman Empire: If I am for myself only, what am I? If I am not for myself, who will be? And if not now, when?

That brings me to what I want to ask big donors: Who will stand up for UCLA? I don't mean that literally, of course. UCLA is a place where scientists help to change the world and scholars hold a mirror up to the past. UCLA makes decisions involving millions of dollars and thousands of students every year. It is one of the world's great universities.

When I ask who will stand up for UCLA, I mean who will stand up for the accountability of its leadership? And here's a corollary to that question: Who will stand up for greatness in academics AND athletics?

I would answer that question, in part, by asking another question. First, some background. In 1967, a movie that was an enormous success (critically and at the box office) came out. It was called The Graduate. Here's a stanza from "Mrs. Robinson," maybe the best-known song from that movie:

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you ... hey, hey, hey. What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson? Jolting Joe has left and gone away. Hey, hey, hey ... hey, hey, hey.

I understand how much UCLA has benefited from the contributions of well-intentioned alumni and other supporters, but what I want to ask big donors is this: If you substitute a name like Coach, or Red Sanders, or Tommy Prothro, or Ducky Drake for "Jolting Joe," do we have a responsibility to honor their memories or should we act like rafters on a river who sun themselves while floating to the nearest dock?

It won't be hard to find the dock. It's close by and found along every river. Its name is easily recognized; it's called "the place of mediocrity."

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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