Below is an e-mail that I sent to then director of marketing Bill Gray and to Provost David Whalen on March 10, 2012. They did not reply. I also published it as a note on facebook that was open to Hillsdale College students and alumni, where there was a (generally positive) reaction and a constructive conversation.
Connor Friedersdorf has opened a conversation concerning the tensions between Hillsdale College's advocacy for virtue and the Western Tradition, and its current support for the Trump Administration. I am posting it as a piece of evidence concerning the long-standing tensions between the marketing position of Hillsdale and the actual values inculcated by the college and championed by its alumni.
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Dear Bill Gray,
As an alumni (Class of 2007) of Hillsdale College, I was a bit surprised when the College began advertising on Rush Limbaugh's show. Nevertheless, I understood that there are some points of contact between his form of conservatism and the mission of Hillsdale College, which I assumed were the reason for the choice. I became concerned, however, when he demonstrate his complete lack of sympathy for the study of the classics last November. In the aftermath of the scandal related to his comments on Sandra Fluke, however, I felt that I needed to communicate my growing dissatisfaction with these advertisements to the college.
As the official college statement on the matter indicates, these comments were destructive to the public debate on the relationships between church and state and the state sponsorship of healthcare. By stooping to ad hominem attacks, his comments did not present an actual argument against her position and left conservatives crippled in their ability to speak to these issues. His apology was certainly necessary, but as many have noted,* it was far from convincing.
My concern with Hillsdale College advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show is that it will lead people unfamiliar with the college to assume that it actually supports the bombastic and often problematic positions and personal attacks that he articulates on the show. There are already news stories running that indicate Hillsdale's continued support is noticeable given the number of advertisers dropping him. While the college's official statement is good, the majority of listeners to his show, whether regular or not, will never see this statement. Instead, they will naturally assume that the college supports the positions that they hear on the air. Given his pattern of voicing destructive rhetoric, this seems like a considerable liability for the college as it tries to attract good students and encourage the study of the liberal arts.
Additionally, if the only thing that a person knows about Hillsdale College is that it advertises on Rush Limbaugh's program, this could become a liability for alumni. Given the audience of his program, it would not be surprising if this were the case for thousands of employers across the country. Associating their degrees with the inflammatory radio personality is a disservice to the alumni seeking employment in a difficult economy.
For these reasons, I strongly encourage you and the college to reconsider advertising on his program.
Sincerely,
Phillip Fox
Hillsdale College Salutatorian (2007)
* The above link is to a google cache (text-only, I'm afraid) of a post at the Economist's Johnson blog. My old link did not work well and The Economist's website does not seem to have a functional version of the blog up, as far as my browser is concerned.
Connor Friedersdorf has opened a conversation concerning the tensions between Hillsdale College's advocacy for virtue and the Western Tradition, and its current support for the Trump Administration. I am posting it as a piece of evidence concerning the long-standing tensions between the marketing position of Hillsdale and the actual values inculcated by the college and championed by its alumni.
--
Dear Bill Gray,
As an alumni (Class of 2007) of Hillsdale College, I was a bit surprised when the College began advertising on Rush Limbaugh's show. Nevertheless, I understood that there are some points of contact between his form of conservatism and the mission of Hillsdale College, which I assumed were the reason for the choice. I became concerned, however, when he demonstrate his complete lack of sympathy for the study of the classics last November. In the aftermath of the scandal related to his comments on Sandra Fluke, however, I felt that I needed to communicate my growing dissatisfaction with these advertisements to the college.
As the official college statement on the matter indicates, these comments were destructive to the public debate on the relationships between church and state and the state sponsorship of healthcare. By stooping to ad hominem attacks, his comments did not present an actual argument against her position and left conservatives crippled in their ability to speak to these issues. His apology was certainly necessary, but as many have noted,* it was far from convincing.
My concern with Hillsdale College advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show is that it will lead people unfamiliar with the college to assume that it actually supports the bombastic and often problematic positions and personal attacks that he articulates on the show. There are already news stories running that indicate Hillsdale's continued support is noticeable given the number of advertisers dropping him. While the college's official statement is good, the majority of listeners to his show, whether regular or not, will never see this statement. Instead, they will naturally assume that the college supports the positions that they hear on the air. Given his pattern of voicing destructive rhetoric, this seems like a considerable liability for the college as it tries to attract good students and encourage the study of the liberal arts.
Additionally, if the only thing that a person knows about Hillsdale College is that it advertises on Rush Limbaugh's program, this could become a liability for alumni. Given the audience of his program, it would not be surprising if this were the case for thousands of employers across the country. Associating their degrees with the inflammatory radio personality is a disservice to the alumni seeking employment in a difficult economy.
For these reasons, I strongly encourage you and the college to reconsider advertising on his program.
Sincerely,
Phillip Fox
Hillsdale College Salutatorian (2007)
* The above link is to a google cache (text-only, I'm afraid) of a post at the Economist's Johnson blog. My old link did not work well and The Economist's website does not seem to have a functional version of the blog up, as far as my browser is concerned.
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