The call for Bard College President Leon Botstein’s resignation is premature and irresponsible

To the editor:

Remember due process and the presumption of innocence? Apparently not only the Department Of Justice has abandoned those principles.

We should all be outraged by the widely publicized letters to the editors in Berkshire County papers calling for the immediate resignation of Bard College President Leon Botstein based on allegations of associations with Epstein when an in-depth investigation by a highly respected law firm is underway. Contrary to the letter’s assertion that Bard College has violated the public trust, the board immediately and appropriately retained Wilmer Hale to do a deep dive into the correspondence and relationship of Leon Botstein and Jeffrey Epstein.

A proper investigation takes time—three months seems reasonable—and the call for resignation is premature and irresponsible. As for assertions about lack of transparency, such an investigation should be confidential until it is complete, and the letter writers are exploiting the appropriate discretion of those who are letting the investigation take its course.

Not only is the open letter divisive and destructive to basic principles of fairness, but so is the headlining and broadcasting of the letter by local publications. If it is the fact that 100 people signed the letter that makes it so newsworthy, then good journalists would seek to determine if there are opposing views. They would likely find hundreds of Bard community members who are proud of the integrity of the institution and willing to give President Botstein the benefit of a fair inquiry.

Many of us look at the full picture and see the 50-plus-year-long history of dedication, educational innovation, and integrity as a basis for trust, not for an assumption of entitlement. Even if you disagree, trust, responsibility, and integrity mean that the institution owes its community a full investigation—which is underway as I write this—not a rush to judgement and an assumption of guilt.

Lisa Newmann
Bard Class Of 1975
Stockbridge

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