Dear Editor,

After reading the article about WU dropping its partnership with Target, I realized that a few WU administrators will do anything to punish those who hold opinions contrary to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT activist group. If you missed the story, Target donated money to a political action committee which then purchased TV ads for a Minnesota political candidate who believes, hold your breath, that marriage is between a man and a woman. The result: Target was ostracized by the HRC, which means that WU must also punish Target until it corrects its conservative missteps.

My question is then, “Since when does an activist group determine policies for a major university?” One would think that administrators such as Jill Carnaghi would be paid to make decisions in the best interest of students, who need discounted school supplies and safe transportation. But top priority for WU appears instead to be the public punishment of corporations who support candidates who disagree with HRC. Sorry students, try the bookstore.

The Target article and the end of the partnership also send a clear message to corporate partners: support liberal candidates or get smacked with bad press and boycotts. No supporters of conservative candidates allowed on campus. Maybe corporate partners should call in to a WU administrator and ask to whom they should donate campaign funds. Or, to make it easier and faster, they can go directly to the HRC website, since it is obvious that they decide who all of us WU students can and can’t buy from.

As for me, I’m going to shop at Target. I’ll do so, not because I support their position, but because I support their right to donate to any candidate they want without fear of WU’s McCarthy-like retaliation.

–David Bauman

Ph.D. Candidate, Philosophy