Letter: You're welcome, Victoria

Victoria Cobb's alumni leadership award was only days old when her foundation promptly thanked the University of Richmond with an insulting stab in the back. In a misleading, factually deficient post about the award on its official blog, Ms. Cobb's Family Foundation showed just how grateful it was by mocking the university and its students just days after she railed against the evils of name-calling.

In its blog, the foundation wasted no time going after our university directly, writing, "Interestingly, the school administration even allowed protesters inside the academic building where the panel discussion was taking place." Yeah, how dare UR support students peacefully exercising their right to free speech?

But the Family Foundation, with the maturity level of a high school bully, reserved most of its wrath for the student protesters themselves. "Oh, to be young and have no responsibility and no clue," the Foundation writes, placing a caption of "No classes, no tests, no papers due — and no clue" underneath a picture taken from an angle to make the protest look smaller. Yeah, I heard that after the protest they broke out the peace pipes and marched around campus handing out copies of the Communist Manifesto.

They went further, however, and, in a seeming departure from Victoria Cobb's "leadership is about more than name-calling" doctrine, the Family Foundation referred to the students, of the university that just honored its president, as "rallying like-minded types" and accused protesters of "hurling insults." (Without naming a specific insult which actually was hurled, I might add.) How dare people assemble to freely express ideas? That's not democratic! (Unless the Family Foundation is doing it, of course.)

Victoria Cobb has a right to her beliefs, and I will be the first in line to defend her right to express them. But as a UR student and RCSGA Senator, I am insulted at the Family Foundation's willingness to deliberately lie and directly insult the responsibility and work ethic of UR students who disagree with them, along with the integrity of the university who recognized them. I hope that those responsible for giving her this award take note not just of her organization's policies, but of the tone it has consistently taken in its condescending statements towards our university and the importance of education in general (see any number of FF blog posts smearing political opponents as "academics.")

I have many reasons for opposing the decision to give her this award, but her policies are only a very small part of it. I consider myself a liberal, and don't believe many of the things she stands for are morally or practically good. But I actually enjoy debating and discussing issues with people I disagree with. I have friends from across the political spectrum, and there's nothing I like more than a good argument. My opposition to her stems from the fact that she does not like having this type of argument with the people she disagrees with. She likes to take the people who oppose her and drag them through the mud. Winning is the only thing Victoria Cobb wants, and this "ends justify the means" style of leadership is what the university has recognized with the award.

Victoria Cobb is, in short, everything that is wrong with politics and government today. Rather than recognizing a leader who brings people together, and is confident enough in their beliefs to tolerate dissent, the university has recognized a leadership style that is as ruthless as it is cowardly and mean.

This whole mess should also raise the question of what exactly leadership is. Is leadership more than winning at all costs? Is it the ability to have an honest dialogue with people you disagree with, and to have that dialogue in a way that is respectful of the other side's opinion? I can't speak for everyone, but I think that's what most of the students standing in that protest honestly wanted. The students there were, myself included, overwhelmingly NOT gay, "activists" or communists. We were people who don't like politicians who win with hatred, lies and ruthlessness. It really hurt to see Victoria Cobb choose to sneak out the back door and smear UR students on a blog, rather than face dissent directly and have a real discussion about the role of government in regulating our private lives. This is not about UR recognizing people who disagree with us. It is about recognizing people who use fear and hate as tools to destroy everyone who doesn't support them. That's not leadership. That's bullying, and being good at it shouldn't warrant recognition.

So, yeah. You're welcome, Victoria.