Again, University was not active in RNC

In response to a response guest column, "University active for RNC" by University Police Chief Greg Hestness and Vice President of scholarly and cultural affairs Steven Rosenstone, we stand firm to our initial argument that the University did not showcase itself and participate enough in the Republican National Convention festivities.

Their guest column is a month-later response to an editorial, which ran the first week of school and argued that the University did not utilize its resources to showcase itself.

The response was a laundry list of things the University had done, but much of these things were behind the scenes, or simply just not that impressive. A website dedicated to resources, President Bruininks on C-SPAN and an airing from Ted Mann Hall of a PBS show that no well-informed student would have been aware of. The list of things just simply didn't add up to presenting or showcasing the University to the public. Perhaps the efforts should have been directed toward more visible activities, such as the CNN bus, which the two guest columnists try to take credit for, but that credit is due to CNN and C-SPAN.

Maybe the next time such a historic event drops into our backyard we will be better prepared. Maybe next time?