Cleaning the spyglass on the Titanic

     The Accred teams came and went. Don’t know how that was for Saddleback College, but it was pretty hunky-dory up north on the Good Ship Lollipop. Clearly, some of the visiting team was concerned about continued trustee micromanagement, and so they asked about that. We acknowledged that Boardular meddling is still afoot—e.g., Nancy Padberg’s bullying of the TV production program down at SC—but mostly everybody offered a chirpy report.
     It reminded me of that movie, “Ship of Fools.”
     I’ve heard from several sources that Don Wagner is hopping mad about something—possibly about an administrative hire that is going south relative to Wagnerian desires. Don’t know much more than that, but we may see evidence of his peevitude—and indications of its object—tomorrow night.
     (The guy never seems to get it. Without clean and fair processes, we’re forever sailing up Shit Creek.)
     Lots of rumors have been swirling regarding the Chancellor hire. Officially, all we know is that the board interviewed some candidates on the afternoon of the (day of the) last board meeting, a month ago. During the read-out of actions taken in closed session at the start of the open session, a point was made to report no action.
     But it’s no secret that the board ended the day with no candidate that they liked, despite the search committee’s judgment that each of the forwarded candidates were good. Possibly the board (or a majority of the board) didn’t like any of 'em. Guess so. But the rumor that the board “really” wants to bring back Gary Poertner—this time as Chancellor—has never died, and it lives now.
     (The other persistent rumor is of course that Tom Fuentes seeks to bring back the odious Captain Bligh. Luckily, Wagner has consistently out-maneuvered the Tomster.)
     In any case, if it turns out that the board rejected the three forwarded candidates, then one might carp that the board is engaging in a subtler version of what they’ve often done: blow off the substantial efforts and careful judgment of governance groups (represented in this case by the search committee) in favor of their scurvy “judgment.” (And think of the doubloons wasted on that organization that helped with the search.)
     Could be an Accred issue. The board is supposed to stop acting like a bunch of heedless pirates.
     During the Accred Team visit, faculty briefly expressed their dread and gloom re a possible upcoming disaster. If Prendergast wins in the race to replace Wagner, we can expect smooth sailing. If, however, Mr. Muldoon wins, he’ll likely join Team Fuentes, and we’ll be in for years of abject “heck.”
     Serious heck.
     Right now, it’s like we’re cleaning the spyglass on the Titanic, pre-disaster. Will we detect that big ice cube and avert disaster, proceeding with our pleasant voyage? Or will we plow into it and splash into the black and icy brine, never to be heard from again?
     Yeah, it’s like that—except that we don’t control the ship. Those benighted bilge rats known as “voters” do.

This was one of my favorites during high school


And, later, during college: