Message from Dr. P regarding STL community

[BigMouthBilliken]

One positive takeaway is that the university is prepared.

 

http://www.slu.edu/news/announcements/2017/september/stockley-verdict.php

"Dear members of the SLU community, 

Various news sources have reported that St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Timothy Wilson will make an announcement in the matter of the trial of former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley, who stands accused of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith after a police chase in 2011. If the announcement is the Judge’s verdict, it is expected that national attention will once again be focused on St. Louis, as similar cases have brought it to other major cities across the country. 

Regardless of the ruling, as members of the St. Louis community, we must face the reality that our city and our region still have much to do in addressing the issues of race, especially involving the criminal justice system. We have a cross to bear in that endeavor. 

Plans are in place for the law school, our North and South campuses, SSM Health SLU Hospital, and SLUCare. If their security is challenged, we will act appropriately, and we will actively communicate with our SLU community to provide the latest information.  

Whether you are on the North campus, the South campus, a clinic location, or the Law School located near the Carnahan Courthouse, the security and well-being of our students, faculty, clinicians, staff, and patients will be carefully monitored.  

I would like to share with you some details of our planning efforts. 

• Our intention is to operate as normal unless circumstances dictate otherwise. We will not be motivated by fear or unfounded rumors. We do, however, understand that it may not be possible to get into our law school because streets may be impassable. Dean Johnson and his staff have plans in place to deal with this possibility and have communicated plans to our Law School community. 
• Our Department of Public Safety will station additional officers at our Law School and on our North and South campuses. You will see their presence on campus. For emergencies or safety issues, please call DPS at 314-977-3000. 
• I will be on campus with University leadership, continuously monitoring any situation that may unfold. 
• We have a detailed communication plan in place to keep our SLU community informed. Here are the places we will provide updates on the day of the verdict and thereafter:  

• The SLU Emergency Status web page (http://www.slu.edu/about/safety/campus-emergency.php) 
• The SLU Official Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SaintLouisU/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/SLU_Official) accounts.  
• University-wide emails 
• The University SNOW LINE 314-977-SNOW (7669), which will provide status updates for all St. Louis campuses. 
• The University’s Live Web Cams can be accessed at any time by visiting http://www.slu.edu/webcam 
• If necessary, emergency communications will be sent first via the University’s RAVE alert system. If you have not signed up to receive these alerts go to https://myslu.slu.edu/index.php to do so.  
• An Information Call Center will be set-up when the verdict is announced to answer questions and provide updates about our campuses. The call-in number is 1-800-758-3678. Please press “0” when your call is answered and you will be transferred to a SLU representative who can direct your call. Representatives will be available for extended hours on the day of the verdict – and beyond, as necessary. 
• The University will hold dialogue sessions about the verdict and about any protests for all who wish to attend. A schedule will be available. 

 I greatly appreciate your attentiveness to this matter and your trust in the leadership of the University and one another. 

 Sincerely, 

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D. 
President "

[brianstl]

I am so looking forward to working downtown tomorrow.

[615Billiken]

Oh boy.

[billikenfan05]

Pestello is a cuck

[615Billiken]

2 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Pestello is a cuck

How so? Sincerely interested in your opinion. New student here (grad) and trying to get the lay of the land.

[billikenfan05]

Honestly his responses to events have painted him as a pushover in my opinion. Not go get into politics but I completely disagree with his position on illegal aliens on campus.

 

Also his wife, WOOF.

[615Billiken]

6 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Honestly his responses to events have painted him as a pushover in my opinion. Not go get into politics but I completely disagree with his position on illegal aliens on campus.

 

Also his wife, WOOF.

Welp. Good to know how you feel about my presence on campus.

we can amicably agree to disagree since this isn't the forum for this type of discussion. At least we can have our desire to see the Billikens do well in common.

[JMM28]

19 minutes ago, 615Billiken said:

How so? Sincerely interested in your opinion. New student here (grad) and trying to get the lay of the land.

I’d agree with 05 that he is weak. Fr Biondi, the previous president, ruled with an iron fist. He got a lot done but made lots of enemies in the faculty and other parts of SLU. With this hire the board seems to have gone with a complete 180. Pestello comes off as the type trying to please everyone which has led to a few situations that have been bungled. 

[RiseAndGrind]

4 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

I’d agree with 05 that he is weak. Fr Biondi, the previous president, ruled with an iron fist. He got a lot done but made lots of enemies in the faculty and other parts of SLU. With this hire the board seems to have gone with a complete 180. Pestello comes off as the type trying to please everyone which has led to a few situations that have been bungled. 

SLU's enrollment is up for the first time in a while with the highest average ACT score ever. He's doing something right. 

[rgbilliken]

I see nothing wrong with this particular statement. What would we have him say instead? 

[Old guy]

Forgive me for being antagonistic but sometimes it takes a lot of strength and courage to appear weak. I think the important thing is that Pestello will do his best to keep SLU from becoming an area of confrontation and strife. To be done properly both sides of any confrontation may need to have ways to voice their concerns in a peaceful way. We will see what happens.

[billikenfan05]

15 minutes ago, JMM28 said:

 Pestello comes off as the type trying to please everyone which has led to a few situations that have been bungled. 

My favorite running joke is Pestello's heritage ambiguity.

[JMM28]

16 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said:

SLU's enrollment is up for the first time in a while with the highest average ACT score ever. He's doing something right. 

I don’t think he’s doing a poor job, just that he’s weak. He has been better lately in the leadership department, seemingly. Hopefully that continues to trend upwards. 

[Zink]

Pestello has done an excellent job of navigating a political minefield. The fact that his willingness to foster dialogue is considered a sign of weakness by some is unfortunate. I don't think I'd want the strong leader to which some are alluding. SLU hasn't made negative national headlines despite being at the epicenter of today's civil rights movement. That's a win. In fact, I'd argue that if we were to look closely at the manner in which Pestello listened to people who just wanted to be heard that we'd realize his approach has diffused several fraught situations, and that his example should be followed by those elsewhere. 

[billikenfan05]

6 minutes ago, Zink said:

Pestello has done an excellent job of navigating a political minefield. The fact that his willingness to foster dialogue is considered a sign of weakness by some is unfortunate. I don't think I'd want the strong leader to which some are alluding. SLU hasn't made negative national headlines despite being at the epicenter of today's civil rights movement. That's a win. In fact, I'd argue that if we were to look closely at the manner in which Pestello listened to people who just wanted to be heard that we'd realize his approach has diffused several fraught situations, and that his example should be followed by those elsewhere. 

I find that openly defying (a perfectly reasonable) law of the land to be poor leadership.

[615Billiken]

8 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I find that openly defying (a perfectly reasonable) law of the land to be poor leadership.

In no way did he ever openly defy the law of the land. I am assuming you are referring to his message regarding DACA. 

He was very clear in saying that "We will take every action within the law to protect all members of our community" and that "  SLU will not allow access by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to student records information (including immigration status) without a subpoena or other legal requirements." 

He is very clear in saying that SLU will support students impacted by this to the degree that is allowed by law. The law does not say that a university can't educate someone who is a DACA recipient, or not a DACA recipient for that matter. 

 

[brianstl]

16 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I find that openly defying (a perfectly reasonable) law of the land to be poor leadership.

I may not be  fan of the position, but I am not going to get upset with Pestello for not staking out a position that is in direct defiance of the Catholic Church's position.  SLU is still a Jesuit institution.

[billikenfan05]

31 minutes ago, 615Billiken said:

In no way did he ever openly defy the law of the land. I am assuming you are referring to his message regarding DACA. 

He was very clear in saying that "We will take every action within the law to protect all members of our community" and that "  SLU will not allow access by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to student records information (including immigration status) without a subpoena or other legal requirements." 

He is very clear in saying that SLU will support students impacted by this to the degree that is allowed by law. The law does not say that a university can't educate someone who is a DACA recipient, or not a DACA recipient for that matter. 

 

Not here to discuss politics

21 minutes ago, brianstl said:

I may not be  fan of the position, but I am not going to get upset with Pestello for not staking out a position that is in direct defiance of the Catholic Church's position.  SLU is still a Jesuit institution.

I can understand that POV

[Cowboy]

11 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

Not here to discuss politics

I can understand that POV

-not intending to take this thread off the rails,  I can't say welcome back because I don't see that you ever left the board

[almaman]

I was going to point that out yesterday. Like Larry David quitting SNL. Welcome back the more the merrier within reason.

[Zink]

1 hour ago, 615Billiken said:

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

I find that openly defying (a perfectly reasonable) law of the land to be poor leadership.

In no way did he ever openly defy the law of the land. I am assuming you are referring to his message regarding DACA. 

He was very clear in saying that "We will take every action within the law to protect all members of our community" and that "  SLU will not allow access by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to student records information (including immigration status) without a subpoena or other legal requirements." 

He is very clear in saying that SLU will support students impacted by this to the degree that is allowed by law. The law does not say that a university can't educate someone who is a DACA recipient, or not a DACA recipient for that matter. 

 

Yeah, if ICE or someone else shows up and demands student records through legal channels, I'm sure that SLU would cooperate. This is the position of every academic institution that I am aware of, and there is no prosecutor who would take Pestello or SLU to court over this.

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

I may not be  fan of the position, but I am not going to get upset with Pestello for not staking out a position that is in direct defiance of the Catholic Church's position.  SLU is still a Jesuit institution.

This is an important point. US Law is not the highest authority on SLU's campus, for better or worse.

 

EDIT: Also, shout out to everyone for keeping this a respectful discussion about SLU and not about other people/things.

 

[majerus mojo]

2 hours ago, Zink said:

Pestello has done an excellent job of navigating a political minefield. The fact that his willingness to foster dialogue is considered a sign of weakness by some is unfortunate. I don't think I'd want the strong leader to which some are alluding. SLU hasn't made negative national headlines despite being at the epicenter of today's civil rights movement. That's a win. In fact, I'd argue that if we were to look closely at the manner in which Pestello listened to people who just wanted to be heard that we'd realize his approach has diffused several fraught situations, and that his example should be followed by those elsewhere. 

Yep. Didn't even realize people could take issue with these types of statements, which seem like PR 101 in 2017, and make the U look very aware/prepared if nothing else. I don't understand what he's been 'weak' on exactly, am I missing something?

[JohnnyJumpUp]

4 hours ago, brianstl said:

I am so looking forward to working downtown tomorrow.

I recommend taking the day off.

[thetorch]

4 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Honestly his responses to events have painted him as a pushover in my opinion. Not go get into politics but I completely disagree with his position on illegal aliens on campus.

 

Also his wife, WOOF.

 

4 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Pestello is a cuck

 

2 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Not here to discuss politics

 

I'd rather read Coach314 or Vtime's posts than this dreck.  I guess you changed your mind about quitting the board.  Anything I can do to change it back just ask.

[NH]

4 minutes ago, thetorch said:

 

 

I'd rather read Coach314 or Vtime's posts than this dreck.  I guess you changed your mind about quitting the board.  Anything I can do to change it back just ask.

Agreed. This is gross.