I just love it when I’m ahead of the news.
Here’s the New York Times on the problems at George Mason University, where massive Koch Bros donations were the quid of the pro — putting their massive thumbs on the hiring of professors. (Or is that the pro of the quid? Oh, who cares? You know what I mean.)
The neat thing is, it’s a student group, Transparent GMU, that’s exposed this:
A group of student activists sat in the library at George Mason University this past week feeling both vindicated and violated.
The group, Transparent GMU, had sued the university and its fund-raising foundation last year after it was denied requests for documents that it suspected showed how deep-pocket donors were given undue influence over academic affairs. After a recent court hearing in the case, the university released those documents, some of which appeared to affirm the group’s suspicions.
“It feels like transparency Christmas,” said Kailey Adkins, a sophomore at George Mason and a Transparent GMU member. But, she added: “I mostly feel deceived and disappointed. G.M.U. breached my trust and sense of security in my education.”