Official SU (Gold-Finished Medallion) World Globe: Just $295

Jane M. Lillestol
Vice President, Office of Alumni Relations
Syracuse University
820 Comstock Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-5040
      

November 4, 1992

Dear Ms. Lillestol,

I have just received in the post your letter offering the “Official Syracuse University World Globe.” This is one of the most offensive pieces of mail I have received in quite a while, and I feel I must express my disgust at this misuse of the name of Syracuse University for marketing purposes on behalf of some outfit in Pennsylvania (exactly what is Wayneco Enterprises, anyway?)

The letter is printed on what appears to be a facsimile of the letterhead of your office. As I assume you are aware, Syracuse University regulations, as presented in the On The Staff publication, prohibit solicitation during work hours; solicitation in this regard is understood to include both fund-raising not directly connected with one’s job, and the distribution of political material.

I am perhaps in the minority among the “Alumni and Friends” to whom this missive is directed, in that I don’t view the opportunity to purchase this $295 globe as a service offered from you to me. My assumption is that Wayneco makes a sizable profit from the sale of these globes (and indeed that had I attended any of several dozen other esteemed institutions of higher education, I should be presented with a similar “opportunity” on their behalf). I suspect that Syracuse University also realizes some profit from each sale, which I suppose is the questionable argument for this letter’s being licit. Nonetheless I cannot shake the idea that SU paid someone, and probably several people, to produce a mailing to market Wayneco’s wares.

Each globe, I am told, is “personalized” in that it is adorned with “a gleaming 24 karat gold-finished medallion re-creating in precise, three-dimensional detail the Official University Seal.” One is led to wonder whether many of our financially strapped students would see appropriate symbolism in the seal’s being preserved in gold, but let us leave that aside. When Syracuse University made the decision to abandon the use of the official seal for most purposes in favor of the burnt sienna logo we have all come to know, the stated reason was that the seal was demeaned when used for other than official purposes. Chancellor Eggers gave the example of the seal’s being used on boxer shorts, contending that such use presented an unfortunate image of Syracuse University, running counter to our attempts to present ourselves as an institution to be taken seriously. What image of the institution do we convey in putting the official seal on a Wayneco globe?

I am offered the chance to own one of these “Official Syracuse University” globes in commemoration of the quincentenary of the voyage to the “New World” by Christopher Columbus. This “particularly American anniversary” is not in fact one I wish to commemorate. That there has been a mild bit of controversy surrounding the observance of the 500th anniversary should not be news — it was in all the papers. Apparently your office, on behalf of Syracuse University, has decided that the possibility of realizing a quick profit is sufficient justification to insult indigenous and African American “alumni and friends”, and to offend any of us who may not share your vision of “one of the most significant milestones in history.” I would not expect the administration of SU to echo my opinions on this controversial subject, but I was surprised to be slapped in the face by such a blatant endorsement of traditional racist history.

I take it from this letter that your concern for financial gain exceeds your concern for the feelings of those of us on the receiving end. However, in this time of right-sizing and declining student enrollment, the image which we as representatives of Syracuse University present to the public is crucial. Not only is it simply wrong to sanguinely offend many of our “alumni and friends”, it may well also be costly. I implore you, in future, to take some greater measure of care in future in deciding what goes out over your name. A measure of discretion is appropriate even if it might mean delaying a money-raising opportunity. As George Eliot counseled, “A stone is silent and offendeth not.”

Sincerely,
Blaine De Lancey
      

cc: Chancellor Kenneth Shaw
    The Alternative Orange
    The Daily Orange