Change UofSC Board of Trustees now and preserve integrity of state’s flagship school

Make changes now

It would appear with the two recent flawed University of South Carolina (UofSC) Board of Trustees’ presidential searches that the current board is incapable of conducting a presidential search.

We are all aware of how the Caslen hire turned out, but, by the luck of the draw, our incoming president, Dr. Michael Amiridis, seems an excellent fit and is well-qualified.

(1) The current Board is too large - 21 members on any board is too many.

(2) As seen with the Caslen hire, the governor should not be an ex-officio member. As the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) executive pointed out: When the governor is on the board, it is hard to distinguish intentions to influence the Board from conversations that are supposedly just informational.

(3)This restructuring should also include eliminating the state superintendent of education.

(4) The board has too many members who have been serving since the 1980s. Term limits?

It appears our S.C.Legislature does not hesitate to deal with issues like abortion which should be determined by individual women and their physicians. Why not now deal with an issue that should concern all South Carolinians – the future of our major flagship university?

Lois Lovelace Duke, Ph.D., Columbia

Why make visit?

Imagine our shock to see the headline: “McMaster makes trip to Mar-A-Lago to visit with Trump.”

Why would McMaster visit past President Trump at this time? At a time when Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell clearly states that the Republican Party made two drastic mistakes: First, denying the Jan. 6. insurrection occurred; and second, censuring two Republican senators for investigating the insurrection.

Equally important is the comment by former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley regarding Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6 riots and siege of the capitol when she stated, “Former President Trump let the country down.”

Our question: Why would any leader with good judgment visit the twice impeached and currently investigated past president at this time? A time when Haley and McConnell are both willing to go on record as openly condemning both the insurrection and Trump’s actions – unlike McMaster, who seems to lack the judgment necessary to govern the Great State of South Carolina.

J.P. Flood, Irmo

A voter’s lament

The South Carolina State Constitution states that voters shall have free and open elections, just as the U.S. Constitution calls for free and fair elections.

In South Carolina, however, the will of the voters is being dictated by gerrymandered maps. These maps guarantee that Republicans will be elected and re-elected because the maps drawn along party lines favor Republicans.

If the races are not competitive, are they really fair?

Why would a person from any other party invest time and money in running for an office when the Republican candidate is guaranteed to win?

The voters are not electing the people whom they may want to represent them. They are rubber-stamping candidates the legislators prefer.

Our only chance for a say about candidates will be in the primaries. After that, we know what the election results will be.

Is this process fair? I don’t believe I am the only person with a voter’s lament.

Elizabeth Jones, Columbia

Clean up our capital

I loved living in Columbia for 20 years and have enjoyed visiting many times since I moved to Georgetown and then Conway.

Sadly, I have observed that the highways and roads in, out, and around Columbia and Richland County appear to be a dumping ground for trash. What is going on and why has this been allowed to happen and continue to happen?

This would be a disgrace anywhere in our state, but it is even more embarrassing in the capital.

Why has this not been addressed by the city, county, governor, members of the legislature…anyone? Let’s see some action here.

Anne Derrick Creel, Conway