Conditions at USM must be reformed

Now that due process has made clear and has remedied the injustice committed against Professors Frank Glamser and Gary Stringer, it is up to the members of the Mississippi College Board to acknowledge the simple truth of what these proceedings imply about the University of Southern Mississippi under the administration of Shelby Thames.

The president's ruthless attempt to fire these two good teachers exemplifies his administration's general use of coercion and intimidation. Slander and character assassination have been published; due process has been ignored or subverted; and collegiality has been replaced by fiat decided on in secrecy.

To judge from Shelby Thames' demeanor during the morning of April 28, as long as he remains in office he will continue to issue the kind of language and take the kind of actions that have made coercion and intimidation pungent elements of the atmosphere at USM for the past two years.

There must be a reformation of these unsavory conditions brought upon the university by the Thames administration.

Dennis Flynn
Professor, Bentley College
Waltham, Mass.