Letters: Les Wexner sent 'flying monkeys' after Ohio State President Kristina Johnson
Les behind the curtain
“Ding dong the wicked witch is dead," said the great and powerful Oz, otherwise known as Les Wexner, the man behind the curtain working the levers of Ohio State University and his board of flying monkeys, who carried out his bidding to remove Kristina Johnson from the president’s office.
More:Power struggle: Sources vary on clash between Ohio State's Kristina Johnson and Les Wexner
(Feb. 16 “Power Struggle?”) It appears to be the classic story of a small man with a big wallet and an even bigger ego disparaging the reputation of a strong woman who dares to threaten his hold on power.
And OSU suffers for it.
For a university cannot attract the best and brightest to a place that simply pays lip service to excellence and academic freedom while it is beholden to an ego-driven billionaire and his friends on the Board of Trustees.
Like Oz, the sterling reputation of OSU seems to be an illusion: behind the curtain is nothing more than a tool to prop up one man’s grandiosity which sacrifices progress and innovation in the process.
Anne Comarda, Columbus
The 'gold' ruled.
When I learned of the sudden resignation of OSU President Johnson (Feb. 16 “Power Struggle?”), my immediate reaction was "the law-and-order Christians" got her.
OSU's Kristina Johnson: 'I won’t apologize for pushing us all to achieve' levels deserved
Too bad she could not wait it out.
Wexner is 85 and he can't be operating at present capacity for much longer. Certainly, the Golden Rule operates.
Those who have the gold get to make the rules.
Susan Joyce Sabo, Avon
Where is faculty's outrage?
Wasn’t it Les Wexner who stepped down under a cloud from his own corporation in 2021?
As an alum of OSU, I am appalled at what is happening within the Board of Trustees. Does Wexner have some special expertise (other than money) that prepared him to oversee a medical facility?
Why are faculty not up in arms about a private (albeit wealthy) citizen taking over their academic and administrative roles?
Letters: King Les Wexner ruling Ohio State. Board should be ashamed Johnson resigned.
The job of any land grant university Board of Trustees is to ensure that the institution is serving the needs of the state and the taxpayers and leave the academic decisions to those hired and qualified to make them.
This OSU Board has run amuck.
Dr. Carol S. Browne, Thornville
More:How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
Satirist's balloon should have been popped.
This newspaper has made a concerted effort to provide its readers with beautiful commentary from a wide selection of writers in our community.
More:President Biden is dividing America with his hatred of balloons. Is nothing sacred?
The poignant, civil viewpoints are welcomed. Please continue to nourish our desires to be informed with diverse perspectives.
I like how the Dispatch encourages open-mindedness.
But who was running the Dispatch by allowing the absurd Feb. 18 column by Rex Huppke, "Is any balloon safe in Biden's America? Maybe not" a balloon hack?
The Dispatch has reached its monthly quota of publishing one article to appease those living in a distant reality.
Daniel Finn, Worthington
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: OSU trustees acted appalling in Lex Wexner in Kristina Johnson fight
