In case you missed it, an April 2 email from one of Ohio University's major donors and OU Foundation trustee was recently discovered and has been making waves in the Athens community. Who is this man? Well, it's none other than Steven Schoonover.
Schoonover's name might not ring a bell for some, but journalism and communication students like me know the name. In fact, it's boldly displayed across the entrance to the new (Not quite finished? Will it ever be?) Schoonover Center for Communication in the heart of OU's campus. Students are eagerly awaiting classes in the sparkling new communication school building, but the big project came with a big price tag. Schoonover is to thank for picking up the hefty bill. He donated $7.5 million to the project.
Back in March, many in the OU community were against the university paying for a $1.2 million home for President McDavis and his wife. (TheMcDavises moved from the president's residence on campus after a bat infestation.) When discussing the hundreds protesting the purchase, Schoonover told Ohio University administrators, in the email in question, to "play the race card" against those who opposed the purchase of the new home. In the April 2 message, he wrote “handle it the same way the Democrats do every time Republicans attack President Obama ...They label them racists." The Columbus Dispatch also reported that Schoonover called demonstrators "loudmouths."
The Athens NEWS received the controversial email in question after a public records request for Ohio University and OU Foundation administrators' emails during the move of President McDavis and his wife that created controversy in March. Schoonover's offensive email was sent to members of the OU Foundation's executive committee, which included two OU administrators.
It's ironic that Schoonover was addressing a controversial subject, but in turn, made controversy himself.
After the discovery of the email, a petition was started to have Schoonover resign from the OU Foundation and to have his name removed from all university buildings, including the communication building he heavily backed.
Schoonover has since apologized for his remarks in what he thought was a private email in an op-ed for The Athens NEWS.
“My off-the-cuff statements were not intended to be serious, nor do they reflect my actual feelings toward the faculty and students at Ohio University,” he wrote. He also noted that his comments about "playing the race card" were meant to be "tongue-in-cheek."
Tongue-in-cheek or not, Schoonover should have known better than to make such comments. Being in the position of secretary on the OU Foundation Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee, he should have known that that is not an OK statement to make. In a time of racial tension in the U.S., it was a very poorly thought-out idea. We should be past this type of speech. And you know what they say, what you put on the internet doesn't just go away.
Private or not, his comments shine a negative light on his character. Should we have someone like that in a powerful position in the OU community? That question has certainly been raised.
Does he deserve to have his name stripped from the Schoonover Center? I don't know. That's a tough question to answer. On one hand, he's done a lot for OU and has helped give us this beautiful new communications building. On the other, he's made some comments that can be seen as hurtful and definitely not appropriate for his position. It's just unfortunate that he felt the need to say such things and not think of the consequences. Time will be the judge of what will happen here.
Was his apology as heartfelt as he said it is? I don't know, but I know he sure hopes this controversy is over. But this will not be the last we hear of this.
For more about this story, read here.
