The president of Bowdoin College, Clayton Rose, recently sent out a letter to the campus condemning the murder of George Floyd and challenging the students to use their education to make the world a better place by seeking to “serve the common good.” President Rose should be commended for this position and his willingness to offer justified advice to the students and campus at-large on inequality issues that continue to beleaguer our country.

However, we heard nothing from President Rose regarding the deaths of the police officers around the nation who fought to bring law and order to their communities. He had no wisdom to share regarding the anarchists and looters who vandalized and brutalized an array of businesses and their owners, stealing what they could carry off and leaving a graffiti-ridden trail of destruction. He basically ignored that issue in one short mention. In the case of retired St. Louis police Capt. David Dorn, a looter took Dorn’s life so that he could haul away goods from a pawn shop.

Where is President Rose’s condemnation of these heinous actions? In his tilted sermon to the students he should have also included condemnation of the vile actions of the rioters and looters who perpetrated mayhem and actually eclipsed the memory of George Floyd as well as Capt. Dorn. The students need to hear about truth, fairness, equality and “common good” for all. Everyone deserves justice.

Elizabeth Printy

Damariscotta