EMMITSBURG, Md. ― Everyone at Mount St. Mary’s University eats at Patriot Hall ― students, faculty and even President Simon Newman.
But the other day, hours after Newman rejected the faculty’s demand to resign, the airy, glass-walled cafeteria split into two groups ― those who supported the college president and those angered by his number-crunching strategies and blunt language, including referring to struggling freshmen as “bunnies” that should be “drowned” if they can’t swim in a demanding academic environment.
Newman’s job at “the Mount” is now in jeopardy, and the uproar over his comments and approach has spread far beyond the mountaintop liberal arts college 60 miles northwest of Baltimore, where midday Mass is still celebrated partly in Latin.
In the cafeteria Monday, scores of Newman supporters sat at light-gray tables near the entrance, discussing changes he’s made or proposed during his 11 months on the job. Those students said Newman has made the 208-year-old Catholic university ― the nation’s second-oldest ― more competitive.
Across the room was a smaller group that included sophomore Louis Lawrence of Baltimore. He said Newman has mishandled his mission and eroded the faith-based foundation that attracted Lawrence to the private school in the first place.
“I don’t think that he’s recognizing that what makes the Mount what it is, is that we’re a small, very close-knit community that is deeply rooted in our Catholic faith and the Catholic tradition and identity,” Lawrence said. “We came here for those reasons, and I don’t think that’s something that should be changed.”
The problem underlying the turmoil at the Mount is the same one confronting many small, liberal-arts colleges: How to survive with a humanities-heavy curriculum that’s short on the business, engineering and technology programs in greatest demand.
