I am a 2010 graduate of Marlboro College. I am happy to say Vermont was my home for four years, but I'm more thankful that Marlboro, Vt. changed the way I will live the rest of my life, not only as a citizen but as an academic and businessperson.
When I heard that Marlboro was being absorbed into Emerson College, I was disheartened. Boston does not possess half of the genuine academic spirit Marlboro beams with.
Education is not something to pursue for its beauty in Boston - it is a stepping stone in an almost-cannibalistic system that permanently compromises students' and professors' mental well-being.
The physical property of Marlboro is the key to the magic of learning, and its features lend to the freedom we as Americans cherish in all of its abstract forms. The loss of the campus will erase this unique American experience and reduce Vermont's national footprint.
Throughout my time as an alumnus, I have seen the president and trustees at Marlboro exhibit poor judgement in terms of their fiduciary responsibilities and recruitment. The inability to attract just 300 students from around America is baffling to me, especially as a businessman with a self-funded company.
Any one of us would have been fired from our positions had we exhibited such lackluster results.