Apparently You Can Lose Scholarship Money If Your School’s Chancellor Is On His Phone Too Much

Karl Karlson9 years ago

People who are stuck to their screens are a menace to society. They can’t hold conversations, further the possibility of roadway havoc, and generally come off as having shitty personalities. Alamo Colleges Chancellor Bruce Leslie can now throw himself into the fold of phone junkies everywhere for an entirely different reason — costing his school system $4 grand in scholarship money. Unfortunately, they’re not exactly punishing him.

From Houston Chronicle:

Martha, 69, and Steve Hixon, 72, said in an interview with mySA.com Monday that they have made an annual donation, as high as $5,000, to Alamo Colleges since 2012. This year, though, they contributed $1,000, a decrease they explained in a July 25 letter to Leslie.

The letter reads:

“We are writing to you to register our disappointment in our behavior at the graduation ceremonies of ACCD students in May 2016. The behavior to which we are referring is your attention being directed to your cell phone and NOT to the graduation ceremonies of your students and to the students themselves. We find that behavior to have been disrespectful to not only the students, but also to the parents and relatives of those students as well as to the faculty members in attendance. To date, we have not learned of an emergency situation in which you were involved that necessitated your attention to your cell phone. Should that have been the case, of course, our opinion would be adjusted accordingly. However, given the information we have, we wanted you to know that your actions have impacted our annual contribution to the ACCD. We decreased our amount from 2012-$3000, 2013-$5000, 2014-$5000, 2015-$4000, to 2016-$1000. If you are unable to be respectful of your students, why should we?”

First and foremost, what Leslie did was unprofessional. Unless your house is on fire or your wife is in labor, you shouldn’t be clicking away at your phone in that kind of setting. Be in the moment, Mr. Leslie. In contrast, making a stink about it kind of qualifies as a dick move from the Hixons. You’re yanking that money from a scholarship for nursing students, something that only impacts the person at fault symbolically.

If anything, you’re taking money from the for whom you claim to be so concerned. The man already looked like a clown in the media, so his reputation is pretty jacked up. He issued a public apology in June which addressed the issue and in which he admitted fault. Calling for his resignation (over something pretty trivial) would just be overhyped.

If this was a recurring issue, then the Hixons would be in the right. At this point, however, they’re just beating a dead horse. With that being said, get off your damn phones and act grown. There’s living to do..

[via Houston Chronicle]

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