Let me get this straight: the University of Maine’s athletic director signed off on a deal with Texas based media conglomerate (Clear Channel) that was negotiated in an apparently smoke-filled backroom atmosphere by a Missouri-based consulting firm (Learfield Sports). What has happened to local institutional control?

I believe that the actions of the University of Maine should be held, at a minimum, to the standards of honesty, openness and respect for intellectual property rights that they demand of their students. It is hard to see where they are achieving those high standards by partnering with Clear Channel, a company which, in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, practiced censorship by compiling a list of over 150 songs and artists which it forbade its stations to play and which, more recently, was involved in the corruption scandal of Pay-for-Play or Payola with record companies.

I am offended by this decision. Add my name to the list of angry sports fan alumni of the University.

Jock Crothers

Mount Desert