I actually think the YDN is wrong on this. When I left Yale in eighties the place was falling apart and in grave danger of being second rate. In a different age Kingman brewster stood tall for what was right; He was an amazing guy. Still,his presidency cost the University a great deal--not its soul, it is true, but a lot else. When he left the place was broke and in physical ruins and several constituencies were disaffected and angry. Giamatti was a great spokesperson for liberal education but under him the university deteriorated further, strikes broke the spirit of the place--really it was a mess. The college and the graduate schools of the arts, the law school, the medical school--they were always great places--but really they were foundering under the weight of the disrepair and the poverty and despair in the city. Benno Schmidt--the Larry Summers of his time--finished the job. Levin took the place out of its morass. The dude has done a gargantuan job. He's totally transformed the place, I've seen it, he rebuilt the campus, restored faculty and campus morale, make great appointments, revised the undergraduate curriculum, built ties with the city and completely restored the downtown (I barely recognize the place). He's taken n historically parochial university and made it vastly more diverse and international. In the words of the Governor of Massachusetts today at the Faust installation, he has "leaned forward." Surely he has heard the students and national voices telling him to "take a position." Problem is the world is a very divided place and when you do your faculty, campus and alumni take sides. divisiveness rules. You lose momentum, you can't get anything accomplished, all energy is focused on dealing with the current trauma. Sometimes being a steward of an institution and growing and developing it might be the right approach. Im not saying you NEVER take a stand but--almost never. When you do you take a huge risk and you must be prepared to take a side path for a very long time, something most institutions cannot sustain. Individual students and faculty should take stands. Those representing entire institutions may have to focus their attention on the internal integrity of the institution and on keeping the ship on a steady course so its passengers can do anything they want on board.