Letters to the Editor | June 4, 2024

The decision to close the University of the Arts is a devastating blow to students, faculty members, alumni, and Philadelphia. The decision was made prematurely and abruptly. The circumstances have not been appropriately communicated to various stakeholders, and many potential solutions have yet to be explored. There is still an opportunity to save this valuable and historic institution. If we do not do what is necessary to pause the closure and evaluate options to save it, it will result in irreversible damage to our city’s artistic and cultural community, and the loss of a genuine and truly unique local treasure.

Kevin Thurman, Philadelphia

I was saddened by The Inquirer article announcing the closing of the University of the Arts. I graduated from UArts as a music major in May 1974. As I write this letter, I’m looking at the nametag I wore at an alumni barbecue just a few weeks ago — my first time back to the school in 50 years. A short time after my graduation, I decided I needed a “more serious” career path, so I went on to get a degree in accounting and spent 35 years as an auditor. But I never regretted my time at UArts. An intense appreciation for music — something that later led to a love of painting, sculpture, theater, literature, architecture, and more — is something most people never acquire. Yet, I firmly believe I was a better auditor for having discovered Beethoven’s piano sonatas. I am forever indebted to the teacher who shared them with me — Mike White.

Mike Egan, Plymouth Meeting

When I read Kyle Sammin’s column claiming Donald Trump’s guilty verdict is a “stain on the idea of equal justice under the law,” I thought: This guy’s joking, right? To begin with, the premise that most people couldn’t identify the laws broken is a total nonstarter. I can’t cite New York law, statute and verse, but it’s clear the money was paid because Trump feared that the revelation of his tryst with an adult film actress would torpedo his chance of becoming president. He paid her off and then cooked the books to hide it. Not that complex.

However, in some ways, I must agree with Sammin that Trump was treated differently because he is Trump. Any other person accused of multiple felonies would have been denied bail, especially in the case involving theft of national secrets. Any other defendant would have been jailed for contempt after committing violations of a judicial gag order. Any other defendant would not be able to con a large swathe of Americans to pay his legal bills for cheating on his wife. Maybe Sammin was absent from law school the day they taught law.

Jim Lynch, Norristown

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