Texas Higher Education's Culture of Stonewalling Reaps its Poisonous Fruit

"In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me."
Matthew 26:55

Mind-boggling report in the Trib this morning about U of H's inexplicable Kendal Briles' hire:

A bid to better their football team’s offense put University of Houston officials on the defensive this past week.

It’s a posture several schools have had to adopt in recent years after announcing they’d hired coaching staff – like UH’s new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and offensive line coach Randy Clements – who had worked at Baylor University and departed under the cloud of a sexual assault scandal.

Those universities, like UH, have been quick to offer assurances that their hires were carefully vetted, including through conversations with Baylor officials. But their attempts to set minds at ease have been hampered by one major issue: While Baylor has blamed "athletics and football personnel" for much of the scandal, it has never revealed publicly who specifically did what wrong.

....

When asked if UH asked Baylor whether the two hires were responsible for the misconduct mentioned in the “Findings of Fact” document – and whether or not Baylor provided an answer – Rosen said the school was “not going to characterize the conversations with specific universities.”

He said, “The university did its due diligence and was satisfied with the results.”

Tracy, the survivor and activist, said UH’s hiring decision “sends the wrong message.” She said she spoke with UH’s football program last year and that it felt “kind of like a punch in the gut, when I read which school it was” that had made the hires.

Both Kendal Briles’ and Clements’ memorandums of understanding with UH contain a morality clause that says the coaches can be fired if new information about their conduct at Baylor surfaces, according to the Houston Chronicle. But “merely having been on staff at Baylor and performing [their] job duties while allegations of misconduct were made” is not alone grounds for termination, the clause reads, in part.

The report is worth reading in full, but as you read it do remember that Kendal Briles is literally the guy who was caught sending text messages facilitating racially charged sexual assaults.

Yes, it's that bad.

But as you scratch your head wondering how an institution of higher education in the State of Texas could hire a football coach who has never provided a compelling explanation for the afore mentioned text messages he sent while coaching at another institution of higher education in the State of Texas...consider a separate incident at another institution of higher education in the State of Texas.

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On May 1, 2017, the University of Texas experienced it's second on-campus MURDER in thirteen months:

One person was killed and three were injured in a stabbing attack Monday afternoon on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, officials said.

Two of the students injured have been released from the hospital, university officials said.

Earlier, officials had said only two people were hurt but UT-Austin police said later that three were wounded. Details on their injuries were not available.

The suspect is a UT student and is in custody, campus police said. His possible motive is under investigation.

Keep in mind: That awful incident happened 7.5 months ago.   Since then, the Board of Regents has met FOURTEEN times.  But not a single public discussion of on-campus security following two on-campus murders in thirteen months.

[Note: Yet somehow they manage to find time to assemble a bid to manage the nation's nuclear weapons.]

[Note II: It almost sounds quaint at this point, but remember when their worst acts of stonewalling involved pay-to-play admissions scandals?!?]

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While the ongoing Baylor/U of H sexual assault fiasco and the murders at UT are the most flagrant examples, they're hardly alone.   Off the top of our head, we can think of incidents at A&M, Tech,  and Texas Southern that the respective administrations have never addressed sufficiently.  And that's just what we know about.

What will the next horrifying scandal be?!?

Bottom Line: People are literally getting raped and killed because institutions of higher education across Texas would rather obfuscate than clean house.  As mind-boggling as that sentence might be to read, that's reality.  How long will the public tolerate it?!?