Trustee should not resign

The debate between advocates and opponents of abortion raged into IU last week, when an anti-abortion group issued a statement asking trustee Clarence Boone to resign his post. Indiana Right to Life disputes Boone's appointment to the board because he worked as executive director of Planned Parenthood until 1998 and has said he has performed abortions during his 40-year career as a physician.\nThere's just one problem: Boone hasn't done anything wrong and, by all accounts, is as fit to serve the University and its needs as any of the other eight trustees. The University and Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan, who appointed Boone to the position, are right to defend his appointment and criticize the call for resignation.\nAnd that's not to come down on any one side of the controversial issue. The argument between anti-abortion and abortion rights advocates is a worthwhile one and one that deserves both attention and debate. But not in this arena. Indiana Right for Life should concentrate its efforts on expressing its views to a body that can make a difference in the law, not bullying those who have been involved with abortions. Would it really make a huge stride in the anti-abortion effort if Boone were forced off the IU board of trustees? It's doubtful.\nThe bottom line is abortions are legal, Boone once performed them, Kernan appointed him and Boone will serve until the end of his term, which is 2007. End of story.\nBut even if you disagree with Boone's stance on abortions, his qualifications for trustee shouldn't be defined by that solely. He's been the Life Director for the IU Foundation and the President of the IU Alumni Association. He co-founded the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club and served as its National President. He's been the Dudley Turner Physician of the Year, the Director of the Gary, Ind. Citywide Development Corporation and a slew of other positions and honors. \nMore than that, perhaps, he graduated from IU in 1953 and has an interest and love for his alma mater and its future. IU is fortunate to have someone of Boone's caliber in the position, willing to dedicate himself to making the University a better place, even after retirement.\nGiving into calls to resign just because Boone did something that, though controversial, is legal, would be a slap in the face to his distinguished career and his dedication to IU. \nFrederick Eichhorn, who is the president and the longest-tenured trustee of the board, put it best.\n"Clarence Boone has devoted many years of devotion to IU," he said, "and that is what we are looking at."\nFocusing on anything beyond that would be to undermine the ultimate mission of the trustees, which is ensuring the positive future of IU. And that's what this should be about, not another meaningless battleground for the fight over abortion. Boone is a proven leader, a dedicated alumnus and deserving of the position. Here's to hoping he sticks around until 2007, at least.