Presidents should and can have private lives

Traditional imagery depicts universities as institutions throwing open the floodgates of knowledge for their students. But after a photo from his July Fourth boating excursion surfaced, it seems Iowa Central Community College President Robert Paxton is more practiced at filling young people with beer than with learning.

In the contentious photo, Paxton appears to be holding the tap on a keg of beer open directly above a young woman’s mouth. Lucky for his career, the only Iowa Central Community College student aboard the boat was his own son, who only attended the school the year before. Moreover, an Iowa Central trustee has come forward to agree with Paxton’s argument that because the party took place outside campus and working hours, it is strictly a private matter.

Whether the incident reflects negatively upon his role as college president is less clear. Paxton’s dismissal of the incident as “private” indicates that he doesn’t consider his out-of-office activities as having any bearing on his job. However, critics have defined his job as being a role model for his students. They say drinking on the boat was a less-than-stellar behavior.

Even if they’re correct – and we’re not certain they are – in saying Paxton’s job is to be a 24/7 angel for his students, his behavior isn’t necessarily bad. All the people who were shown drinking in the photo appear to be older than 21. Hence, the president hasn’t modeled any illegal behavior for his students. And by the time students get to college, they should be able to understand they will not be able to legally do everything their president legally does.

What’s less than admirable is how Paxton has responded to the situation. When confronted about his behavior, he came up with a number of lame excuses reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s 1992 assertion that he “didn’t inhale” when he had smoked pot. These included saying the keg was broken and suspended over the girl’s mouth for no good reason. If he is to be a role model for students, blatantly lying about legal behavior is a pathetic example.

Legally accountable or not, it seems university presidents are going to have to take a lesson from the rest of us and be more vigilant about where their party photos circulate.