After I received my undergraduate degree, I came to realize that I had not gotten a very good college education. In addition, I felt that although the college I attended claimed to abide by Quaker morals and ethics, in actuality the Quakerism was merely a cosmetic veneer. As a result, I decided never to give money to the college.
Fast forward to 2024, when Donald Trump chose Howard Lutnick to be Commerce Secretary. I vaguely remembered Howie Lutnick from college. About all I remembered about him was hearing from one of my college friends that Lutnick had become class president, in charge of raising money for the college from his classmates.
Today, the BBC reports that Lutnick had previously lied to Congress by claiming he had cut all ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2005. Lutnick now admits, in testimony given to Congress today, that he visited Epstein’s infamous island in 2012, accompanied by his wife, his four children, and his nannies. No one is accusing Lutnick of molesting underage girls. But Lutnick not only lied to Congress about his ties to Epstein, he also retained his ties with Epstein even after the latter’s conviction of soliciting prostitution for a child. And knowing that conviction, he brought his own children to Epstein’s island. Yuck.
This was the president of my college class. He does not make me want to give money to my alma mater.