Note to CU: Settle With The Jerk

By Richard Martin, 7-26-07

	Caption: ....and take your gun with you.

I read yesterday’s accounts of the firing of Ward Churchill with a mounting mix of aggravation and indignation. Not at Churchill himself, who demonstrated himself to be a contemptible buffoon long ago, but at the CU Regents, who should have disposed of this matter at least a year ago.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have one word for you: settlement.

Do you really think that the negative publicity the University is currently enduring (at about 3:00 p.m. MT yesterday CU vs. Churchill was the No. 1 story on Google News) is less expensive than whatever it would cost to pay off this little man and make him shut up and go away forever? It would cost more than the $96,000 plus legal fees you’re already on the hook for—$1 million? Maybe a million-and-a-half? Continuing this farce only gives Churchill what every blowhard wants: a stage.

Here’s what you do: put his lawyer and your lawyers in a conference room, lock the door, and throw in raw meat every few hours. Don’t let them come out until they’ve reached a settlement.

It’s obvious that Churchill is no man of principle, and his price should be relatively easy to discover. Pay it, now.