Maybe it can be taken for granted at times, but for 238 years Washington College has been a remarkable beacon of enlightenment and tolerance for the Eastern Shore. 

Born as a testament of George Washington’s character and citizenship,  the 10th oldest college in the country has been a source of exceptional scholarship and distinguished alumni fulfilling the founders’ vision to provide to the new nation citizens and leaders with the gift of critical thinking. The entire Eastern Shore is and should always be grateful for its existence, proud of its accomplishments, and supportive of its centuries-old mission. 

The Spy certainly does so. Indeed, to be fair, this publication is a product of Washington College alumni. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Spy always has had, and will continue to have, a disproportionate bias in Washington College’s favor. 

Nonetheless, the Spy must fulfill its own mission and speak critically about the institution when warranted. In fact, a review of our editorials will show a consistent concern for its future, including challenges with leadership as it refines its mission for the 21st Century. We take no pleasure in these commentaries. 

But the events and circumstances leading up to and after the institution’s abrupt cancellation of a student production of “The Foreigner” are alarming. 

The use of the word “institution” is intentional here. While there is always an opportunity to point fingers at decision-makers, it is rarely helpful to the school or the community. The administrators and faculty involved in this rushed decision were well-intended. It is best to recognize that all organizations or governments (including the Spy) are capable of systemic folly of the highest order at times. 

This was one of those times. 

Published in 1983, the play tells a moral tale about confronting xenophobia and racism in a rural Georgia hotel against a backdrop of white supremacy and the KKK who work to take control of the lodge. The protagonists take the moral high ground and vanquish the evil ones from their lives in the final scene. 

In short, if one was looking for smoke to yell “fire” in a crowded theater, this would not make the list. The College made a capital error in not allowing the play to be performed as scheduled. 

The word folly may be too generous a term when recounting a series of events that led to this act of academic censorship. All of which was compounded by the fact that the play itself stands up to bigots and bullies. It stretches the intellectual imagination to see how this play would be any different from a performance of To Kill a Mockingbird with its racially charged scenes or the equally sinister Nazi characters in The Sound of Music.

Equally discouraging was the rationale that the play’s performance had become a safety issue, when the cancellation came several days before confirmed reports that a driver of a pickup truck had yelled racial slurs at students. The reports appeared to be retroactively conflated as a justification to cancel the play. 

In the end, Washington College’s decision to cancel the play may be the byproduct of a complicated world of increasingly heightened political and cultural sensitivity. Nonetheless, censorship, in this case, was a sign of an institution out of sync with its core values. Every time censorship is used, it draws into question a school’s genuine commitment to the liberal arts’ highest purpose to have students think critically.

Adding to this botched process, the College has not provided any serious explanation as to why the concerns about the play were not raised during the 23-months between approval and the point at which the director, cast and crew were ready for dress rehearsal. It seems a substantial misuse of student and staff time and college treasure.  

Beyond the fact that the College canceled the wrong play for the wrong reasons, it was the worst kind of intellectual retreat at the worst of times. As the school was shutting down The Foreigner, the nightly news was filled with footage of college students in Hong Kong bravely fighting in street battles to protect their right to free speech. It also came at a time when UC-Berkeley safely allowed the arch-conservative Ann Coulter to speak on campus. 

As Washington College picks up the pieces from this most unfortunate moment, there is hope its leaders will share with its community what it has learned and what it must do to reinforce its commitment to liberal arts education and the training of free-thinking citizens. 

Provost DiQuinzio,
Dean Feyerherm;

Your outrageous decision to cancel the senior capstone production of the award-winning play ‘The Foreigner” at the very moment that the students were about to perform the dress rehearsal was rash, ill-justified and shameful, bringing dishonor to yourselves and to the academic institution that you represent. I am writing to you, and copying the President of the College and the Chair of the Board of Visitors & Governors, to demand a public apology to the theater students and faculty who have been traumatized and victimized by your actions.

Your November 8, 2019 email to parents and the all-campus email that preceded it only compounded your error and illustrate that your actions were made in ignorance and in haste. You were unfamiliar with the play and cannot have taken the time to read and discuss it with those in the theater department who have, or to understand the way that the issues it raises about bigotry and intolerance are addressed in this production. You have now joined a single institution – a high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota – in censoring and cancelling production of Larry Shue’s award-winning play, which continues to win acclaim for its numerous revivals since its Off-Broadway debut in November 1984.

Your glib statement that parents should understand your decision in the larger context of an ongoing and evolving effort “to be a community that prioritizes inclusiveness and the ability to articulate one’s perspective with an effort toward finding greater understanding, effecting positive change, and strengthening communication among all of our students, staff, and faculty” is belied by your cowardice and refusal to recognize this as precisely the kind of teaching moment that could have created the “brave space” that would advance those ideals. Instead, you gutted a segment of your community – my daughter among them – and made them targets of uninformed accusations of racism from those who objected to the play and who now associate them with racist ideas simply for being part of this manifestly not racist production. You privileged “Callout Culture” and denied members of your community the opportunity to constructively engage with difficult or uncomfortable ideas. Shame on you!

Your assertion that your act of censorship “does not diminish the months of hard work, collaboration, emotion, and thoughtfulness that students invested in the production—nor does it lessen all that they have learned through those efforts” is grossly disingenuous. What they have learned may indeed be valuable, but it is not the sort of lesson that a responsible institution of higher learning would seek to engender. They have learned that their voices do not matter, for they were not among the “members of the student community” with whom you claim to have consulted. They have learned that they may be subject to the whim of arbitrary and capricious authority. They have learned that their investment in a college-sanctioned theater production can be undone whenever a community voice objects to any of its content. They have learned that they will not be protected from the backlash that your decision has empowered.

You compelled your faculty colleagues to cancel the play while the students and director were on stage for the dress rehearsal, and stood silently watching their grief and distress. You did nothing to comfort them. You did nothing to address their pain. Your only concession was to allow a closed performance of the dress rehearsal, and neither of you congratulated them on their performance. You did not even offer to come and help them strike the set. You did nothing to anticipate or ameliorate the trauma that you have caused. Your belated meeting with the director and cast on Saturday only elicited an apology from you when they told you they needed one.

I call it cowardice. I call it cruel. I call it censorship and abuse of power. I call it intellectually dishonest and a mockery of the educational and community values you cite and that Washington College purports to espouse. This is your mess to clean up. Do not sweep it under the rug. Own what you have done and apologize publicly for the unintended but undeniable harm you have caused.

Timothy B. Abbott

CC: Chair Stephen T. Golding
President Kurt Landgraf

Photo by Jamie Kirkpatrick

It would be safe to say that the Chestertown Spy staff were not the only ones worried about the dramatic changes the Sultana Education Foundation was making for its beloved Downrigging festival this year.

Over 18 years, the Downrigging has become the one event, for many, that successfully captured the true essence of Chestertown’s ethos with its unique blend of history, culture, scholarship, and sense of fun. And while The Spy understood the Sultana’s thinking that Downrigging had to evolve, there was an unspoken fear that this effort to upgrade and expand its programming, including the formal addition of dozens of bluegrass performances, would radically and permanently change the tone and climate of this town’s beloved fall weekend.

There was good reason for that anxiety. Sultana has been the pride and joy of Chestertown since 1997. Beyond pursuing its mission of connecting “people to the Chesapeake Bay’s history, ecology, and culture,” it has also evolved into being intertwined with the best elements of Chestertown itself; a subtle, sophisticated community proud of its heritage and intellectual curiosity. 

So when we heard over the summer that the Sultana’s leadership had decided to shake things up for the 2019 Downrigging, it was sometimes hard to suppress the thought that while the board and staff motives were understandable, a Downrigging 2.0 concept was messing with success.

It is human nature to protect the things we love, and the idea of Downrigging morphing into a music festival was seen as a perilous proposition. While there was considerable sympathy with the fact that Sultana has lost money on this fantastic and expensive weekend of nautical programming since 2001, there were countless examples of town festivals losing their identity and purpose in their attempt to become more “hip” to expand attendance.

Undoubtedly, Sultana leaders also knew there was an inherent risk in offering a new Downrigging experience. Drew McMullen, president of the organization, along with its board members, had built this successful organization by being known for a “steady Eddie” culture, and a mature approach to change. The shift for Downrigging 2019 was seen as a bit out of character.

But like almost everything the Sultana has done since its inception, the new and improved Downrigging was a smashing success. Not only did it keep its cultural foundation in tack, but the addition of bluegrass also led to record-breaking attendance last weekend. Over 3,000 flocked to the new performance village, downtown retailers saw unprecedented traffic in their shops, restaurants and bars were full, and visitors were left amazed by the beauty of the new Cerino Center at the Chestertown Marina.

The take-home message after this remarkable weekend is two-fold. One is that taking this kind of risk pays off. The second is the reminder that never second guess the Sultana Education Foundation.

The Spy

Chestertown Wards 2 and 4 voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. South Queen Street resident Tom Herz is challenging two-term incumbent Linda Kuiper. Ward 4 Candidate Meghan Efland is running unopposed to fill the seat currently held by retiring Councilman Marty Stetson, who served three terms.

The Chestertown Spy has strived to deliver thorough coverage of the candidates and the issues. Visit Election 2019 where The Spy has compiled our print and video coverage, including video interviews with all three 2019 candidates, as well as video coverage and print reporting of the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum.

As voters head to the polls, The Spy believes a great number of residents want the Chestertown Town Council to restore public confidence in the town’s financial sustainability. Spy reader Jeff Maguire hit the heart of the issue: Chestertown is taxing its residents out of their homes, and they cannot sell them because the taxes are so high.

Maguire echoes a consistent desire: Town council members need to bring meaningful accountability and reform to Town Hall operations. Maguire points to annual tax increases and aggressive assessments that have put him on track to experience a doubling of his home’s property taxes in 15 years. Shifting police duties from the town to the county may seem sensible, but the public and the Kent County Commissioners have concluded it’s “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” for which there is no apparent political will. Town residents like their local police department.

The long term picture is not so bleak. The marina renovation is now done and is beginning to meet operating expectations. Additionally, the impact of the Mayor and Council’s risk with Enterprise Zone tax benefits has resulted in substantial commercial investment, evidenced by the LaMotte Chemical facility expansion and Dixon Valve & Coupling’s decision to stay in Chestertown and build its international headquarters and industrial campus. In the years to come, the tax incentives will expire, and as Mayor Chris Cerino once said, “Ten years from now the Mayor and Council’s bank account will be flush.”

It is important to remember that when Cerino and his slate took office, they found a grim picture: empty storefronts, stagnant tax revenues, aging population, risk of losing a significant employer, and the ill-advised 2012 Marina Purchase Bond Agreement that was approved by then-Mayor Margo Bailey without public input, a council vote, or a professional advisor. The terms of the bonds prohibited commercial development and saddled the taxpayers with a $150,000 annual bond payment with no prepayment before 2032. It stifled any refinancing to accomplish critical infrastructure improvements. Sources close to the financing contend that with proper advice and council input, more favorable terms could have been secured, but questions were never asked. Fortuitously, Cerino was able to build a coalition that included the town council, a banker, and citizens to finance the marina renovations so grants could reimburse the effort.

The Spy recommends several steps that would restore confidence.

Model 10-Year Tax Revenue Impact of Economic Development Incentives on long-term revenue

Local governments cannot budget by speculating on revenue sources. Still, they can inform themselves and the taxpayers by modeling revenue projections from taxes generated from commercial investment underway as a result of Opportunity Zone investment, Enterprise Zone tax incentives, and other economic development incentives.

Maguire and his fellow taxpayers are the unsung heroes who have been footing the bill for the marina bond deal payment, as well as the tax hikes to offset the county’s withdrawal of the tax differential payment.

Prepare a succession plan for a town manager

Succession planning for Chestertown should not be the 800-pound gorilla in the council chambers. Chestertown has been well served by its Town Manager, Bill Ingersoll, for over 44 years. Ingersoll is approaching 70, which by all measures, is an outlying retirement age for civil servants. The town has not replaced a  manager since Ingersoll succeeded Bill Nicholson in the 1970s. The council should study and develop a modern job description, including considering the requirement of a Masters in Public Administration or Public Accounting, experience with economic development and other best management practices.

Build a productive relationship with the county

The Kent County Commissioners and the council should work cooperatively to restore some portion of the tax differential that the commissioners rescinded, which created a $250,000 hole in the town’s annual budget. We need cooperation and resolution of this issue so that we can focus on our future. Kent County and Chestertown are close to an economic boom that could just as easily slip away. Kent County has invested heavily in a fiber-optic network, while other jurisdictions took no action. We are poised to be a high tech hub if we work cooperatively for the outcome.

Outside investors are watching to see if this small, rural county has the ability to work together work the future. The county has adopted two goals that will require cooperation: 25,000 residents by 2024 and rolling the red carpet out for business. This means our leaders must support our public school system so it is attractive to prospective employees; enact tax and zoning policies that promote economic sustainability; and commit to a unified effort to secure the future of our hospital.

We encourage all Ward 2 and 4 voters to get out and participate. We plan to have preliminary election results on Tuesday night.

–The Chestertown Spy