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Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the

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Epstein Chronicles. The halls of higher education are littered with

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people that were accepting Jeffrey Epstein's money and his friendship.

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And one of those people is Leon Botstein. And at

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Bard University, where he is the president and a professor,

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the students are calling for him to step down. And

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it was only a matter of time before the ghost

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to Jeffrey Epstein came looking for Leon Botstein. These guys

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were very close, and Epstein was somebody that was donating

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a lot of money to Botstein and was somebody that

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was in contact with him quite a bit. And now,

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rightfully so, people are demanding answers. So today we have

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an article from the Times Union and the headline Epstein

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revelation revived decades of sexual assault controversies at Bard. This

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article was oft by Sarah Trafton, carrying two way radios

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and bedding. Dozens of students barricaded themselves inside Bard College

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administrative building. A banner hung from a window assed why

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does Bard tolerate rape? Outside, more than one hundred students

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gathered in solidarity, chanting whatever we do wherever we go,

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yes means yes. And no means no. Well, I think

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that's a pretty fair statement. Huh. And is there anything

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worse than a scumbag that assaults somebody else? I don't think.

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So here's an idea. Go home, get on the internet,

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take care of yourself, leave everybody else alone. You stick

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degenerate fux. The year was nineteen ninety one, and Barred's

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students were protesting and alleged rapist on campus. An article

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in the student newspaper reported that the young man's father

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had donated money to the college. The college president denied

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having a close relationship with a donor, calling the suggestion childish.

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Oh yeah, I'm sure you had no kind of relationship

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with any of your donors. Huh, none whatsoever. Thirty five

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years later, tensions arising again on Bard's campus amid demands

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for the resignation of longtime leader Leon Botstein after new

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evidence of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, one of the

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world's most infamous sex offenders. On March eleventh, about forty

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students protested outside a building where Botstein was meeting with faculty.

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No more silence, no more fear, they chanted, A safer

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campus starts right here. A banner displayed inside the Campus

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Center building read, Epstein is just the tip of the Iceberg.

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Faculty know what is below. Look, they're not wrong. Jeffrey

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Epstein was just the tip of the Iceberg. And if

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you think he's the only one doing what he was doing,

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you're crazy. There's already another. Jeffrey Epstein operated right under

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our noses. And until we get serious about holding everybody

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that's involved in shit like this accountable, it's just going

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to continue to happen. In the wake of the US

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Department of Justice January thirtieth release of millions of documents

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from its Epstein investigation, Botstein has acknowledged that he knew

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of at least some of the allegations against the financier,

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as well as being previously aware of the two thousand

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and eight conviction that required Epstein to register as a

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sex offender and maintain contact with him anyway. Well, that's

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because he didn't care, just like the rest of them.

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But do you expect that from a professor. We shouldn't write.

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A professor should be somebody that steps up and protects

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people that are under his charge. But instead you have

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this dude hanging out with Epstein. Covorting with Epstein, taking

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money from Epstein, doing god knows what with Epstein, meanwhile,

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not giving a damn about the young people that Epstein

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is absolutely brutalizing. What another building on campus, another couple

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of bucks for you to funnel to one of your

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friends so you can lounder money, because I know damn

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well that money isn't going towards the betterment of humanity,

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just another income source for these people to pilfer. In

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the February edition of The Bard Observer, the student newspaper,

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Botstein told reporters he should have stopped communicating with Epstein

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after Virginia roberts accusations that she was trafficked to men

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became publicly known in two thousand and five. Instead, Botstein

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sent his condolences because that's how he truly felt. Now retroactively,

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he might feel bad because he's facing scrutiny, but at

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the time his actions speak louder than his words. And

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there's no doubt that people like him were more concerned

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about Jeffrey Epstein having to go to jail than they

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were about the girls who were abused. See that from

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the contemporaneous emails between the two considering Botstein's have century

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leadership at Bard. These revelations have raised concerns about the

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college future, but they have also prompted questions about its past. Look. Man,

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when you have a school like this that's already been

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you know, under the microscope previously, and then you have

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somebody like Leon Botstein opening the doors and having Epstein

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be involved, people are gonna have questions, especially now when

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all of this is coming out. And I hate to

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say it again, but I have to a lot of

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this has to do with the legacy media failing you.

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They should have been on these stories. People like me

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only have so much reach, and then you have these

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global outlets that could have broke this story at any time,

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but they chose not to. So it's not that there

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was a lack of knowledge or information, there was a

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lack of willpower on behalf of the legacy media to

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inform you about what was going on. Several students and

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alumni interviewed by The Times referred to Botstein's size to

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Epstein as all too emblematic of bards long standing issues

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with sexual assault that history laid out in lawsuits and

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media reports, as well as accounts of members of the

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student body and former Bard employees points to a darker

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portrait of the idellic Hudson Valley campus, where as recently

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as twenty twenty three, faculty could sleep with students as

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long as they disclosed their relationship. And look, I get it,

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people are eighteen of age. If they want to do

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whatever they want to do, not really my business. But

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when we're talking about the power dynamic between professors and students,

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probably not a good idea. And if I was running

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a university, I would have a policy in place against it,

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because you just open yourself to all kinds of craziness. Right.

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For decades, the college is face scrutiny for how its administration,

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and Botstein in particular, has handled sexual assault rape allegations.

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From twenty fifteen to twenty seventeen, Botstein served as the

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final arbiter in Title nine cases, meaning he was in

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charge of setting the punishment for students and faculty accused

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of harassment or even sexual assault. Jeffrey Epstein's good buddy,

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Leon Botstein is in charge of sexual assault. I mean,

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you can't make this shit up. You couldn't write a

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storyline that's this nefarious. During that period, two female students

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attempted to take their own lives after the administration permitted

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they're alleged rapists to remain on campus. Botstein stepped back

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from his role in twenty seventeen following student protests, but

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Bard's twenty twenty five Title nine policy states that the

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president and or the dean still ultimately oversee the punishment

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of accused faculty members. So basically, what they're saying there

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is that the Skull and Bones Society or whatever the

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fuck's going on, is going to be in charge of

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who is going to stay and who's going to go,

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and what allegations have merit. I'm sure that's a very

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comforting fact for everybody who's been abused, especially these girls

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who are on campus with the rapist who hurt them.

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You don't throw that dude off campus. You don't kick

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him out of there forever. Sure, let's let him run

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around the campus and do whatever he wants. Over the

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past thirty five years, Bart has faced at least three

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Title nine complaints and five lawsuits alleging the administration mishandled

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sexual assault cases, two of which named Botstein in his

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individual capacity. December twenty fifteen, the US Department of Education's

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Office of Civil Rights launched an investigation into Bard, a

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probe the college said was closed in twenty twenty four

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after no systemic issues were found. Attempts to confirm this

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information with the federal office were met with an automated

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message stating that it was temporarily closed. Oh yeah, everything's

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fine here. We did an internal investigation, and everything came

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back on the up, says every organization that's ever been

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involved in bullshit. For many students, the college board's recent

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decision to hire an outside law firm to review Botstein's

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communication and financial dealings with Epstein is not enough. In

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a February twenty second letter, a coalition of students called

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take Back Bard laid out their concerns. There is no

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reason to trust that this independent review of the full

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scope of communication, financial contributions connected to Epstein, and any

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related matters will address or even interrogate the broader culture

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of sexual abuse on the campus. The letter states, there's

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no reason to believe that if this review truly does

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investigate the pervasive sexual misconduct on the campus, that Bard

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College will commit to any tangible changes. And if you

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know you have a problem on campus, and you don't change,

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you should be sued. Now. I'm not going to sit

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here and tell you that every campus can control every student.

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That's crazy. We know that's not true. But if you're

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fostering an environment where this shit's acceptable, then you and

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my friend have a problem, and it would seem to

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me that Bard has a problem. Bard College spokesperson Jennifer

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Strodel said the student group has not contacted college administration

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about the concerns they recently shared with reporters, but that

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the college set up a meeting to discuss that soon

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as we were made aware of them. Cool, get rid

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of Botstein, cut his pension, and be done with it.

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Until you do that, nobody cares. Another group of students,

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Bard ch Er, is pushing back against take Back Bard's

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calls for Botstein's resignation, stating that an abrupt change in

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leadership puts the future of the college in jeopardy and

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will gravely impact some students more than others. Oh yeah,

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let's just keep the molester in charge, the molester's friend,

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molester's assistant, the dibbler's dude. What are we doing here?

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You mean to tell me there's nobody that's better suited

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to take over that position. Nobody that's ever went to Bard.

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No professors or executives could do what Leon Botstein does.

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That's cool. I guess you learn something new every day.

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Bard's lifeline programs for students and scholars from war torn

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countries and dictatorships do not have counterparts in American higher ed.

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A March tenth letter on the group's Instagram account reads.

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The letter goes on to describe Botstein as a maverick

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who took political risks no other college president did. Oh well,

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that just absolves them of everything that happened with Epstein.

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No big deal. So he's the only person that would

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have people coming over from war torn countries and talking

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about war torn countries. If you're so worried about them, boy,

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wait until I introduce you to the girls that Jeffrey

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Epstein in his pals were abusing. You want to talk

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about vulnerable, You want to talk about war torn countries.

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In addition into calling for Botstein's resignation, take Back Bard

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has used organized protest and a petition to demand that

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the administration acknowledge what the group describes as a culture

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of sexual misconduct and institute a no tolerance policy for

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abusers on campus. Well, that seems very fair to me.

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If you're abusing people, you probably shouldn't be on a

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college campus. And I'm sorry if that interferes with your

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pursuit of higher education. You should have thought of that

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before you rape somebody. The list of demands mirror is

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the one that students issued in the spring of ninety one.

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All right, So the article goes on here talking about

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Bard and some of the issues that they've had with

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sexual assault on campus, and like usual, that link will

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be provided in the description box. But for our purposes,

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we're going to finish up that article right here because

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the rest of it just goes into the backstory about

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well went down at Bard. Doesn't have to do with

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Epstein per se, but it just shows you the culture

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on the campus. Now when it comes to Botstein, there's

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no doubt that that dude needs to answer for his

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relationship with Epstein. He's never answered in any meaningful way.

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And I think that there's a lot more to come

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out as we move forward. So we'll keep our eyes open,

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and when we have some more information about mister Botstein,

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we'll get that added to the catalog. All the Information

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that goes with this episode can be found in the

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description box.