President Barker's General Faculty Mtg Speech

On December 15, 2004 at the General Faculty Meeting, President Barker gave the following speech http://www.clemson.edu/pres/speech/121504.htm . His theme is the budget of the university. Despite budget costs, he says, we have managed to improve Clemson University in all areas over the past three years. President Barker encourages the assumption that less state funding has become the status quo as a guideline to the thinking and planning of expenditure in the future. We have the capabilities, he claims, as proven by the past. Barker argues against the move toward privatization of public education and asserts that our founding fathers established public education to secure the liberty of democracy. That liberty is being threatened. Clemson will pursue efforts to receive state funding and to fight privatization, but will use their continually cut budget to plan Clemson's future growth.
President Barker's speech is an example of the diverse application and extensive power of rhetoric; rhetoric is not confined to politics. His speech is also an example of knowledge and acceptance of consequences of truth, and responsibility belonging to the holder of the truth. He, and Clemson, accept the responsibility to act according to what they know to be true about the economy and what they know to be true about the intentions of the founding fathers who established public education. Therefore, Clemson will learn to operate on the given budget while yet improving, and will fight privatization of public education to retain the freedom that "flourish[es] only among educated people."