CU Benson portrait defaced
Vanessa Miller, Daily Camera
Published February 4, 2008 at 12:41 p.m.
Updated February 4, 2008 at 3:31 p.m.
Photo by Linda McConnell, Special to the Rocky
Students walk past a portrait of Bruce Benson in the Benson Earth and Sciences Building on the CU campus in Boulder last week. The portrait was found to be vandalized early today.
The portrait of University of Colorado presidential finalist Bruce Benson that hangs in the campus building bearing his name was vandalized over the weekend, CU police said this morning.
Police said they discovered the vandalism to the oil painting in the Benson Earth Sciences Building today, just hours before Benson — the sole finalist for CU's top job — was scheduled to visit the Boulder campus.
Somebody scrawled the message "I've given CU enough $ for an individual right-wing nut like me to be CU's president" on the painting with Wite-Out, CU police Cmdr. Brad Weisley said.
"The Wite-Out is right on the oil portrait," he said.
Weisley said the painting last was seen in good condition about noon Sunday.
"It's disappointing, more than anything," CU Regent Tom Lucero said this morning after learning of the vandalism. "You would hope there would be civil discourse and tolerance of all viewpoints."
Investigators are working to determine when the doors were locked and who used an access card to get inside the building — which was opened in 1999 in Benson's honor.
Benson, an oil and gas executive and former chairman of Colorado's Republican party, was named the only finalist in CU's presidential search last week. That decision has sparked considerable controversy, despite Benson's vow to shed his partisan ways.
He was scheduled to visit CU's campus today starting at 11 a.m.
CU police said they don't have a suspect in the portrait vandalism yet, but if a person is arrested he or she could face a felony charge.
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February 4, 2008
12:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
rickg19611 writes:
Typical leftwinger activity in Boulder. Maybe we can trade the entire town to Mexico for.... nothing in exchange.
February 4, 2008
1:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
But, but! Don't ya know that ONLY evil right wingers would do such a thing. (This must be part of the "vast right wing conspiracy) The benevolent, inclusive, granola eating left wingers would never do such a thing! The left wingers are the "inclusive" people.
Yea, right Wilber.
Scott
February 4, 2008
1:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
Longshanks writes:
"You would hope there would be civil discourse and tolerance of all viewpoints."
HA! Since when are liberals interested in civil discourse or tolerance of anything other than their own radical left-wing agenda?
When Ahmadinejad was invited to speak at Columbia University, liberals hailed it as a triumph for free speach. They praised themselves until they were blue in the face for being so accepting and "progressive". And yet, those same liberals routinely shout down conservative speakers such as Ann Coulter, Karl Rove and basically anyone to the right of Barack Obama on the political spectrum. When was the last time a liberal speaker was shouted down at a speaking engagement? "Progressive" my butt...they're the fascist thought police is what they are.
Listen over the next few days as they tell you that this was an exercise of free speach. But then ask yourself, "had it happened to a portrait of Ward Churchill, would those same hypocrites be calling this a hate crime?"
They name streets after liberals: they're called "one-way"...
February 4, 2008
1:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
Steve writes:
You guys are an example of civility and tolerance. Perhaps everybody should be as mature as you guys.
February 4, 2008
2:09 p.m.
Suggest removal
forwhatitis writes:
Be carefull, or the RMN is going to re-post this story under a different headline and erase all of your posts and let it start over.
February 4, 2008
2:27 p.m.
Suggest removal
rickg19611 writes:
Let's review leftwing logic....
1. A vandal commits a crime in vandalizing private property.
2. People criticize the actions of the vandal.
So what is the response of leftwingers? Is it to join normal people in criticizing the felony crimes of the criminal? Of course not. It's to attack those who criticize such criminals as being an "example of civility and tolerance".
Proof that in leftwing looney world, the lunatics claim people are "intolerant" if they criticize criminals. And then they wonder why normal Americans consider leftwingers to be pro-criminal.
February 4, 2008
2:28 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Steve sez: "You guys are an example of civility and tolerance. Perhaps everybody should be as mature as you guys."
Yup, we take after the inclusive libs up at the University of Cocaine, Stonerville.
Scott
February 4, 2008
2:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
Hoss writes:
Typical moveon.org type stunt. I'm sure one of these wackos will somehow blame Bush for this. 'The Nation is so polarized and this was the only way we could speack out'
Liberals only believe what they want to believe and they refuse to listen to or respect other viewpoints... or personal property.
February 4, 2008
3:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
Steve writes:
Na, I don't care what you say, I just think we can all be a little respectful in how we say it. I'm not a looney leftwing, nor do I do cocaine, nor am I a stoner, nor am I a wacko, nor am I a liberal, nor am I as disrespectful as the rest of you.
About 2/3 of the comments following the news articles is insulting venting by people that aren't polite or respectful. Sometimes you get some good thought provoking responses. If I were the newspaper I'd moderate out the garbage so only valuable thoughts were posted here. Reading the crap some of you guys post is a waste.
So why am I even replying to you guys? Good question. I guess I wish my few posts could clean up the crap and improve the content a little.
February 4, 2008
3:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
HolierThanThou writes:
Only a conservative whack-job would use White-Out.
Liberals prefer to deface things with Magic Markers.
February 4, 2008
3:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
CUEmployee writes:
Scott says; 'Yup, we take after the inclusive libs up at the University of Cocaine, Stonerville'.
That was pretty funny back in the 80's when people actually did cocaine. Did your grades not allow you access to the University or are you just mad at the world in general?
February 4, 2008
3:46 p.m.
Suggest removal
hikingartist writes:
Come on, this is a pale Animal House shenanigan. It doesn't say anything about any one group, except the dope who did it (who most likely will be caught & expelled & left to wonder if it was worth it). Clean up the painting, bill the offender & move on......dot org. haha, get it?
February 4, 2008
3:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
CUEmployee:
My GPA from Chapman University is a 3.94. Chapman is a private college out in Orange County, California. Chapman does NOT have an NFL minor league team.
Also, I forbade my daughters from attending Coke U, Stonerville. One attends the Colorado Art Institute and the other attends Metro State. Oh, did I tell you that my Metro State daughter ALREADY has a part time job in her career field, accounting?
One last thing. My first degree is an AASEET from Southeast Community College in Milford, Nebraska. What does a UNL or Coke U. lib arts grad say to a Milford grad? "Ya want fries with that?" Yes, that has really happened to me! I thought I was going to die laughing.
Scott
February 4, 2008
4:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
RickyLee writes:
Well, if they do catch the culprit, and try to expell him/her,
CU better hope the graffiti wasn't something plagairized. It takes two and a half years to get rid of someone for that. Nice to see my tax money's wisely spent over there.
February 4, 2008
4:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
Dialogdog writes:
RickyLee said: "Nice to see my tax money's wisely spent over there."
Common misconception. University of Colorado is only barely a state-supported institution. Only 7 percent of its money comes from taxpayers.
February 4, 2008
4:28 p.m.
Suggest removal
timeandagain writes:
Let that be a lesson to CU Alumni as they receive phone calls and letters requesting donations to the school...
All financial assistance will be much appreciated by the entitled, Generation Y liberal punks that have never had to work for anything and believe that vandalism is a political statement.
That is what a faculty of guys like Ward Churchill will get ya!!
February 4, 2008
4:42 p.m.
Suggest removal
ham writes:
More of that open minded, tolerant liberal thinking:
"We love you if you're the right kind of rich; like Stryker, Gill, or Polis. Those folks are the right kind of rich. People like Coors and Benson are the wrong kind of rich"
Seriously, you just don't see people on the right defacing public property and someone's work of art in the name of enlightenment and tolerance. That's only a tool of the left. Shouting people down at public forums, that's a tool of the liberals. You have to love their open-mindedness and tolerance. They show us all how to accept each other, don't they?
February 4, 2008
4:45 p.m.
Suggest removal
BTP writes:
maybe next time, just enlarge a poloroid... just an idea.
February 4, 2008
4:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
Steve writes:
While I don't condone the vandalism, the other issue is all the hatred on this article and others. Have you noticed most articles are followed by this crap? It's amazing how much hatred you guys have. Do you hate everything? Does it make you feel better to post this absolute garbage? Personally I'm disgusted by this crap. What use does it serve for the newspaper to allow this crap on their website?
February 4, 2008
5:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
Spencer writes:
Don't you all think that this was just some smart-ass student? I am a little surprised it is front page news. (Is this on the front page?) Not a big deal to me who the school has as President. Don't really think of it as a political position. Give it to the person who can raise the most money. I hope the football team gets back to National Title prominence. Maybe they can do it without recruiting felons this time.
February 4, 2008
8:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
windbourne writes:
Who says this was a left-wing attack? Benson threatened a die-hard republican with the 527. It seems to me that this could just as easily be a right-wing action. In light of such notables as Craig, Haggard, Abrahmoff, Delay, Hastert, Libbey, Rove, cheny, etc. it would make more sense.
February 5, 2008
5:35 a.m.
Suggest removal
Alive writes:
Steve,
You are a wussy.
Alive