Dear Colgate community,

I write you as a concerned member of the Class of 1982. Congresswoman and Colgate alumna (Class of 1983) Claudia Tenney is in the news today for giving a radio interview about the mass shooting at a Florida high school and her comments saying that “…so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats … but the media doesn’t talk about that.”  As a member of the Class of 1982, my time in Hamilton, New York overlapped with that of Congresswoman Tenney. I do not think I ever met Claudia Tenney, but I am a self-proclaimed Democrat of the liberal persuasion and, as anyone who listens to talk radio or Fox News knows, us liberal types are generally wracked with guilt regarding just about everything. So I am truly concerned that something I did as a part of the Colgate community robbed Claudia Tenney of her critical thinking skills and her humanity.  Because nothing but a complete lack of humanity and critical thinking skills could explain Congresswoman Tenney’s comments in the wake of another mass shooting.  Serving in Congress should be a privilege reserved to those actually concerned about solving problems.  Solving problems in a country as diverse in all ways as ours means a willingness and responsibility to discuss serious issues like a serious person, not a proclivity for parroting talking points from the Daily Kos, the NRA or the tinfoil hat, Russian Bot, where everything is a conspiracy crowd. Congresswoman Tenney is clearly not a serious person and I would ask you to do your best to ensure that, this fall, Congresswoman Tenney forfeits the privilege of serving in Congress.

Sincerely,

Mike Foran, Class of 1982