Taking the fifth

It doesn’t seem long ago that I was a member of the student population of another well-respected Boston area University. I intended to teach history and I ended up becoming a cop. I spent 23 years making regular contact with an assortment of criminals. Some of them had the benefit of an education and a solid background. It was their moral compass that failed them. President Bulger chose not to answer questions posed to him by a Congressional committee investigating criminal activity in the Boston area. His decision was on firm legal ground but it made a mockery of his ability to lead a prominent university. Over the years I watched a number of honest cops risk their careers to defy some of the corruption that infects our institutions. Some of them paid a very high price for their decisions. If my generation has left our sons and daughters content with their college Presidents invoking the Fifth then the Baby Boomers have failed. If President Bulger’s colleagues can accept their boss taking the fifth they lack either courage and/or integrity.

Robert L. Cerra 77 Auburn St. Newton Ma. 02466