To whom it may concern,

We are writing to add our voices to the chorus protesting the closing of the Philosophy program at Middlesex University. At a time when universities worldwide face deep pressures from all corners to realign their missions towards profit-centered, market-driven agendas, it seems utterly unconscionable to voluntarily close one of the world s best-regarded centers for thought on the grounds that more revenue might be generated in some other way.

When a department devoted to thought cannot survive, what then has the university become? And if, as has been widely reported, Philosophy is being closed because Middlesex administrators have determined it makes “no  measurable  contribution” to the university, so much the worse for measurable contributions. ( (

We believe this decision to be a grave error and we are hopeful that the administration will soon see the wisdom in its reversal.

Sincerely,

Students of the Graduate Program in Literature and the Polygraph Editorial Collective Duke University:

Leah Claire Allen, Sara Appel, Luka Arsenjuk, Fiona Barnett, Corinne Blalock, Zach Blas, KB Burnside, Gerry Canavan, Katherine Costello, Amalle Dublon, Abraham Geil, Alexander Greenberg, Elise Harris, Justin Izzo, Jessica Jones, Melody Jue, Lisa Klarr, Abigail Langston, Clarissa Lee, Beatriz Llenin-Figueroa, China R. Medel, Kevin M. Modestino, Allen Beye Riddell, Lucas Perkins, Ryan Vu.