November 3, 2008

Another College President Quits After Drunken-Driving Arrest

Rick E. Amidon, president of Baker College of Muskegon, part of a multicampus system in Michigan, is the latest in a series of college presidents to exit office after being accused of driving drunk.

Mr. Amidon, who is 49, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance, The Muskegon Chronicle reported. The police said Mr. Amidon was “crossing the center line and weaving, and had run another vehicle off the road.” He resigned on Saturday.

According to the newspaper, Mr. Amidon, the college’s president since 1995, had been on medical leave for the past three months. His absence followed a police investigation of a harassment complaint against him, although no charges were filed over those allegations.

Other college presidents who recently faced drunken-driving accusations include the leaders of A.T. Still University, Davenport University, the University of Evansville, and the University of Mary Washington. —Paul Fain

Comments

1. Amidon started well, becoming a college president at age 36! Shame that its ended this way

   — zico    Nov 3, 03:55 PM    #

2. Any of them on the Amethyst Initiative list?

   — C.S.    Nov 3, 03:56 PM    #

3. We suuuuure do look like we’re practicing what we preach, when we’re telling college freshmen not to drink – while college presidents are getting busted for drunk driving.

   — ap    Nov 3, 03:57 PM    #

4. Alcohol is without a doubt one of the most toxic and dangerous drugs there is. It is not only responsible for vehicle accidents, it rots the body, destroys families and marriages, is implicated in 90% of spousal and child abuse, and leads to severe and chronic depression and suicide. I can’t believe it’s legal.

   — Dee Dee Pontiac    Nov 3, 04:01 PM    #

5. Perhaps the drinking age needs a maximum as well as a minimum.

   — Prof Smith    Nov 3, 04:04 PM    #

6. And not to long ago, it was coaches, I guess Presidents didn’t want to be left behind!

   — MCA    Nov 3, 04:08 PM    #

7. Because alcohol is legal hence easily available, it’s causing more damage than the illegal drugs. What’s worse is that even the ministers and church leaders, who publicly oppose alcohol sale on Sundays, indulge in drinking. What an example they set for others!!!

   — JR    Nov 3, 04:10 PM    #

8. Following Dee Dee Pontiac’s argument, if alcohol is so terrible per se (as opposed to the morons that abuse it), all guns should be outlawed too as apparently they are capable of wreaking havoc. Discuss.

   — hallelujah    Nov 3, 04:14 PM    #

9. I agree with the whole gun comment. People argue that its not the guns that take/change peopless live, its the people using them. Some would argue the same about alcohol, that it is not the alcohol that takes/changes peoples lives, but the people using it. No matter what both are detrimental to societies around the world.

   — Melvin David Enloe    Nov 3, 04:29 PM    #

10. “Drink little wine for thy stomach’s sake. But, wine is a mocker.” Some ministers use real wine for holly communion for the sake of the stomachs of congregation’s members.

    — Hii    Nov 3, 04:31 PM    #

11. None of these presidents have signed the Amethyst petition. Here’s the list:
    www.amethystinitiative.org/signatories/

    — Paul Fain    Nov 3, 04:44 PM    #

12. I don’t know if Amidon is from Michigan, or attended college there. If he did, he was probably there when one of the earliest “21” drinking age laws passed in 1978. He would have been 19.

    Might I speculate that this period in one’s life may establish an attitude toward alcohol of secrecy (as it is forbidden) and overindulgence (because you gotta get it when the getting’s good)?

    — swish    Nov 3, 04:55 PM    #

13. As to # 4 above (Dee Dee) I think we did outlaw alcohol once before. It was a resounding success as I recall from history. I think there is some evidence that alcohol in moderation can actually be beneficial … it’s the abuse that’s the problem.

    — jay    Nov 3, 04:59 PM    #

14. This is such sad story. I want to share my story and hope you will all bare with me.

    I go to receptions and events all the time as part of my requirements as a company owner. I always have a couple of classes of wine or a couple of martinis. No more than two believe me because I am usually driving.

    Now, here is the point of the story. Last Easter, Iwas working in my garden cutting down trees and quite enjoying working in the garden.

    At some point in this work out, I hit myself on the head with the “machine that I do not remember the name of”.. They took me to the hospital and the result of this story is that even though I had just a big martini….I was at the limite of ,15 on the alcohol test. I was shocked. And the only reason I am telling everyone this story….is that even though we have only one stiff drink…we are over the limit….I am also telling this story to my 21 year old son.

    So, believe me, we can no longer drive even afteronly one stiff drink….as we used to cal it.
    AndI think we should be telling this to all our students.

    This is not meant to be judgemental in any way. Just to let our students know that just one drink puts us over the limit for driving and being open to an even bigger citation.
    RTJ

    — Renee Jones    Nov 3, 06:55 PM    #

15. RTJ – Sharing your experience was a service to anyone who reads these comments – thanx.

    — TDD    Nov 3, 11:18 PM    #

16. Alcohol is a drug? I thought it was something to share with friends having a nice conversation or a good meal, or a dancing party. I did not realize that I could be part of the “Wild Bunch” for some people. Or because that I am part of a church I would be grilled not only in this world because I drink true wine (and not that of Wal Mart)… By the way, was not wine part of a holy meal? I did not pay attention if decaf was served instead as well.
    Sorry, I really think that when we want to create monsters, we are fantastic. I would say that you have to stop drinking whenever you cannot share a smooth conversation (like when you start trying to change the world pounding the table or start yelling that you actually got married with someone that was not your real love) ( and you are sad for both cases anyway). Specifically on the aforementioned problem: Drinking too much is there, very clear, students really do not/ cannot hold a conversation and go straight toward their famous contests mixing, jumping, snoring, and ciao…

    — ALS    Nov 4, 01:14 AM    #

17. Μηδέν άγαν. Greek for “moderation in everything.” Observed by the good old Greeks. So stop pious bellyaching, and use God’s best gift to mankind: brain. Some of you seem to have it in the state of either atrophy or near con genital lethargy.

    — Dag von Lubitz    Nov 4, 06:22 AM    #

18. PS. Con genital ought to be congenital. The pious may misinterpret the former and insist I propose a substitute for DUI, the eager may just jump right into another campus-wide frenzy…

    — Dag von Lubitz    Nov 4, 06:32 AM    #

19. We have an alcoholic in office that never gets caught. Why can’t this happen at CSU?

    — Fed Up    Nov 4, 06:55 AM    #

20. Anyone who even uses the term “alcohol abuse” has very little knowledge of addictions and the long term impacts of alcohol use. Abuse is a term used by the industry to place blame on the user. It is a legitimation for selling a dangerous product. We have a culture of binge drinking at a young age, the younger one is when consumption begins the higher the chance for addiction, which does in fact lead to chronic depression, violence, and suicide as it erodes the brains ability to reason. Young people are targeted in advertising, and are hooked before they know what is happening.

    — pontiac fan    Nov 4, 07:54 AM    #

21. I reiterate that people need to start accepting responsibiltity for themselves so we don’t have to make an entire societal change because some individuals have an addictive personailty, or maybe even just an arrogant outlook i.e. the “I can handle my liquor” brigade….

    Step up and start thinking before acting. This isn’t a new concept, but it needs bringing back to the fore.

    PS: What’s with the whole Pontiac thing?

    — hallelujah    Nov 4, 09:30 AM    #

22. We as a socity are prone to crying for restrictions on individual freedoms when we hear or witness people abusing those freedoms. Did we forget how to take responsibility for our own actions and adopt too much of a sheep mentality?

    — Mark de Goz    Nov 4, 09:54 AM    #

23. RTJ … you had a MARTINI and then proceeded to cut down trees!?! A typical “shot” has 1.5 ounces of alcohol, equivalent to a 5 oz glass of wine or a 12 oz beer. A martini has 2.5 oz. of gin plus 1/2 oz. of vermouth. It’s really the equivalent of 2 drinks.

    — jay    Nov 4, 10:52 AM    #

24. There is freedom of choice. There are consequences for choices. Humans have a habit of choosing things even when they know they are destructive choices. I offer the example from the Old Testament: Eve knew the apple was bad, and she chose it anyway. I wonder if it is a coincidence that both ‘apple’ and ‘alcohol’ start with the same letter?

    — rodney whatley    Nov 4, 10:52 AM    #

25. People that actually think that the bible is fact aren’t equipped to debate about anything—after all the answers are all there for you…..why think?

    — what??    Nov 4, 01:07 PM    #

26. rodney whatley: Apple Martini?

    — Ann Tree    Nov 4, 02:42 PM    #

27. I don’t know the latest in this case but I see Amidon was accused not convicted. I guess these days an accusation is the equivalent.
    Dee Dee may not have been around the last time we tried the illegal and forbidden bit. It made a lot of really bad guys very, very wealthy and a lot of deliberate murders.
    What ever the answer to the problem is, outlawing it surely is not the way to go.
    IUf it happens, all the sweethearts that made millions out of our current economic scene will have new place to invest the money they have squirreled away.
    P.S. In passing, may I insert I am not overjoyed at the election results by I sure as hell am relieved.

    — AW    Nov 5, 11:03 AM    #

28. I use to work for Rick at Baker of Muskegon as the Dean of Technology. While this is a tragic thing it is not something he cannot bounce back from. He was on just about every board and committee there is in Muskegon and was always running somewhere. I suspect a mid life and burn out caused him to have a meltdown. There was never a hint he had an alcohol problem, then again, there never is. But I do think his arrest is the result of a binge due to depression rather than a problem with alcohol.

    Unfortunate that his career as a college president is most likely over, at least in the Muskegon area. He did a wonderful job taking Baker from 1400 students in 1995 to over 5200 in 2008.

    Hopefully, his Vice President of Academics M.A. Herbst will not take his place.

    Mr. Cummings, the president of the Baker system needs to use much wisdom here on whom he selects as a replacement of Rick.

    — K. Miller    Nov 8, 02:16 PM    #

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