Not Even a Hand Slap?

As noted below, Toby Huyssen, the ORU student who was alleged to have written an e-mail calling on approximately 350 of his fellow students to come to the Government Department offices to sign up to volunteer in the Randi Miller for Mayor campaign, hasn't seemed to have suffered too much from his admitted ethical lapse.

On the surface, the email appeared to have been written by government professor Tim Brooker [you can see a scanned version of the e-mail here]. However, when the proverbial item this the proverbial fan, and someone suggested the IRS might want to look into ORU in general and Dr. Brooker in particular, the explanation was given that young Toby actually wrote the e-mail, using Dr. Brooker's university owned computer and neglecting to remove Dr. Brooker's electronic signature from the bottom.

Not many believed the cover story at the time. However, even those who did believe it agreed that Mr. Huyssen had committed a pretty serious ethical lapse. The kind of ethical lapse that gets students dismissed from their respective institution of higher education.

Not so fast you say. Oral Roberts University is a Christian institution and therefore one should not be surprised that they forgave Mr. Huyssen to the degree that he wasn't ousted from the school, despite having drawn the ire of the IRS down upon the house that Oral built. Temper this, though, with the fact that Dr. Brooker, himself, was allegedly forced out by the university.

So even if Mr. Huyssen wasn't expelled, wouldn't you suppose that his indiscretion would at least preclude him from receiving accolades from the University he had shamed?

Well...if you answered "yes"...then you're going to be perplexed.

On April 4, 2006...less than three months after the alleged phony e-mail was sent out...Tobias Huyssen was among a handful of students at an honors banquet. [You can see the .doc version of the evening's program, here].

Local luminary Hans Helmerich was the featured speaker and Toby was to be honored as the outstanding student in the International Community Development program.

Wouldn't one think that such an honor would not have been granted to someone who had admitted to an action that had brought bad publicity to the school and had placed his professor...the father of his roommate, in fact...in the cross hairs of public scrutiny? No? Then read the text below, which graced the evening's program as an explanation as to why everyone had convened to honor the school's honorees.

Oral Roberts University fosters excellence. It is an institution devoted to equipping people for success and maximizing their potential. Tonight we gather to give tribute to those who demonstrate excellence in their respective fields of study. These chosen individuals exemplify the uncompromising academic standards of the University. Tonight we gather to give honor to whom honor is due, as mandated in the book of Romans.

The men and women being recognized this evening have distinguished themselves in their pursuit of excellence. Such distinction did not come easily. Talent alone did not bring them here. It took more than a good idea or wishful thinking to set them apart from their peers. At a university dedicated to helping individuals reach their full potential, the award recipients had to rise above the good and the great in order to reach the superior.

I'm guessing you are now laughing too hard to read on. I know I can barely type right now.

Draw your own conclusions. Mine involve a trusting student, a sword and a handy place for said student to fall upon said sword for the greater good.

Way to "reach the superior," Toby.