Anne Hopkins: Don’t discredit Davidson

I read with interest the April 3 letter “Avoiding North Carolina” from the “proud” Illinois woman whose grandson has rejected Davidson, his “top choice” college, because of North Carolina’s atavistic and mean-spirited HB2.

My son graduated from Davidson – his top choice, as well – with not only an admirable education but with his integrity and common sense intact. He now is a local surgeon who cares for his patients with heart, intellect and skill – all qualities that were nurtured at Davidson.

To tar a private institution with the same brush that our legislature invites is just as bigoted and narrow-minded as the bill this grandmother cites. If she looks more closely, she will find that bigotry flourishes in different forms in many locales.

I spent four years studying in Princeton, for example, and saw male, black students routinely pulled over on our residential street where nary a white was ever stopped.

Perhaps the smart young man will choose Princeton; it has been called “the Davidson of the North.” Davidson will sail on, its signature honor code unsullied. Perhaps North Carolina will even elect a new, improved legislature that will delete this odious bill and move on.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Anne Hopkins: Don’t discredit Davidson."