Twitter Controversy Ends With Ursinus Board Chairman Resigning

COLLEGEVILLE, PA -- The Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Ursinus College has resigned, following the discovery of a series of tweets that were labeled as offensive and contrary to the spirit of the institution.

Philly.com reports that Ursinus President Brock Blomberg told faculty in an email Thursday that Michael Marcon, the Chairman and the CEO of an insurance brokerage, would be resigning.

The tweets were mostly written three or four years ago and have since been removed by Marcon. They led to another board member resigning in protest. The messages were discovered by students Emily Brush and Jordan Ostrum.

Marcon, a 1986 graduate of Ursinus, recently took over as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. He is also the CEO of Equity Risk Partners, a San Francisco-based firm.

"As a generally liberal campus, or at least one that makes an effort to respect all people, one would think that our board—and especially its Chairman—would reflect those values," Brush wrote. "Or, at the very least, make his public social media accounts not openly degrading to almost every single demographic."

Here are some of Marcon's deleted tweets which have generated the most discussion:

• (retweeted) "Bruce Jenner got 25 K for speaking engagements. Caitlyn gets $100K. What wage gap?"
• Yoga pants? Per my DTW visual survey, only 10% of users should be wearing them. The rest need to be in sweats - or actually get dressed."
• "Gotta love a janitor with a 'Ban Fracking Now' sticker on his bucket. Barack is clearly reaching his target demographic."
• "Single longest line ever. 'Excuse me, where is the first class line?' Oh right, Bruce is a democrat. We are all equal. Bummer."
• "Instead of car pool lanes, I need a 'I am more important than you are' lane."

Philly.com reports that Marcon issued a statement after he resigned: "I was proud of the way the Ursinus faculty and staff allowed me to address a situation that has been so concerning to the Ursinus family. However, in order for true healing and true growth to take root, it needs to occur under fresh leadership of the board of trustees. The students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni deserve the greatest chance for renewal at this time, and so I believe it is in the best interest of the Ursinus family that I resign as chair of the board of trustees."

One fellow board member, 1987 Ursinus grad David Bloom, wrote a letter to the Ursinus College student newspaper, the Grizzly, to announce his resignation on Saturday.

"Upon reviewing Mr. Marcon's published comments, I read strong evidence of an elitist, racist, sexist, body-shaming, anti-LGBTQ, exclusive minded, and generally intolerant individual," Bloom wrote.

Bloom added that he did not believe Marcon had genuinely apologized in his statement, and that his words were contrary to the spirit and purpose of the university. "I do not believe in thought police or political correctness," he added. "That said, it is my belief that...a spirit of acceptance is not in question or a point to be debated."

The controversy has riled up emotions on both sides, with students taking to Twitter saying that they won't donate if Marcon is forced out. Others, meanwhile, say that they won't donate until Marcon resigns.

Patch file photo.