It's probably PROPER of the ProJo to mention that Jerzyk is webmaster of the liberal blog RIFuture.org.

I had worked for Ralph Pappito for a number of years.Some during the time he formed Glass-Tite Industries located on Branch Ave in Prov.,and some during his years at the helm of Nortek.

My positions at both companies allowed me the privilege of working closely with Ralph.

The reported reactions of some of the board members to his use of the "n...." word is unacceptable. The following days have seen others come out of the woodwork tossing in thier own "poliically correct" opinions or statements.
They were not there . They did not hear the staement. They could not have judged "motive" or intent to be racist.
As recent as this morning on the TV show, "The View" the female guest panel member(African American) said she uses the word all the time . As an example she said she has told her husband
"...to get his "n.... word butt out of bed"
There is NO doubt in my mind this woman is NOT a racist.
Ralph Pappito has worked hard and long to be in his position as a retired business man continuing his efforts to support Roger Williams Law Univ.
with both his time and his generosity. It has been reported his financial contributions to the Univ. is approximately $7 million.
If agitated persons suceed in removing his name from the Univ. the entire State of Rhode Island would hang its' collective head in shame.
Ralph Pappito is an Honorable man...he called for aa special meeting of the Board to apologize to them for his choice of words during the meeting.
It should END there.
The media should stop using unfortunate incidents similar to this as fodder for thier "news" programs.

80 years of being a good person, decades of good work, and one word causes a witch hunt. I'm PC myself, but the treatment of Mr. Papitto is a disgrace.

(Does Alan Shawn Feinstein ever donate money to anything without the requirement that his name be plastered all over it?)

I'm assuming then you are all also in favor of the university giving back every dime that this accomplished man so generously endowed to your school. Typical liberal knee jerk reaction. Read "1984" sometime, George Orwell saw this coming

I am a 1998 graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law and was a member of the student government when the Trustees (at the time) voted to reward one of their own by naming the Law School after Ralph Pappito. The students fought adding Mr. Pappito's name on the basis of his violation of Federal law (S.E.C. regulations) in various stock transactions. We lost the battle on the naming rights at the time, as money from Ralph Pappito spoke louder than the promises made by the University to the student body. We did, at least, win the concession of keeping the Pappito name off of our diplomas. Not only is taking Ralph Pappito's name off of the Law School the right thing to do now, it is 9 years too late.

I will never forget Ralph Pappito's long, inarticulate and rambling speech at graduation. He was more interested in thumbing his nose at Suffolk University - bragging how he received a honorary degree from RWU - when he couldn't succeed as a young student at Suffolk. What Ralph Pappito did was buy his degree from Roger Williams, and quite frankly, the Trustees that gave it to him were no better than the degree mills that advertise in the back of cheap magazines.

Ralph Pappito represents the past; a time when Rhode Island was laughed at and had a bad name. Using language as he did at the May Trustee's meeting only emphasizes that.

Regardless of money, no single name - not Ralph Pappito and not Alan Shawn Feinstein (whose work with food pantries I greatly admire) - should be put on the law school. The only name should be that of its Puritan namesake - Roger Williams. The name should be restored to the name used from 1994 - 1998, simply put ... Roger Williams University School of Law.

Peter T. Clark, Esq.
Mansfield, MA

This is a joke. Papitto gave millions of dollars and 40 years of his life to Roger Williams. If there is no Ralph Papitto there is no law school in the state or RI, and Roger Williams is not the school it is today. While I think saying a word like that is inapropriate, the reaction has been overblown. Its not like he said the word on the radio or at graduation, he said it in private. I think thats the biggest issue. Had he dropped the N bomb in a public forum I would be all for his punishment. However thats not the case.

I can't help but wonder if Papitto was black and uttered that word (as it seems alot of blacks do), would this be as big an issue? I am not defending the man or the use of the N word, which I find offensive even as a white person, but the word is either offensive or it isn't. I guess I find it odd that black people can use the word freely, but when someone of another race uses it, it's offensive. You can't have it both ways.

What is at issue for Rhode Island's School of Law is whether the standard required by the American Bar Association is being upheld. In order to even obtain an admission to law school one must demonstrate a near impeccable reputation. Yet how does one justify that at the very helm of this Rhode Island Law School its Chairman falls into a most unfavorable light due to his use of discriminatory language. If you at Roger Williams Law, in fact, are training Representatives for the people, judiciously educated against discriminatory motives or intent, how can one possibly condone language and behavior from the top so adverse to this intention. This behavior is absolutely contrary to the standard of legal education set in this country by the American Bar Association. I am not only deeply offended by the use of this remark, but more so with a society that does not comprehend the magnitude of such a racial epithet that is unexcusable and warrants removal of the Chair's name from Rhode Island's Law School.

In the end, does it really matter what this guy said in the context of a private meeting? In the final analysis, people are way too sensitive. Law students are hypocrites (and I am a second-year law student; not at RWU). Many will eventually defend guilty pigs who killed their wives or molested some kid or embezled millions of dollars from stockholders and raided employee retirement accounts. But, when a major donor to the school says "nigger" in private, these whiny law students are up in arms. Get over yourselves! Let me see if I have this right: It is okay to break the law and buy your freedom or get off, but it is not okay to utter a racial slur which hurts no one?