Our view: To the victor goes the hydrant

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November 23, 2009

Anonymous The Salem News Mon Nov 23, 2009, 06:00 AM EST

Among the partisan battles that can roil academic institutions (like the one a few years ago that toppled Larry Summers, now Obama's top economic adviser, from the presidency of Harvard University), this one ranks among the tamest.

Endicott College President Richard Wylie is taking the heat for having bet on the Yankees to finish ahead of the Red Sox this past season. The prize: Having the winning team's colors painted on a fire hydrant on the school's Beverly campus.

As we are all painfully aware, the Red Sox had an early exit from the American League playoffs this fall, while the Yankees went on to win the World Series — for the 27th time. And now Wylie is insisting that his bet with Kim Peckham, director of student activities at the school, be paid.

And why shouldn't he? Many students at the school hail from New York and southern Connecticut where the Yankees are the favored team, and Wylie's own grandfather was a New York City police officer who worked the occasional detail at Yankee Stadium.

Fair is fair. So today the blue-and-white pinstripes will be used to decorate the chosen hydrant. We can only hope it becomes a favorite stop for those who walk their dogs through Wylie's campus.

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