Talk:Barnes Foundation of Philadelphia
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Barnes Foundation of Philadelphia is part of the WikiProject Philadelphia, an effort to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. |
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[edit] Today's edit
A note to the anon author of this edit: thank you for your contribution, but please rewrite your contribution to be in accord with Wikipedia:Neutral point of view. Otherwise, your change may be reverted, which would be a shame, because it's clear that you have valuable information that would be an asset not only to the development of this page, but also to Wikipedia as a whole. Take a look at Portal:Art -- we've got a lot of red links we'd love to turn blue... --Arcadian 22:59, 14 December 2005 (UTC)
NOTE: Lack of bias has not yet been fixed by the original poster, so it has been tweaked. Left in the "stronger" comments, but added that they are one perspective, in the bigger story. I tried to add the bigger story, taken from press releases of the foundation, the charitable trusts, and others. I linked all of these press released in the "External Links" section for reference. One Request: I have no connection to philadelphia, so I think some of my local naming changes (merion station->lower merion), which were gleaned from the Philadelphia Inquirer could be very wrong. If someone local could have a good read-over it would probably be a Very Good Thing. --chaleur 19:15, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Corrections made
I removed some of the libelous entries and personal opinions about the "decrepit city of Philadelphia", etc. I also added some detail about the terms of the Will, and a few other things.
There is much more to the story, including its governance by Lincoln University, its difficult location in a residential neighborhood, Dr. Barnes' fights with the arts community in Philadelphia, the financially ruinous lawsuit brought by the Barnes' board president against Lower Merion Township, etc. But those details deserve to be presented in a neutral manner, not as an opinion piece more suited to a letter-to-the-editor.
Also, in answer to a comment, Lower Merion Township is the incorporated area in which the Barnes Foundation is located. Merion, Merion Station, etc. are unincorporated areas of Lower Merion Township.
[edit] Comments on the corrections
Thanks for your contributions and notes, 68.166.177.207. You seem incredibly knowledgable about this complex issue. I completely agree with you that inappropriate statements were made in the article, though I agree with Arcadian, that there was certainly valuable information in there too.
But...(sorry).
I'm worried you just biased things the other way. I'm not sure why you took out some of the things you did. There was nothing libellous about what was in there, as it was prefaced with statements like: "They...believe that...". That can only be libellous if "they" do not in fact "believe" it, and since we have a link (Site by former students...) showing us that they do...
Like it or not, the current controversy is an important part of the history of the Barnes Foundation. It is interesting in and of itself, and it is worthy of being recorded. A study of the matter could teach a thing or two to other institutions. I think you may have taken out the (unproven and undocumented) views of one side, and emphasised the (unproven and undocumented) statements of the other.
For an example on the latter, you changed: "A 1999 forensic audit ... was announced as showing" to "A 1999 forensic audit ... showed". Since it seems the audit was never released to the public (please correct me if I'm wrong), how do you know what it showed (unless you are on the Foundation's Board of Directors)?
Personally, I've no opinion one way or the other on the controversy. I just think we do a disservice to everyone, in the long run, if we paper over it. Ergo, please consider this a respectful request to reconsider the new bias that you have introduced.
(Addendum: Definitely appreciate the technical corrections on my edits, btw! I always miss stuff :).
--chaleur 22:43, 06 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Ahh
Interesting. Point well taken. I changed the sentence, "A 1999 forensic audit conducted by Deloitte Touche was announced as showing the Foundation to be nearing bankruptcy." simply because I thought "was announced as showing" was exceedingly wordy (English major and teacher here), and thought the change was easier to read while still keeping to the facts. I wasn't trying to obfuscate the facts, just got caught up in editing the extranneous. I believe the Deloitte audit was released in 2003.
I didn't mean to suggest that the speculation in the article was libelous, but there were, as I remember, statements presented as fact that were not true or attributed unproved motives to one or more parties.
I removed the assertion..."His decision was doubtless influenced by the fact that three charitable trusts...", because it seemed not only to be speculation, but it also trivialized any judge's role in applying the rule of law while keeping his personal feelings at bay. In the least, it's speculative on someone's part. I feel an encyclopedia should be as neutral as possible, while presenting all the facts.
There's lots more to the story. Maybe on a cold, rainy day this winter I'll do some more research and add more to the entry. I should register with Wikipedia too.
[edit] Lectures
Betrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy [1] originated as a series of lectures at the Barnes Foundation in 1941 and 1942, as is mentioned in the article about the book. It would be nice to include that here, but it is probably inappropriate to single out these particular lectures. Can anyone supply a general account of the lecture program? David Watson 23:14, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Gerlach opposition to move
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) pledged on November 15 to introduce legislation that would prevent the Barnes Foundation from being relocated to Philadelphia from suburban Merion, Pa. The bill would penalize any charitable institution that solicits donations contrary to the original benefactor's wishes. His bill would impose a penalty equal to the value of any donation given to move the foundation. In a statement, the lawmaker said the move would destroy "Pennsylvania's reputation as a place where estate and property rights are vigorously defended." http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/15747397.htm Robertwalton 19:32, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] History Section
I separated the history section from the current events, allowing each to ahve some more room. I added a few details - and some interesting readings - about the Barnes Fondation. Surprised that no one has done this yet. Barnes, Dewey etc. could be developed from the rudiments that I put in.Brosi 16:38, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
