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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

A comparison of Bruininks' and Weller's version of who pulled Troubled Waters

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After reading University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks' take today on what happened in the Troubled Waters' flap, I noticed that it doesn't seem to mesh with what Bell Museum Director Susan Weller told us.

The main question: Who originally pulled the plug on the Twin Cities Public Television airing of Troubled Waters?

Here's Bruininks:

It is important for me to acknowledge that Vice President Himle was asked by the Bell Museum to review the film, and she raised questions and concerns about it in her capacity as Vice President of University Relations.

Here's Weller's version:

“When I was stepping on a plane Sept. 8 to go to Europe to give a presentation, I received a phone call that the (Twin Cities Public Television) broadcast had been canceled. And so then I’m on a plane, I arrive and I’m checking e-mails, trying to find out what happened. With the limited information I had, I decided that if the university was so concerned about the film … then we needed to go back and ensure that we had followed all our internal procedures, so that I could … really be able to stand behind (the film). And so my decision to postpone the screening at the Bell Museum was based on the fact that the broadcast was canceled. .. They were linked.”

So did the Bell tell Himle? Or did Himle/the university tell the Bell? Or is something missing from these two accounts?