No 'second guess' from Hackney

"I really can't second guess [the decision] at all," he said. "I said at the time that I felt the confiscation was wrong and was a violation of the Open Expression Guidelines and I continue to think that." In the weeks after the April 15 confiscation, Hackney came under heavy fire from critics who said he was not vigorous enough in his defense of free expression or in his criticism of the paper trashing. Despite opposition from a group of Republican senators, Hackney received confirmation in July as chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Hackney also said he supports the University's decision which appointed a special judicial inquiry officer, Associate Social Work Professor Howard Arnold, to handle the case in the absence of a permanent JIO. "I thought it was the right thing to do," he said. "[Arnold] has been a wonderful citizen of the University over the years and he does have wide respect." And Hackney said he thinks the newly-formed Commission on Strengthening the Community will be very important in the University's healing process. "I think it really is an opportunity for Penn to do something that would set a standard for the country this year," he said. –Daniel Gingiss