FEC COMPLAINT: NO ACTION TAKEN, OR NEEDED

The Federal Election Commission is nothing if not deliberate. Four and a half years after the event, the commission disposed of a complaint regarding the 1988 visit of President Ronald Reagan to the Southeast Missouri State University campus, doing so in the only appropriate way: it took no action. We are pleased this matter has been brought to a close and this sour offshoot of an historic event ultimately amounted to nothing.

President Reagan's speech at the Show Me Center during the last months of his second term was greeted with enthusiasm throughout the region, not only by people who agreed with his politics but by those who recognized the historic nature of the event. Prior to Mr. Reagan, the only other sitting president known to have visited Cape Girardeau was William Howard Taft in 1909.

However, some area residents, as well as some university faculty members, took exception to Southeast's modest financial stake in the event ($5,000) and the University Foundation's more substantial one ($19,000). A complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission remained under review since 1988, though the university and various campaign organizations were removed by the investigators in 1991. Earlier this summer, the University Foundation was cleared by the FEC without any charges being brought and the case was closed.

The furor surrounding this was entirely misplaced. The university sought a presidential visit for reasons most educators understand: It provides an educational opportunity for students and, not coincidentally, serves to heighten the visibility of the institution. The case was never made that either the university or the foundation issued an invitation to the White House hoping to advance a political slate. (In fact, Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis was invited to campus the same month President Reagan spoke.) And if the university and its backers got more of a political event than they bargained for, then the community was no worse off for having hosted the chief executive for a few hours.

The aftermath of the presidential visit brought a number of ironies that are still difficult to reconcile. The Faculty Senate took to task the actions of the University Foundation, an organization established to raise funds that ultimately make life a little better for faculty members; not only were they biting a hand that fed them, their scolding amounted to swallowing an entire arm. In addition, while President Reagan's speech was undeniably political in nature, he was not seeking office. The university community has no shortage of guest lecturers each year who promote political agendas (minority activism, gay rights, etc.), yet the Faculty Senate has never advocated restricting the use of university funds or facilities in those cases.

Whether you liked Ronald Reagan or didn't, it is hard to argue his historical significance. It is equally hard to argue that his visit to Cape Girardeau on Sept. 14, 1988, was not meaningful for the city and the university. We would hope the university and its benefactors would despite regents' acquiescence to Faculty Senate-drafted restrictions along these lines look positively on bringing Bill Clinton or any other president to campus. Thus far, only Presidents Taft and Reagan have visited Cape Girardeau; if the university begins to be overrun with American presidents, then some stronger measures might be necessary.

At this point, we are two presidents removed from the supposed violation, and it was time this complaint was closed with no prosecutorial action taken.