Yesterday, Sweet Briar College stakeholders finally got a break when the Virginia Supreme Court sent back to the circuit court the case requesting an injunction to prevent the immediate closing of Sweet Briar and to have a special fiduciary appointed to it. The Supreme Court’s clear message was that it expected the case to be taken up post haste. The moment must have been sweet indeed for those intent on stopping the board from closing the college for good; but while they may be able to exhale just a smidgen, it is on to the next battlefield(s).
This was the problem that I had with “Waiting to Exhale” (the film, anyway—I didn’t read the book) in the first place—I just don’t agree with the premise that there is an ideal state in which one can just let one’s guard down. One foot goes in front of the other, and in nonprofitland that is seldom on a completely well-paved path. Not keeping our heads up and our breath somewhat bated may cause us to miss something out of the corner of our collective eye—such as a dangerously indolent board without sufficient energy to go above and beyond.
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In any case, congratulations to the Sweet Briar stakeholders! You may not be able to exhale more than a second but at least you have made it to the next fork in the road.
