Written by:
Jimmy Connolly

Marquette students protest speech by CEO of Wellpoint, Inc.

Business Today was founded over 40 years ago by Steve Forbes, Johnathen Perel, and Mike Mims on the Princeton campus with the goal of fostering communication between students and executives. Back then, the first issues of the BT magazine were burned on college campuses and bomb-threats were made on the BT headquarters, indicating a very harsh disconnect between the two. Since then, one would think that the times have changed for good, and that communication between business executives and college students has fully healed.

Last month, Angela Braly (CEO of Wellpoint, Inc. - a $61 billion health insurance firm) spoke at Marquette University at its 10th Annual Business Leaders’ Forum Luncheon. There, students from JUSTICE (Jesuit University Students Together in Concerned Empowerment) protested her speech in the grounds that "Wellpoint profits from actively denying insurance to many sick and poor people" and that these values conflict with the University's Jesuit tradition.

Though not quite on the level of bomb-threats or burned magazines, this example of a gap in communication indicates that Business Today's goal stands very relevant today in the midst of government bailouts and healthcare reform. Check out the full report here