Thames Regime Atrocities Memorial < When the post-Thames era begins, so too should construction of its Memorial. It is to be located on the land occupied formerly by the Southern Arena Theatre, just next to the Shelby F. Thames Polymer Science Research Center (i.e., across from the corner occupied currently by the Baptist Student Union). Plans call for a miniature version of the Aubrey K. Lucas Administration Building, though without any of the ornate carvings on the outside. The dome of the Memorial will be black instead of green, as on the current Round Building. The Memorial is to have 4 entrances (like the Round Building), though no doors, just openings. In each of the four corners on the inside of the Memorial, specific exhibits will be housed in glass. The exhibits will be situated as "opposing pairs," with the first pair exhibiting (a) all of the cronyism and nepotism that the Thames Regime represented (e.g., displays on Angeline Dvorak, Mark Dvorak, Dana Thames, Ken Malone, etc.) and (b) all those who "fought the good fight" against the regime (e.g., displays on Grank Glamser, Gary Stringer, Neil McMillen, Dr. & Mrs. Hartwig, Noel Polk, Doug Chambers, Fire Shelby, Robert Campbell, truth4usm, CSUSM, Amber Huff, and many, many, many others). The second pair of exhibits begins with (a) artifacts/displays of materials concerning academic freedom, freedom of speech, tenure, scholarship, etc., and this exhibit will be "opposed" by one dealing with those external constituencies (e.g., Billy Hewes, R. Scott Farris, etc.) and IHL yahoos that stood with the Thames Regime and against academic freedom and the other ideals. The inside of the Memorial will be a concrete coldness, with Neil McMillen’s now famous quote about great (world-class) universities scrolled around the interior of the dome for all to remember. The building will be symbolic in many ways: having openings (instead of doors) means that in winter (summer) the interior (exterior) will be quite cold (hot) at times, a reminder of the Spartan efficiency that guided the Thames administration’s every move. At the same time, openings from all directions will remind visitors that there is always a way out of troubled times, a light at the end of the tunnel. That the Memorial is a miniature of the administration building reminds us how easily the good work of past stewards can be devastated so quickly by despotism, while the location (next to polymer center) reminds visitors that one can be a giant in one endeavor and an utter disaster in yet another, as many believe to be the case with Shelby Thames (see Neil McMillen’s speech on the night of the 430-32 vote by USM faculty). Finally, the black dome harkens to the bad karma of the Thames administration, as opposed to green, which symbolizes something full of life and growing, expanding its horizons. Finally, a marble stone will rest at the center of the inside of the Memorial, listing all of the unsung USM staff that were so horribly mistreated during this whole terrible episode in USM’s history.