University president apologizes for Polish army joke
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
17.01.2012 13:16
Polish-American groups have complained of a joke made by the president of Ohio University, where he compares administrative chaos to “the Polish army”.
University president Gordon Gee told an audience on Wednesday at Ohio University in Columbus that he "has big problems coordinate 18 faculties. They are like patrol boats shooting at each other: a bit like the Polish army,” he said last Wednesday
"We are shocked by the manner in which the President describes an ally of the armed forces of the USA," reads an official protest statement by the Polish American Congress.
After the protests by America’s Polish community, President Gee apologied: “I made a mistake,” he said.
However, the New York-based Kosciuszko Foundation – which has been leading a campaign against the use of the term “Polish concentration camps” in American media - wants the president punished for his joke.
"I can assure you that my father was shooting straight – at the enemy," writes Kosciuszko Foundation president and journalist Alex Storozynski has said. (pg)