No, I don’t deserve to be assassinated

But Yale’s problem is bigger than that

With few exceptions, people like to see their name in print. One of those exceptions, however, is reading about a theater production at an elite U.S. university in which you, the reader, are murdered.

I’m not talking about an audience-participation whodunnit. I’m talking about you, by name, are a character in the play. And the play is about a plot to kill you.

That’s not so good.

But that’s what I had the pleasure of reading in the May 14 Yale News review of “Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members,” staged by the Yale Repertory Theater:

The show follows Lolita, a young transgender woman and pseudo-vigilante who seeks justice for her beloved homeland of Puerto Rico. Donning a two-piece work suit with three stripes on the vest — in homage to the Puerto Rican nationalist Lolita Lebrón — Lolita infiltrates the Wall Street office of the Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board for Puerto Rico to kill the seven board members responsible for managing the island’s debt. The debt exceeded $70 billion when the board was created in 2016 by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA.

I’m a member of that organization, though it actually is called the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (or FOMB).

The Yale News reviewer declared the production a success, calling it “a bold, hilarious, and deeply moving journey.” I’m no theater critic, so who am I to judge?

But I’m left with a couple of questions:

First, in the wake of the December, 2024 killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson by activist Luigi Mangione, did anyone at Yale ask themselves if they might hold off on the political killing themes for a bit? Like, “Hey guys, have any of you been reading the news lately? Maybe let’s lay off the politically-motivated killings theme for a while?”

Seriously, that part just shows poor judgement.

And second, Yale and other elite schools claim to admit critical thinkers, young adults who can really think through the pressing problems of the day. But no one seemed to do even basic fact-checking before staging “Notes on Killing….”

For instance, it’s a small detail, but meaningful, that the Oversight Board doesn’t have a “Wall Street office,” as the play portrays. The Board’s offices actually are located in San Juan, as a reasonable person might guess. Or Google, if guessing doesn’t suffice.

And you want to know why? Because the Oversight Board isn’t exactly a favorite of the financial industry. The Yale News mentioned that Puerto Rico had an outstanding debt of $70 billion as of 2016, when the island’s government defaulted on its debt. But since then, the Board reduced that debt by over $40 billion. And currently the Board has proposed to reduce the insolvent Puerto Rico power company’s $10 billion debt by roughly 80%.

Worth mentioning?

That lower debt frees up resources that the Puerto Rico government can now devote to health or education or police or whatever else the island needs (and it needs a lot).

Sure, some people think Puerto Rico shouldn’t pay a penny of its debt, but that’s up to the courts, not the Oversight Board.

So, while I’m generally in favor of performance-related compensation, I just don’t think the Oversight Board’s performance to date merits the Board’s members being killed.

It’s really depressing that no one at Yale stopped to ask any questions like this. I’m not saying anyone wants to watch a musical that consists of financial documents and court filings.

But this is a play about killing innocent people who, without a penny of compensation, have devoted eight years of their lives to bettering the prospects of the 3 million American citizens living in Puerto Rico.

The show must go on, I guess.

Now, it is true that the Oversight Board is undemocratic. The Board was appointed by Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden, and the residents of Puerto Rico – who are U.S. citizens – had no say in the matter.

At the same time, the Oversight Board was part of a package deal. The legislation that established the Board, called PROMESA, also granted Puerto Rico bankruptcy protections that it didn’t previously have and which the U.S. states don’t have. Without those protections, the island’s creditors could have seized the government’s assets. But in exchange for those protections, Puerto Rico got an oversight board to help manage the island’s budget.

An oversight board isn’t uncommon when a financially-troubled government seeks protections against its creditors. New York City got one in the 1970s; Washington, DC had one in the 1990s; and Detroit had an equivalent, a single-person emergency manager, in 2013. It’s pretty hard for a government to go bankrupt so when it does, outside oversight is usually the price of protection against creditors. So Puerto Rico wasn’t being singled out. (Chicago, stay tuned.)

The broader questions of Puerto Rico’s political status – territory, state or independent – are important. But they’re a lot more nuanced than stateside commentators typically think, and they have basically nothing to do with the Oversight Board.

All of this is ripe for critical thinkers to mull over. But that’s not what we got.

As they say: Yale, do better.