The most ardent Rose Art Museum cut protestors would have you buy into an image of the Rose bulldozed into dust and its collection in the hands of shady, nefarious private collectors. Though this may have been accurate at the outset, it isn't any longer.While even a quick glance at the Rose situation's coverage in the national press might be enough to murder the hope that our reputation may yet be repaired, there remain some options that could tilt the scales in our favor.

University President Jehuda Reinharz just needs to be honest about the Board of Trustees' original plan and the degree to which the outcry from both the school community and the public affected their subsequent decisions about the Rose. He needs to push the Rose's new function as an educational institute, signifying the University's continued commitment to the arts and silencing critics who claim the school is forsaking its academic purpose.

The sale of the collection is the more dangerous ground by far, but people need to realize that there are more ways to disperse the museum's assets than selling them to private collectors, never to be seen again. What the University has is a chance to undo some of the damage done by the initial wave of bad press.

While there is a temptation to sell to the highest bidder, the school should sell to a small group of reputable donors under a specific set of conditions. At only 30 to 40 pieces, the number of works sold would be small enough to be kept on display as the Rose Art Museum collection, thereby preserving the collection's Brandeis legacy and connection with the school.

Ideally, the collection could be sold to another Boston-area university and displayed as the Rose Art Collection at Tufts or Harvard where it would remain available as an academic resource and set an example for solidarity and collaboration between universities, something that should be done for the symbolism alone, if not the financial benefit.

While the mainstream media may lose interest in the Rose story as other universities encounter similar financial crises (though any school that witnesses Brandeis' public beating will think twice, long and hard, about any similar announcements), the fate of such a high-profile collection will remain a hot topic among the arts media and any good press that flows from the fate of the Rose collection is certainly welcome.

In a recent e-mail to the Brandeis community, Reinharz attempted to renege on the school's initial statement that the museum would, indeed, be closed and its collection sold, claiming that the entire Brandeis community had simply misunderstood the administration's announcement. He even cited President Barack Obama's recent display of humility, declaring, "I screwed up."

But if Reinharz really wants to evoke this new era of responsibility, he should do more than just quote from the president's playbook and take the necessary measures to repair our reputation and turn the Rose debacle into something that is ultimately beneficial.