knowlton said:
Rice is a war criminal. Thousands of Americans are dead, and untold numbers of Iraqis were killed or forced to flee.
I don't want her speaking at a university that is supported on my tax dime.
nohero said:
The objections are phrased in the context of conferring an honor, not merely listening to a speech.
It would help the level of discourse to keep that in mind, instead of rattling off mindless hyberbole like "the left are the real intolerant" or other such nonsense.
Student_Council said:
Baron, it was some members of the faculty, it wasn't "the faculty" as you describe.
sprout said:
Ms. Rice made the decision, not the University.
Are you suggesting that the University should have forced these faculty to be silent to prevent the possibility of Ms. Rice withdrawing?
mjh said:
It is a highly paid opportunity for elite speakers who are being held up as a model for the graduating students.
mapletree said:
Does anyone take honorary degrees seriously?
DaveSchmidt said:
mjh said:
It is a highly paid opportunity for elite speakers who are being held up as a model for the graduating students.
Kind of harks back to the Amiri Baraka discussion. To me, presenting someone as a public figure whose views are noteworthy (Ahmadinejad at Columbia, for example)* is not necessarily the same thing as holding him or her up to be a model.
*ETA: Wasn't a commencement speaker, so the analogy is off. But, personally, I still don't think a commencement speech automatically implies "model."
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