President Bush is one of a small number of conservatives who was invited to speak at commencement ceremonies for university graduates. But his invitation has been met with protest by hundreds at a Baptist liberal-arts college.
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(Photo: AP Images / Matt Rourke)New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seen with University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, during commencement ceremonies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Monday, May 19, 2008.
More than 200 students and faculty members from Furman University signed a statement earlier this month criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and environmental issues. Some faculty members have further been excused by the dean from attending graduation ceremonies on May 31.
"Under ordinary circumstances it would be an honor for Furman University to be visited by the president of the United States. However, these are not ordinary circumstances," said the letter. "Because we love this country and the ideals it stands for, we accept our civic responsibility to speak out against these actions that violate American values.”
A group of more than 500 conservative students countered the protestors with a letter of their own, stating their disappointment and shame.
"Count us among the disappointed and embarrassed – disappointed at an administration that acquiesced to irresponsible faculty demands, and embarrassed by a faculty that sacrificed professionalism for publicity," stated the letter, released Monday by Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow.
"Unfortunately, some professors seem intent on turning what should be a celebration of their students’ accomplishments into a forum to air their political differences with President Bush. ‘We object’ sounds open-minded and charmingly contrarian, but not when the ‘objection’ is entirely unrelated to the president’s commencement speech," it added.
Bush isn't the only conservative who hasn't received a warm welcome at commencement ceremonies. U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly also met protests at the University of Georgia's and Washington University's commencements, respectively.
"Isn't it amazing that the Left today can't even consider the possibility of hearing a conservative speak?" posed Jason Mattera of the conservative Young America's Foundation.
Mattera released a report revealing that again, liberals – including Democratic Party officials, leftist activists, and members of the old media – dominate the 2008 commencement speakers list at the nation's top colleges and universities.
This is the 15th year in a row that commencement ceremonies featured a disproportionate number of liberal and conservative speakers, according to Young America's Foundation, which looked at the nation’s top 100 colleges and universities based on U.S. News & World Report's ranking.
The foundation noted that prominent conservatives such as radio host Rush Limbaugh, Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich were absent for the list of graduation speakers this year while former president Bill Clinton, New York City Michael Bloomberg, and Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report" were invited to address graduates.
"The imbalance revealed by this study seems especially discriminatory at a time when students demonstrate a strong desire to see more conservatives on campus," Mattera said. "Once again, commencements look like another dose of leftist indoctrination rather than a fresh start for the class of 2008."
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I really liked what jst1ofHissheep had to say. Wouldn't it be nice if graduations were a time to celebrate the kids' accomplishments. Wouldn't it be nice if a commencement was a time thank God for the blessings bestowed on those at ceremony. After a year of listening to politicians and faced with six more months of the same, the last people I want to hear from on a day of celebration is a politician. I would much rather hear a commencement speech from Robert Schuller or Joyce Meyers than any of the presidential candidates.
dongard,
Your naked assertion of a certain man being a "war criminal" is absurd on its face. Only in the twisted imagination of the extreme left wing does that mantra get applied. Your bias is showing.
How does any of this glorify Go? In politics,one should always side with Christ. I vote Jesus, because no president can do for me what HE can do. We could fight about who is right or wrong forever. But this country was founded on Christian principles. And in God I trust. Please, try not to let hatred and evilness fill your heart. Try persuading someone to visit your church, or accept Jesus. That is a much better use of time when arguing politics is not working.
Liberals are hypocrites. They claim to be open-minded towards everything but than are closed-minded towards conservative ideals. I'm not saying they have to agree with President Bush. But at least they should be open-minded enough to let him speak. Yet another example of how liberalism is a self-defeating philosophy.
As for Clarence Thomas, he is a very conservative justice, no doubt about it. He believes in States' rights and not allowing the Federal Government to destroy the 10th Amendment (The 10th Amendment guarantees rights to the states not otherwise expressly given to the Federal Government in the Constitution). Also, Thomas believes that all people should be given equal treatment under the law. As a result, he disagrees with affirmative action programs which discriminate against otherwise qualified candidates because they are not a 'preferred minority." Gosh, who would have thought that following our constitution and treating people equally is a bad thing? Oh, liberals.
lets be frank, the conservative students wanted to force everyone to play their game and invited a war criminal to address them. then they cried that some didn't like their power play. my my.
Protesting has been a catalyst for many necessary changes throughout history.
I see nothing wrong in what these students & faculty members are doing. Those that take issue with it, such as the aforementioned Mattera, should focus their energies on fighting the disease rather than its symptoms.
protestors are idiots at lot of times when they don't even listen to the speech before making interruptions and they display their lack of fairness, and courtesy, so they are not welcome at commencements.