Posted on 06/15/2005 9:18:45 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to his alma mater turned into an exercise in perseverance when virtually his every word was accompanied by catcalls, howls and piercing whistles from the crowd.
Schwarzenegger's face appeared to redden during his 15-minute commencement address Tuesday to 600 graduates at Santa Monica College, but he ignored the shouting as he recalled his days as a student and, later, his work as a bodybuilder and actor.
"Always go all out and overcome your fears," he told the graduates. "Work, work, work. Study, study, study."
Inside the stadium, the drone from hundreds of rowdy protesters threatened to drown out the governor's voice at times. Many in the crowd erupted in boos when a police officer pulled down a banner criticizing the estimated $45 million cost of the Nov. 8 special election that Schwarzenegger proposed Monday.
The governor is backing three ballot initiatives that call for imposing a cap on state spending, stripping lawmakers of the power to draw their own districts and increasing the time it takes teachers to gain tenure.
At times during Schwarzenegger's speech, cheers and boos mingled, and the graduates themselves appeared eager to hear the governor. Many applauded at one point when the noise from the bleachers briefly subsided.
"It didn't matter. I just ignored them," graduate Ray Lewis, 21, of Los Angeles, said when asked about the racket from protesters. Schwarzenegger's "political views and all that had nothing to do with the graduation," Lewis said.
Schwarzenegger has been feuding for months with groups he calls "special interests" — teachers, nurses and other public employee unions who accuse him of selling out to big business while shortchanging education, health care and other programs. Those groups have hounded Schwarzenegger at his public appearances.
The special election "is a waste of money that you could be using for education, hospital care. He's wasting it on his vanity election," said Sue Cannon, a nurse who was among the crowd outside the stadium.
About two dozen Schwarzenegger supporters also rallied outside the stadium. One of them, Ben Eisenberg, who heads the Santa Monica College Republicans, said the ceremony "should be about the students."
Schwarzenegger left the stage almost immediately after his speech, speeding across the infield in a golf cart surrounded by sprinting security guards. Across the field, he pulled up toward a waiting SUV and a large steel gate was closed behind him.
Schwarzenegger took general studies classes at the two-year community college between 1970 and 1974. He later took correspondence courses through the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he earned a degree in 1979.
"Liberal" leftists are the new-fascista. Intimidation and slander are their primary tactics. Hillary Clinton refers to any criticism and all opposition, even from normal middle class Americans, as manifestations of the mythic "far rightwing conspiracy." Normal patriotic middle class Americans are not a conspiracy.
"Liberal" leftists seek to suppress free speech and free thought. The new-fascista eftists exercise the pro-Marxist mandate of "perverse opposition."
I'D BE VERY ANNOYED IF MY GRAD CEREMONY WAS DISRUPTED
PROTEST NEAR THE VENUE ITSELF BUT DON'T DISRUPT MY SPECIAL DAY
LOSERS
Suggestion: if they feel that strongly, why doesn't the teachers union donate the $50 million war chest they're raising to education and hospitals instead of fighting the governor with it? Hypocrisy and greed are ugly.
Stumbling Schwarzenegger: Booed and Pooh-Poohed
["The Nation" re: ARNOLD @ Santa Monica College]
Posted by RonDog
On News/Activism 06/15/2005 11:33:11 AM PDT · 2+ views
The Nation ^ | June 15, 2005 | Marc Cooper
Schwarzenegger Jeered at Graduation Speech
Posted by NormsRevenge
On News/Activism 06/15/2005 9:18:45 AM PDT · 22 replies · 806+ views
AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/15/05 | Michael R. Blood - AP
Schwarzenegger college speech draws boos in Calif.
Posted by ambrose
On News/Activism 06/14/2005 10:30:57 PM PDT · 50 replies · 880+ views
Reuters ^ | 6/15
After Action Report Schwarzenegger at Santa Monica College
Posted by absalom01
On News/Activism 06/14/2005 9:30:07 PM PDT · 69 replies · 1,003+ views
6/14/05 | n/a
First of all, I was one of the graduates at this event.
Second, it wasn't us that made this event a mockery (a few, less than a dozen out of 600, graduates, turned their backs, the rest of us listened and applauded). The real freakshow was in the audience bleachers up in the stands, which were infiltrated by the bums outside, and, sadly, among our faculty, standing behind Schwarzenegger, who held up a sign and a few of whom turned their backs.
That was the worst, it starts with the example of the faculty.
"I'D BE VERY ANNOYED IF MY GRAD CEREMONY WAS DISRUPTED"
If you were a Santa Monica College graduating student, how would you feel if you knew that some members of the faculty initiated and orchestrated the rude (political) protest against the chosen speaker, the Governor?
I'd be damn resentful, and once I had my diploma in hand, I'd tell-off the basturd teacher(s) in no uncertain advanced Anglo-Saxon four-letter terms. Their behavior is not justified by "political dissent" - they are disrupting a graduation ceremony for students.
Just think about it, taxpayers: immature, selfish sophomoric egoists are "educating" our youth - egomaniacal elites like Ward Churchill.
Just GREAT...!
History is the best teacher. The *Will to Political Power* by intimidation and disruption:
Well, I heard on the news this morning that the Democrats in Sacramento have capitulated to Swarzenegger's demands, so there is no need for the election now.
nice try,, LOL.. It ain't in Breaking News... yet !
We're looking at a bloodbath before this budget is done, and no one will be pleased on either side is my prediction.
The real freakshow was in the audience bleachers up in the stands, which were infiltrated by the bums outside...Do you know WHO those "bums" were -- the ones with the whistles?
A.N.S.W.E.R.?
union thugs?
...or???
Let's hope it's a landslide, the unions are not fighting for the students they are fighting for their pensions. CA has one of the worst dropuout rates in the nation and most Mexicans do not even bother speaking english.
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