Ithaca College Commencement: Ben & Jerry's co-founder causes a stir

Ithaca Journal ^ | Originally published Monday, May 19, 2003 | By DAN HIGGINS

[Behind Liberal Lines]

ITHACA -- Ithaca College's 108th Commencement Exercise saw degrees conferred on 1,350 graduates. One of the commencement speakers, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream co-founder Ben Cohen, was cheered and also booed when he criticized national spending priorities and the war in Iraq during his address to the graduates.

[N. Theknow]

What in the name of all that is good is she going to do with a SPANISH degree? HA!

¿Quiere usted fríe con eso?

Translation: (Do you want fries with that?)

[NativeNewYorker]

Google.

For example.

[JFC]

It appears each graduation this season is to be outdoing the speaker before you. My son graduated this weekend from Texas Tech and the person that got the standing ovation was the 84 year old graduate who had to prospone his degree for World War II. He was an inspiration, so was the blind man with the seeing eye dog, and the lady with a nerve disorder who had to have an aid all through college. Those are the ones who deserve the special attention- along with my son who worked all through school on Student Loans.....

[detsaoT]

I imagine that she will take her Spanish degree, hang around on the U.S./Mexico border, and convince incoming illegals to vote for Dims and sign them up to be socialists.

LOL! No doubt!

:) ttt

[Scothia]

Ben and Jerry's is the Ice Cream of Evil.

Like the Democratic party: overpriced and full of fat.

[DPB101]

Anyone know Cohen's early history? These marxists who pop up out of nowhere and are wildly sucessfully in business usually had some...ahem...help. They often are not the rags to riches story they like everyone to believe they are.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Shapiro is also a fixture on the local indymedia site.

[Soaring Feather]

Cohen appeared unfazed by the criticism and told the graduates,
"This is not the way our country was meant to be."

Ohhhhh really, is that so? Where did he get this vision and why is he is not sharing it with the rest of us?

"City of Evil" bump

[Howlin]

"It will be hard because our president has messed up the economy," said Ayana Shabazz

I bet she read that in Chelsea Clinton's article in the now defunct Talk Magazine.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Anyone know Cohen's early history?

I don't know about that, but their hypocrisy was on display in a 20/20 report a few years ago.

The always excellent John Stossel pointed out that, while they claim their packaging is dioxin free, the ice cream itself actually has dioxin.

Ice Cream of Evil. ;-)

[manic4organic]

OK, my Spanish is kinda rusty but here goes:

Senorita Shabazz, favor bese my culo. Usted no sabe mierda.
(please kiss my butt. you don't know sh*t.)

ANyone know if this is Betty's little girl?

[browardchad]

I just did a google search on the world Shabazz

This tidbit from the InfoPlease.com almanac is interesting:

Biography—Noteworthy People—1997 People in the News

Malcolm Shabazz,

12, pleaded guilty to arson and the juvenile equivalent of manslaughter for setting a fire that killed his grandmother, Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[cubreporter]

My thoughts exactly. One after the other. They ARE tired, old and DULL just using the stage to spout their politics. Pretty cheap considering they are supposed to be giving a speech for the grads and not the cameras. But...it IS typical because like everything else...these people are all about Me, Myself and I and to tell with the grads...even if it IS their own special event. It's old, it's boring and they are doing it so much nobody is really listening anymore.

[Risa]

>>It will be hard because our president has messed up the economy," said Ayana Shabazz, who received her degree Sunday in Spanish, when asked about finding a full-time job.<<

How embarrassing for Ithaca College. For a newly graduated person to shame her 4 years of education and her school in front of the whole world by saying something so ignorant about the U.S. economy is tragic.

[Risa]

>>It will be hard because our president has messed up the economy," said Ayana Shabazz, who received her degree Sunday in Spanish, when asked about finding a full-time job.<<

How embarrassing for Ithaca College. For a newly graduated person to shame her 4 years of education and her school in front of the whole world by saying something so ignorant about the U.S. economy is tragic.

[profmike23]

Lucas Shapiro, an Ithaca resident who graduated from Ithaca's Alternative Community School

I looked into his high school:

“ACS does not depend on report cards or letter grades, but rather written evaluations”

“Students are taught to peacefully coexist with each other and the staff, but on the occasions that conflicts do arise, we work out the problems verbally. We have a mediation committee, and failing that, the Alternative Community Court. Students and teachers are on a much more equal basis with each other. To show this mutual respect, students call teachers by their first names.”

From their info page.

And this is from the Bottom Line, the weekly update for parents (bottom of page):

5/17 Ithaca's first ever Celebration of World Fair Trade Day

The Ithaca Fair Trade Coalition (co-founded by ACS senior Claire Stoscheck) will host Ithaca's first Annual Fair Trade Fair to celebrate World Fair Trade Day, an international day dedicated to highlighting fair trade initiatives. There will be FREE Ben & Jerry's ice cream & fair trade coffee to take home. Additionally, there will be art, dance, children's music (Vit. L), & games for kids all ages.

The purpose of the Fair is to educate consumers on Fair Trade issues & to feature local businesses that sell fair trade items, as well as to celebrate fair trade as a positive alternative to traditional trading practices that often result in social and economic injustice. Fair trade is a viable & socially just trade practice, which insures that producers receive a fair wage, decent working conditions, and the environment is not degraded in the process of production.

The Ithaca Fair Trade Coalition is a project of the Committee on US-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR), the Finger Lakes Group of the Sierra Club, and Ten Thousand Villages. Its mission is to inform people in the Ithaca area on issues of fair trade & to promote fairly traded goods.”

[The KG9 Kid]

"... "It will be hard because our president has messed up the economy," said Ayana Shabazz, who received her degree Sunday in Spanish, when asked about finding a full-time job."

(Shabazz, front left)

Why do I have to do all the thinking for these kids?

Given her talents, she should combine them to be a successful lap-dancing stripper in Mexico.

[Arpege92]

I wish the McDonalds around here would hire someone to teach the Spanish workers English.

Scuz me....two cheeburger no chee, huh? I swear that is exactly how this girl asked me.

[Voltage]

"It will be hard because our president has messed up the economy," said Ayana Shabazz, who received her degree Sunday in Spanish, when asked about finding a full-time job.

WOW! After 4 years of college she knows Spanish as well as a grade schooler in Madrid!