Posted on 02/20/2002 12:56:25 PM PST by vannrox
DAILY BRUIN ONLINE - Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Students protest Bush speaking at commencement
GRADUATION: Credentials and politics of first lady criticized; critics want invitation recalled
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| First lady Laura Bush (middle) talks with Japanese Emperor Akihito (right) | ||
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Despite being 3,000 miles away, Laura Bush fueled debate between administrators and students who objected to the possibility of having the first lady speak at this year's commencement ceremony.
Students in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies met with Dean Aimee Dorr on Friday to demand that she rescind the invitation to Bush.
Critics cited Bush's "shallow credentials" and complained they were not allowed to participate in the selection of their commencement speaker.
"We're disappointed that the selection for a student event had no student input," said Estela Zarate, a doctoral student in education.
The dean is usually the one who formally invites commencement speakers. In this case, Chancellor Albert Carnesale sent the invitation because it is general practice for the chancellor to do so when the university contacts the heads of state.
Carnesale, who sent off the invitation in early February under the recommendation of the school, said Tuesday that "it is extremely unlikely" he would rescind the invitation.
"She seems to me to be an entirely appropriate speaker," Carnesale said of Bush, a former teacher, librarian and current education advocate.
"Having had a career in education and information studies, she's been dedicated to those areas, as has been demonstrated by her actions," he added.
Dorr said she selected five candidates to speak – of which Bush is ranked first – based on discussions with the school's faculty executive committee, which is comprised of department leaders and two student representatives. The committee serves an advisory function to the dean.
The other four candidates were not disclosed.
"I'm really sorry there is this much agitation," Dorr said Friday, promising to increase student involvement in future selections.
Many students warned Dorr of the political implications of inviting Bush to speak at the commencement.
"She was selected for her political celebrity," said Tara Watford, a doctoral student in education.
"The commencement speaker should speak to us based on achievements in the field," she said. "(Bush) has no merit."
Watford then read a quote in which Bush allegedly admitted to becoming a librarian to expand her dating circle.
Bush's advocacy for early literacy and her efforts to combine education and librarianship make her a suitable candidate to speak at commencement, Dorr said. She also said having Bush speak would help the department become more well known.
"It's a way to have students and the school more visible," Dorr said.
Students don't necessarily have to agree with the political views of the commencement speaker, Dorr said.
"Campus has to be a place where people of different views can speak," she said. "The ceremony involves a lot of people and has to work for a lot of people."
Whenever the university invites a speaker in a political position, some students are bound to disagree, Carnesale said.
"That is not a reason to exclude somebody from speaking," he said.
But, some say, a commencement is not the right forum for Bush to speak, since she will get the last word.
Having Bush speak at the department's commencement would also incur extra costs.
According to John Bollard, director of student services for GSE&IS, preliminary figures he received from the Secret Service indicated an additional $55,000 would need to be spent on top of normal commencement expenses. The extra cost would pay for increased security and a press room.
Though Bush has been invited to speak, it is not definite she will accept.
"We all see it as a long shot," Dorr said.
After the meeting, Zarate said she hopes students in the department will protest the invitation and the appearance should Bush accept.
"We will not stand by and allow her presence to go uncontested," Zarate said.
With reports from Linh Tat, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.
How come they only interviewed snot nosed females for this article? I'll check for answers later, I've got to run to the library now.
Wait until you hear them whine when they have to stand the welfare lines too long because they can't read! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Exactly! I just read another thread about the Portland school district lamenting that the percentage of school aged kids in their city who attend public schools is dropping drastically (due to private schools and homeschoolng). The educators at the district were all wailing and saying how badly they need the middle and upper class kids to stay in the public school system. Someone should mail a copy of this article to them.
Are people beating down the doors to date librarians or something? This is news.
A "quote" from what source?
Allegedly admitted?
Sounds fabricated to me, unless it was an offhand remark to get some interviewer off her back.
Why should Mrs. Bush lower herself to speak to these hillbillies?
You do get bizarre choices for these overblown, largely meaningless events. Is anyone ever happy with a selected commencement speaker?
I suspect their objection isn't that Laura is "significant" not by her career efforts but by her dating choices. Sure she taught, she was a librarian but what has she DONE, on her own merit, to warrant the honour of speaking to these students? On that level, the "doctoral candidate" might have a point. Pity she's obviously blinded by left-wing reactionary instinct. No doubt she'll become a school principle or some other mess and ruin innumeral students educational careers in the process of miseducating them all the while plundering the taxpayers for excessive salary and benefits.
LOL
At least the libs are indoctrinating their replacements well.
Have you read post #25?
HAR!!! Maybe they won't? Vote school choice canidates.
Presentation of USs Military and Political Agenda in Afghanistan
Estela Zarate
October 30, 2001
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