Hillary Clinton at Wellesley College, 1969.
Posted on 04/14/2003 11:22:42 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
Hillary Clinton's fourth visit to Wellesley in ten years began with the Senator offering snide remarks about George Bush and his administration.
The junior Senator from New York was in town to accept an Alumnae Achievement Award and to attend an event honoring retiring professor Alan Schechter, who changed her from a Republican to a Democrat.
The audience of assembled Clintonistas eagerly lapped up Madame H's every word at a gathering for Professor Schechter prior to the Alumnae Awards ceremony.
Having taught at Wellesley for 41-years, Schechter has remained a good friend to Clinton since her years as one of his students. Clinton praised him as a "motivator and provocateur" who had close relationships which he fostered with the students. She also credited him, her political science professor and thesis advisor, with her "conversion" to the other side. She served as president of the Wellesley College Republicans for some time but slowly moved left during her years at Wellesley, ultimately switching parties after a "Wellesley in Washington" experience which Schechter had encouraged her to attend.
Clinton answered questions from adoring minions and basked in the opportunity to share her views openly. She began by outlining her case for admitting people to colleges and universities based on race, expressing her full support for the University of Michigan and its pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wellesley College president, Diana Chapman Walsh quickly jumped on the bandwagon adding that she was proud to say that Wellesley was one of 28 schools that have collectively asserted their support for the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies through an amicus curiae brief. Hillary also disclosed that she had written President Bush a letter, thanking him for his support of diversity through the 10% plan that he had promoted as governor of Texas. "I was surprised to get that much out of him!" she remarked knowingly.
More of the same followed as Clinton addressed questions, laid out her agenda and made other required remarks such as, "I thought initially that when [George Bush] came into office [he was] intent on undoing everything my husband had done … I'm now convinced they're not only trying to undo the Clinton administration, they're trying to undo the Franklin Roosevelt administration, and the Andrew Jackson administration!"
After the applause and guffaws subsided, one brave Wellesley student dared to ask one of the few questions of substance. A confessed Republican, she asked that in light of President Bush's economic plan, which he articulated during the State of the Union address, and in light of Clinton's clear opposition to his plan, what were her thoughts on the kind of economic plan the United States should be implementing?
Clinton replied with more subtle derision that ignited the audience's laughter once again. She launched into vague nostrums about her vision for "the children" and "America's dreams," managing in the same breath to establish her atheism with a remark to the effect that Bush did not "have an ideology, he had a theology." The audience was happy. The intrepid student was not, as she sat with her question unanswered.
When the pre-event gathering for Prof. Schechter ended, students, faculty and alumnae made their way to the gathering for the achievement awards. There, a group of students - former Clinton groupies - stood in protest of the Senatoress with signs and banners calling for her to change her vote for war, to one against war. The students, who chose to protest outside the awards ceremony, where two other alums were also getting honored, rather than in front of the chapel where Clinton had spoken for an hour on her politics, were considered by some students to be "disrespectful," given the fact that the two other alums had nothing to do with Clinton's politics. But the students were quickly forgotten as people rushed in to get their spot for the next event.
Other Alums Are Recognized
The next event, rather pointedly contrasted the previous one and very clearly expressed the contrasting factions at Wellesley. It began by honoring a renowned professor and chair of the "Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy" at the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. She, Barbara Loomis Jackson '50, spoke of the tradition of Wellesley and of the opportunity that Wellesley had provided her, even as the only black student during her first year at the college. She delighted the audience with her humor and witty words.
The event then honored a senator in Thailand, Niramol Bulakul Suriyasat '54, who had a distinguished career as an entrepreneur and philanthropist and as one of Thailand's leading business executives. She has received wide acclaim for her various roles at Toshiba Thailand. Among her many accomplishments, Suriyasat received the highest honor the King of Thailand bestows upon a civilian. She died of leukemia three weeks after hearing that she had won the award, but her three daughters, also Wellesley graduates, flew from Thailand to accept the honor on their mother's behalf. An emotionally driven and moving speech, the audience was on their feet in appreciation of one young daughter's words.
Hillary's Greatest Joy
Hillary Clinton '69 was then given an award for her advocacy of women's choices and women's rights. She spoke of the importance of Wellesley College as an institution, recalling the circumstances that led her to attend Wellesley and how sometimes, when one composes their life, they are really going on gut feelings and instinct. She ended by saying, "I have had many awards in my life, but I don't know that any honor has given me greater joy than this one."
The Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award recognizes alumnae who have brought honor to themselves and to Wellesley College through their outstanding achievements. The award is the highest honor given to alumnae for excellence and distinction in their fields of endeavor and has been presented annually since 1970. Hillary Clinton has certainly created what has been aptly named the "Hillary Effect," with increased applications for admission since her years in the public eye. What some contest is the assertion that she has brought honor to the college and that she should have received the award.
"I think that Hillary has brought nothing but shame to Wellesley College," said Claire Ashington-Pickett '04, president of the Wellesley College Republicans. "Her status as an alumna of my school is embarrassing. She is a deceptive, dishonest, dangerous public figure. Her advocacy of women's choice is limited solely to the issue of abortion, which is nothing more than her support for women to choose to murder their children. She has not championed women's rights; women were doing just fine before she came along. Hillary has given a bad name to women in politics. She is a criminal who should be behind bars, not on a stage accepting a prestigious award."
Students who experienced the evening no doubt got a taste of the two faces of Wellesley. On the one side, they saw the tradition of the institution with Suriyasat's daughters recounting their mother's and their own experiences at Wellesley. On the other side they saw Hillary elicit both praise and protest from her leftist followers as she recounted the ways in which Wellesley transformed her, while interspersing her disdain for President Bush. Most striking was the fact that she could expect to, and did indeed, receive so warm and one-sided a response from her audience to her rather blatant bias. It was immediately clear to all that any Republican voice that dared to speak, during these temporary times at Wellesley, would be quickly squelched.
Perhaps Professor Jackson put it best when she said, "College at Wellesley has changed a lot since I was here."
What Jackson and many other alums probably have not realized, is how much the days of white gloves have given way to a wild deluge of leftist clamor. They would be disheartened to know that their prestigious alma mater is slowly creeping down in the ranks as generations of students at Harvard, MIT and the like begin to see Wellesley women not as the ideal that they once were, but as alienating figures of anger and irrational ideology.
The Wellesley women who are promoting a "Conservative Coming Out Day" this month, say they are fighting not just a battle of ideology and politics, but a fight to preserve the tradition that once was Wellesley.
Wellesley College Won't Release Hillary's Senior Thesis
It's either about Saul Alinsky: "At Wellesley, Hillary did her senior thesis on professional revolutionary Saul Alinsky. She met the leftist legend the summer before, and, as soon as she graduated, Alinksy offered her a job. She chose to attend Yale Law School instead."
or, from Jack Anderson: "Eventually Anderson and his staff discovered some answers on their own. Hillary's thesis, it turns out, was a critique of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" programs. Her conclusion: community-based government anti-poverty programs don't work."
Take your pick.
(BTW, with FR's archive search engine I was ablel to pick out this article using title words "Hillary, Wellesley, College". It's a great tool!)
Ohhhh, this writer certainly has that right! It's that vulgar feeling half of America gets every time they see or hear that Uncouth Socialist, Jr. Senator from N.Y.
Fantastic! What a quote! And to think it was printed as well!
Hillary is a has-been.
I found FOUR Clinton/Hillary Clinton books at the Dollar Tree Store yesterday!! In the bargain bin, you go, Hillary.
Quote of the day by a freeperette in waiting.
I would like to know exactly what Hillary said. The article seems to avoid that for some reason.
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