Discussion for article #222748
1981 at Syracuse we had Alexander Haig. I remember a number of protesters as well as the school’s “Daily Orange” not being very happy about it.
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It seems to me if someone makes a statement that is rejected by a group or groups who protest their presence at the group’s event, that person has already had the opportunity to exercise free speech. What happened is, their ideas and comments were rejected by (I would presume) a large number of the group’s membership. Free speech guaranties you the right to say what you want. It does not guaranty its acceptance.
Tea party members are free to vilely assault the character and integrity of the President of the United States, that is free speech. I can choose to avoid the Tea Party and reject their ideas. That’s call freedom of association.
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The students at John Hopkins should have been protesting Ben Carson’s opinions on EVERYTHING.
Besides, his record is one of going on about all those opinions at inappropriate times and places (wasn’t that a prayer breakfast, with Obama right there besides?) They could only assume he would spew the same crap at their graduation.
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Having the comment I write display in one infinitely long line while I type it makes no sense and obviously makes it a lot harder to write.
IMO it’s just common sense not to have commencement speakers primarily known for their political agendas. Why not just have interesting, motivational speakers who can inspire the graduates without trying to focus on a topic likely to offend half of them? Why should one who is celebrating such an important milestone have to listen to torture advocates, right or left-wing crazies, or any other politician? Journalists, philanthropists, business leaders, even entertainers - it seems like there’s a wide enough variety of options for some of these clueless administrators to choose from without offending large numbers of graduates and their families.
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Phyllis Schlafly (aunt of the largest American beer brewer in St. Louis, Tom Schlafly) was honored with a degree at university where she graduated from. The school defended the choice in that she was on a slate of candidates that students voted for. A slate vote is where you vote for all the people listed or none and students had no idea who she was when they approved the slate. Schlafly in St. Louis now means beer and 5 bucks says that’s what they thought they were voting for.
It then came out who she was and students flipped out. But she got her degree in the end because, well, money.
So students turned their backs but that was about it.
Fox news and talk radio consumers have created a world where they are never forced to see, hear or read anything that they haven’t personally selected. Fixed it.
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In a particularly glib column for The Daily Beast, Olivia Nuzzi wrote that her fellow millennials need to "STFU" and listen to perspectives that differ from their own.
Right! So what if those perspectives include demonizing homosexuals (some of whom are probably be in the graduating class) or has committed war crimes in the name of the oil industry (Well, GEEZ! EVERYONE’S experimented with war crimes that least once in their lives…)?
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At a really big school or a school with a name the speaker is always about what it will get the school and sometimes that things is a lot of money.
What browser are you using? Do you have the problem in the comments drawer or the full discussion page or both?
University of Michigan, April 1978 — Vice-President Walter Mondale is the commencement speaker, and there were loud protests in the auditorium over U.S. policy toward South Africa. Several demonstrators were escorted from the premises.
For a second I thought you were saying that Syracuse had a publication devoted to John Boehner.
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It is about money and the prestige that someone can grant the university. You get the President, you can cash that for gold bars. Get a famous local person, also good for donations from the local alumni. Get a controversial politician from the left or right, donations to certain parts of the university will go up, others may fall, but that is part of the business plan.
I wonder how many emails complaining about her article she is going to read, and how many she is simply going to delete because she doesn’t like their point of view…
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My generation protested everything and anything on campus. It’s what we did. I’m 57.
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“My god! He’s going to do the whole speech! Evil” - Buffy Summers, Graduation Day Part 2, Season 3
No one else has ever held Condoleezza Rice to account for the misery visited on the world, by failing to protect the U.S. when it mattered, and then lying and lying again in support of invading the wrong country (mushroom cloud my ass). So congratulations to whoever led the charge to give her even a tiny bit of push back.
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They obviously listened well enough to know the history and views of the proposed speakers.
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Let’s not forget that Chris Hedges was booed off the stage during his 2003 commencement address in which he slammed the Iraq war. Phil Donahue was also booed off the stage in South Carolina for the same “sin” (and lost his job on MSNBC solely for opposing the invasion). Now, the shoe is on the other foot. As a lefty, I love that the war mongers are being run off the public stage! Good for the millenials! Hats off to ye!
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