<p>Looks like Condoleeza Rice is bailing on Commencement, after student protests:</p>
<p>Good for her. I would do the same. Let the grads find speaker they agree with for the most part. Hopefully, it will be as memorable as it would have been if Rice had spoken. Ha ha to them.</p>
<p>Fools. I saw another controversy different school over Rice speaking. She’s only one of the smartest international relations experts, EVER. I laugh at students that get through college, and instantly become intolerant. I ONLY listen to people I agree with! LOL. As if Rice created the Iraq war. The student senates and governing bodies at so many schools are populated with total lefty politicos who only care to debate the number of atheists that can dance on the head of a pointed headed geek. My kids tell me that these student gov bodies have become mostly irrelevant to the majority of students on campus.</p>
<p>We had George Schultz, Reagan’s secretary of state, at my commencement. I wasn’t excited about it, but I didn’t protest. At a big university with people of diverse views it would be impossible to find someone everyone was enthusiastic about.</p>
<p>Funny, Sally, I did too :-). And Paul Simon (senator, not singer). Don’t remember a single word either said. </p>
<p>I wonder if Hillary is ever invited to come speak at Rutgers if she would get the same reaction. She voted for the war in Iraq ( Makes her more of a war criminal than Rice) as well as her hands are tainted with the blood of four Americans that died in Benghazi and tried to cover it up lied about it. Rice is smart and classy and by declining the invitation makes her the better person. Rutgers loss:(</p>
<p>These students and faculty are open to listening to a wide variety of ideas…as long as they agree with them. Otherwise, they are banned from speaking. </p>
<p>If you want to bring in Rice as a speaker, do it in a setting where attendance is voluntary, and the audience can challenge her. A graduation is exactly the wrong place to have her. </p>
<p>Generally, graduation speakers should be people who are inspirational, not divisive. Singer, actress, businessperson, writer, comedian, popular professor, humanitarian, scientist, etc.</p>
<p>One problem with Rice is that she will spend the rest of her life defending the Bush administration, rather than reflecting on its actions. That is just the opposite of the open-minded spirit of free inquiry that you would want in a speaker at a college. If you do bring her in, put her on a lecture panel so that she can be challenged by the other members. Not at a commencement speech where she has a captive audience that must listen to her but cannot challenge anything she says.</p>
<p>Uhm, there are a lot of political commencement speakers including our current president. LOL. </p>
<p>I say shame on the students. And I’m a Democrat, but come on. Rice is an accomplished woman. Shame on them for not welcoming her and listening to what she had to say. </p>
<p>Why do we need commencement speakers? Students attended several years of lectures, hundreds of hours of discussions, thousands of hours of study and now it is important for one person to speak to them. I am not sure why this is so important. Rice should have been invited to speak at a regular school lecture where people would have the choice to attend.</p>
<p>My medical school paid Bill Cosby $50,000 to speak at commencement. What a JERK!!! I could have done without his condescending speech!! That was my introduction to how silly this whole process is.</p>
<p>Btw, enough with the politics.</p>
<p>Same here. I’m a Democrat and no fan of the Bush administration, but Rice is intelligent, accomplished, and whether you agree with her or not, has achieved a tremendous amount in her lifetime. I think she’d be a great graduation speaker.</p>
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<p>Cosby does not talk the politically correct talk so therefore he is “condescending” and a “jerk”. Glad you are not my doctor.</p>
<p>She had no business being invited in the first place. Also, it was her decision to back out, it wasn’t rescinded. It was less than 15 years ago and everyone is acting like they’ve forgotten the mushroom cloud speech. If she couldn’t handle 20 protestors around campus, oh well.</p>
<p>I would have liked to hear her speak. I was disappointed that she declined. </p>