Students, Faculty Deter Condoleezza Rice from Commencement Speech
The former national security adviser and secretary of state backed out of delivering a graduation address at Rutgers University after protests by faculty and students over her role in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the destabilization of the Middle East in the Iraq War.
The former national security adviser and secretary of state backed out of delivering a graduation address at Rutgers University after protests by faculty and students over her role in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the destabilization of the Middle East in the Iraq War.
Condoleezza Rice said in a statement Saturday that she had informed Rutgers President Robert Barchi that she was declining the invitation to speak on May 18.
“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” she said. “Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.”
The New Jersey school’s board of governors had voted to pay Rice, now a political science professor at Stanford University, $35,000 for her appearance. University leaders resisted the call to withdraw their invitation and defended their selection, saying the university welcomes open discussion on controversial topics.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support is crucial…With an uncertain future and a new administration casting doubt on press freedoms, the danger is clear: The truth is at risk.
Now is the time to give. Your tax-deductible support allows us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes what’s really happening — without compromise.
During this holiday season, stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and ensure the stories that matter are told.
Politics
The former president has always reserved a special vulgarity for women of color.
The president is systematically dismantling the rule of law, yet neither Barack Obama nor Colin Powell can be bothered to speak out.
Politics
One of the world's most respected South American diplomats talks about U.S. involvement in his country's democratic crisis.
If what the U.S. government and media are saying about Iran seems vaguely familiar, it's because we've heard it all before.
The U.S. national security adviser is not just uninterested in selling a denuclearization pact to the public. He's working to undermine it.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.