Motion for a Recess

Furman University of Greenville, South Carolina invited President Bush to deliver this year’s commencement speech to the graduating class of 2008. Almost immediately, an opposition of over 200 students and faculty signed a statement aptly named ‘We Object‘ which listed their reasons for objecting to his visit, among them are the Iraq war and the administration’s environmental policies (or lackthereof). Conservative students charged back with their own “Support our Seniors” statement claiming the objection is “an empty message” and that the faculty is turning a day of celebration “into a forum to air their political differences.” In most circumstances, I’d agree with Furman’s Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow but in this case I do not.

President Bush has created his own mess and thus has become such a polarizing figure that you either hate him or love him. So much of what is going on in this country is attributable to his administration’s flawed policies and his insistence that they are above the law and the constitution. It’s understandable that some would see it as a gross misrepresentation of their values and beliefs. And to say that the faculty lacks discipline to practice what they preach (tolerance, open-mindedness) is somewhat distorted considering that the President has had a blatant disregard for the growing opposition and weariness to the war while impinging on our civil liberties.

It must be disheartening to those students who will not get to see some of their professor’s in attendance but they must not confuse what they see as a lack of open-mindedness or intolerance with what is essentially a remonstration.