Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has withdrawn as commencement speaker for Rutgers University, following fierce protests from faculty and students over her role in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time,” Rice said in a statement posted on her official Facebook page Saturday.
After the Rutgers Board of Governors picked the former Bush official in February, Rutgers faculty immediately circulated a petition denouncing Rice for playing a significant role in “efforts to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”
The student government was more divided, having voted 25-17 in March in favor of having her as speaker for their commencement on May 18. Full story...
Related posts:
“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time,” Rice said in a statement posted on her official Facebook page Saturday.
After the Rutgers Board of Governors picked the former Bush official in February, Rutgers faculty immediately circulated a petition denouncing Rice for playing a significant role in “efforts to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”
The student government was more divided, having voted 25-17 in March in favor of having her as speaker for their commencement on May 18. Full story...
Related posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment