Graduation Stories

[Dill]

(05-21-2019, 04:00 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: On this we just have to disagree. If you invite a person who holds an elected office to a function to speak, you have turned it into a political event. That's my position no matter the event type or the political ideology of the speaker. By putting a politico on the agenda you make it about politics.

The university, by making the commencement political.

I could add that, unlike random speakers invited to campus to provide diverse viewpoints, a commencement speaker has the endorsement of the administration. It is a statement about the mission of the university, and this statement can often be out of line with the majority of faculty and student body.

If it is maintained that faculty present at graduation "represent" their university, it is rather odd to suppose, on the other hand, that the controversial Pence does not represent his party--even before he speaks. That would be like assuming the faculty don't represent their university until they walk out. That would be like assuming the Democratic party is political but the Republican party is not, at least not until a member of the party speaks.

Endorsing order and authority can become such a habit that one assumes the "boss" has a right to decide whatever, and employees are mostly wrong to contest such decisions and should keep their "bias" off the job. The kid working the cash register at Wendy's doesn't have a right to walk out in protest if Mitch McConnell walks in and orders french fries. Translate that from the workplace to a university, and, in the Taylor case, you have "employees" disobeying orders while "on the clock." 

However, if the university agrees, then you don't have a university anymore.