Censorship or scholarship at graduation?

DecodeDC.com

These days it might be easier to get confirmed as a federal judge than to get confirmed as a graduation speaker.

This year alone, four speakers have withdrawn their acceptance or been disinvited from some of the nation's finest institutions of higher ed. Among the celebs, activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose invitation was pulled by Brandeis University due to her past political comments about Islam. The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde took herself off the podium at Smith College because of protests over the IMF's policies. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice withdrew from speaking at Rutgers' graduation after protests objecting to her role in the Iraq War and the war on terror.

The latest target was Robert Birgeneau, a former chancellor at University of California, Berkeley. Slated to speak this weekend to graduates of Haverford College outside Philadelphia, he withdrew in the wake of protests of his alleged mishandling of Occupy demonstrations on campus.

The student and faculty protesters see these graduation invitations as an endorsement of the speakers' life work others see the withdrawals as a disturbing trend and a lack of tolerance for a diversity of views.

Here at DecodeDC, this is more of a cry than a laugh.

What do you think?

Read more from DecodeDC here.

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Censorship or scholarship at graduation?