Laura Bush at RWU Commencement 2006
The title pretty much sums up the first issue for discussion.
Maybe Laura Bush will make RWU look better after the white scholarship controversy.
Maybe the fact that she is George Bush's wife will taint gratuation with controversy.
Are we playing the "name game" here at RWU?
Does it matter who Laura's husband is? If not, why have Laura here?
What about the fact that she is a proponent of womens' rights?
Please leave a comment below!
This is the official RWU announcement
Here are a few sources about Laura Bush:
On Wikipedia
The White-house Site
Here are a few sources about Laura Bush:
On Wikipedia
The White-house Site
posted by Evan Carroll @ 4/24/2006 11:59:00 AM
17 Comments:
Hi,
I'm Evan, the guy who made this site. I should say that I do have an opinion on the Laura Bush issue, but I hope its not as bad as a bias. I AM interested in what everyone thinks about it, and I'm currious to know if there are many views or just a few. Anyway, this is what i wrote when I first heard the rumor that Laura was going to speek here:
http://evancarroll.blogspot.com/2006/03/laura-bush-rwu-2006.html
my question is, what qualifications does laura bush has as a feminist speaker? yes, she is a woman, but then again, so am i. She did not go to school for women's studies. (she went for education)
so, could she speak on personal experience? probably not. although she has worked as a schoolteacher and a librarian, i wouldn't exactly consider those new and challenging roles for women.
then again, she could speak on the roles of wife and mother. i certainly hope more is expected out of me than that. furthermore on that subject, she is certainally not bringing female empowerment to either of those roles. as we all know, her dear husband, president bush, is a born again southern baptist. in this faith, it is pretty clear as to where a woman's place is; in the kitchen. (believe me, i dated one once, i was given a lecture once that we couldn't date if i wasn't republican and christian because when we got married, i would have a hard time staying home and taking care of the kids.)
the fact is, it is impossible to comment on mrs. bush alone, because she really does nothing besides stand quietly by her man while he continues to take away women's rights around the world. (his right to life rethortic aside, he has also cut funding in africa for aids education because it incouraged safe sex instead of an all-abstinance program.)
roger williams is clearly playing the name game here. unfortunatly, this is alienating a good half of the campus and scarring their memories of their own college graduation.
-sincerely,
loretta martin
Laura Bush is as devious as her husband. She made a donation to a Texas Homeless Shelter with the caveat that they buy software created by another of the Bush clan.
She is just another Stepford Wife in general.
Okay, so I'm feelin' both comments so far. This lazy-eyed fool should stay home. She's just one rich white *expletive deleted* who works with another one [Nirschel's wife] so they can look good. I saw some interviews with the Afghani girls, and they [that I saw] came from well-to-do families from which many members had gone to college themselves. One girl even spoke of post-high school education before coming here. Oh, and by the way...the Bush family isn't exactly looking so hot right now, and history will show [despite what dubya thinks] that we're being screwed. Why should my graduation memories remind me of one of the darkest times in recent American history? I say we boo her when she comes out.
Let's just keep things clean here.
it's funny that this blog-spot started recently, because just last night i was thinking about the kind of outside press that will be made because she is Laura Bush, and she is gracing us with her status.
bullshit. Then i'll be perturbed to see some anchor on the news later that night refer to Commencement '06 at Roger Williams as 'a special day fot the students' just cause she'll be there.
bullshit. the fact of the matter is that commencement for those graduating this year will be trumped by the first lady...man, i'll be pissed if my parents don't get a decent picture of me on stage...
all kidding aside, get ready for the three ring circus y'all, cause it's gonna be a shitshow on may 20th.
I have to be honest. The commencement speaker is not going to make or break my graduation. Are they playing the name game...sure thing. Do I personally like the Bush's...no. Is it cool in some respect that the First Lady will be at our school...sure. But to be honest, the only thing that will bother me about this is if my family and friends won't be allowed into my graduation due to security reasons. The claim is 5 tickets and then first come first serve after the ceremony begins...I dont see secret service enjoying that but I guess we will see.
-Bill Copithorne
I'm feeling Bill's response. I don't care if she is George's wife, or if people feel she represents his decisions in office. That's not the point to me. She is coming to encourage cooperation around the world. She is coming to support our decision to help Afghan girls get an education (whether they are well-off or not). She is coming because of the University's efforts to grow globally and to try to make an impact. I am excited to experience the whole thing. It will be a great day in all our lives, not because she is there, but because of what we've accomplished. Like Bill, I will only be upset if there is a problem with family and friends seeing us walk across the stage because of security, press, or alumni that might get better seats than our loved ones. I hope all goes well with everything and that people will remember graduation for all good reasons it represents.
Frankly, I'm just disappointed that we're going to be getting such a poor-quality speaker. Yes, Laura Bush is a big name - but she's not actually very important. We're not a monarchy, she's not the queen, and Laura just plain doesn't matter very much. Moreover, she's not a very *interesting* speaker - Evan linked to a couple of her speeches on his other blog (thanks for that, man), and they're just plain dull, as only White House speechwriters can make them.
Last year's speaker may have been a relative unknown to a lot of people ("What's a European Commission? Does it have something to do with soccer?"), but he was a man of genuine experience and humor, who'd wielded real power and actually seemed to think it was pretty neat to get to talk with us. That was cool. This will not be.
On the political side - to heck with it. I'd rather have a Democrat than the First Lady, but, as I've mentioned, the First Lady is a non-entity. The fact that she doesn't matter means her *views* don't matter, so I don't see any point in getting worked up about them.
We'll have a boring graduation speech by a particularly pompous jackass, and security might be a bit of a pain in the ass. Other than that, there's nothing remarkable here. That's unfortunate - I would have liked my graduation be *be* remarkable - but hey.
Okay am I missing something... Laura Bush's husband is blowing up Afganistan, but she is coming here to support our Afgan program. Wow I love politics!
I give a big thumbs down. I mean, I really can't see her talk about much that would be interesting to me. I'll prolly be a little tired/hung-over from the previous nights festivities and the last person I'd want to hear give a speech is someone like Laura Bush. Couldn't we have somebody funny or even... interesting??
There is probably no way to get a new speaker, huh?
I wish I went to New England Tech so I could hear the Fonz (whoever he was) or maybe the guys who started Dairy Queen (who are speaking at Salve I think).
get real folks. Laura Bush is a coup for the u. enjoy it - or you can always stay in your rooms and get a dictionary, thesaurus or, in some cases, a haircut.
Laura Bush may support the environment and women, but whose bed does she sleep in? Whose murderous and prejucided policies does she support over nightly talks at the White House dinner table? She sleeps with Satan, but she purports to be his antithesis on some levels, and that makes her possibly even worse than the devil himself.
Nay to Laura Bush.
Yay to my going to liberal California for grad school.
~Carol C.
To Whom it May Concern -
To be honest with you, I am surprised that some of you that have posted on this blog actually made it through college. Your writing skills and basic grammar are deplorable. Your grandiose assumptions about Mrs. Bush are at best, laughable. What qualifies Mrs. Bush as a feminist speaker? I'm not sure, but I don't see the correlation between commencement and feminism.
You know what I think? I think a lot of you are jealous and selfish because YOU think the speaker will ruin YOUR day. Did you learn nothing in college? If nothing, you have to learn to get over yourself because you are not the center of the universe. You also should know that graduation day is a day to celebrate YOUR accomplishments so make of it what you will. If you choose to be sour about the University's choice, then that is your decision. If you choose to enjoy the day then by all means, enjoy it. Because regardless of your opinion of the Bush's, you should be impressed with the fact that she thought enough of a tiny University in a tiny town in the smallest state to donate some of her time to speak with you. Most of you will never have an opportunity like that again.
You can feel what you want and make what you want of your day, but you should recognize the other side of the fence and be respectful. Don't make an embarrassment of yourselves, your families or the University. Believe me, my commencement speaker was some guy from Animal Planet.... and he thought he was funny! Your graduation speaker could be a lot worse than Mrs. Laura Bush.
why are you reading this blog anyway, stephen corey. you don't even go to this school, and if you did, i would personally seek you out just to kick you in the nuts.
true story.
anywho, none of us are less appreciative of the fact that WE go to this tiny school, in a tiny town, in the smallest state of the United States of America and have to deal with first lady bush. if you knew anything about the situation as a whole, this is the first time, that anyone of us can remember, where graduation tickets for seats were handed out. and coincidentally, there happens to be a large section of seats reserved for alumni and honored guests. funny how that all happened. my original gripe was not having loved ones be able to actually see their son graduate without a potential spectical arising from the first lady being here. i agree with you that you make the day your own, but that becomes compromised when new stipulations that have never occurred on graduation day show up, and create outside situations that anyone graduating don't want ot deal with.
we (the person who created this blog included) are going to be graduating from this university with 176 credits, and feel that we kinda did an alright job in the five years we attended here...and don't really care too much about our grammar, dad. don't be that guy who feels he knows a thing or two more about the outside world or us personally because you are past your own college years.
or did the school you went to forget to teach you about not being a prick?
Actually, they did tickets because this is the largest graduating class RWU has seen. The tickets are to prevent some students from bringing 60 people to the ceremony, and then another student not being able to have their 2 guests find seats. Also, the honored guest seating is more a part of the 50th Anniversary. I understand that you are angry, and you have a right to be, just keep in mind that the First Lady coming was one of the last things they added to the ceremony. And also keep in mind that you will probably have one of the most memorable commencement ceremonies that RWU will ever have. And anyways, you are graduating from college finally. Why let a speaker ruin it for you?
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