Northwestern Still Stirring Commencement Controversy (one week left to go!)

Posted on June 12, 2008
Filed Under News, The Daily Prereq | By Jessica Dye

You can’t please all the people all the time, but Northwestern University has managed to piss off pretty much everyone with plans for its June 20th graduation ceremony. Administrators hoped to steer clear of trouble by rescinding an honorary doctorate planned for controversial Chicago preacher (and Obama’s ex-buddy) Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but now black NU alumni and undergrads are calling for the reinstatement of Wright’s degree. Sure, he might’ve made a few inappropriate remarks about America, but is that really any worse than Mayor Richard Daley, (who NU’s law school named as a civil defendant in Chicago’s police torture cover-up), or–seriously–Jerry Springer?

President of the NU Black Alumni Association Ce Cole Dillon told PR Web, “It seems clear that the University maintains a color line for controversial people. Controversial white people can speak and receive honorary degrees. Controversial black people can’t be given a degree.” The petition calls for the degree to be reinstated, as well as investigations into why it was rescinded in the first place, among five or six other incidents it said showed a racially intolerant atmosphere at Northwestern. 1,393 people have already signed it. If you want to witness some fireworks in Evanston next week, you can add your name to the list here.

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