# Freedom-lovin' Americans, get your behinds in here NOW! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 15, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225 "2002-06-15T15:13:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/1 "2002-06-15T15:13:27Z")
Someone please read the OP in the thread linked below and assure me that this shit is an Urban Legend. Because if it isn’t, we should be outraged, concerned, and then DO SOMETHING! [Ohio State Graduation Exercises](http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=27823&forum=DCForumID35) For those of us who are too lazy to click on the link (but please read it!), the OP asserts that a silent protest was scheduled during Ohio State’s commencement ceremony against the commencement speaker, George Dubya. Protesting graduates and folks in the audience were to turn their backs on Dubya as soon as he took the mic. News of the protest apparently leaked, and the school announced that protesters would be expelled AND arrested. The above link is an account from one of the protesters in the audience. My questions: Has anyone heard of this story, either as a rumor or through the media? It definitely strikes me as unbelievable, but in this day and age, anything can happen. Second, if this thing is true, how can Ohio State get away with expelling students who simply do not wish to face in the “right” direction? These are adults who have paid megabucks in tuition to experience this moment. Seems like expulsion is a mighty high price for expressing your opinion. Third, how can a protest in this fashion be considered “disturbing the peace”? That’s a stretch if there ever was one. Fourth, again assuming that this is true, what can we do besides whine and complain about it? Or should we whine and complain about it? Should fascism be just another thing terrorist-hating Americans should endure to proclaim their love for this country? Fifth, if this shit did happen, will it ever hit mainstream publications? Or will it be conveniently relegated to “Urban Legend” status before I even finish writing this sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/2 "2002-06-15T15:30:45Z")
I just checked [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) and found a story about Bush’s speech, but it said nothing about protesters other than this: > [@](#): > > Bush was invited to speak at the Ohio State commencement by representatives of the graduating class. But immediately before class members filed into the giant football stadium, an announcer instructed the crowd that all the university’s speakers deserve to be treated with respect and that anyone demonstrating or heckling would be subject to expulsion and arrest. The announcer urged that Bush be greeted with a “thunderous” ovation. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/3 "2002-06-15T15:44:28Z")
This is a first-hand account that someone wrote and posted on Democratic Underground. There is no reason to believe that it is true unless some more evidence can be shown. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/4 "2002-06-15T15:52:45Z")
> [@](#): > > My questions: Has anyone heard of this story, either as a rumor or through the media? It definitely strikes me as unbelievable, but in this day and age, anything can happen. See Mr. Blue Sky’s quote. The same paragraph appears in the _Columbus Dispatch_. > [@](#): > > Second, if this thing is true, how can Ohio State get away with expelling students who simply do not wish to face in the “right” direction? These are adults who have paid megabucks in tuition to experience this moment. Seems like expulsion is a mighty high price for expressing your opinion. Um . . . you do realize that “expulsion” refers to expulsion from the stadium for the duration of the commencement, not to expulsion from Ohio State University, right? > [@](#): > > Third, how can a protest in this fashion be considered “disturbing the peace”? That’s a stretch if there ever was one. Eh . . . I can see it both ways. This isn’t a political rally, after all, it’s a commencement ceremony. As you say, “These are adults who have paid megabucks in tuition to experience this moment.” People are there to graduate, to receive their diplomas after four or more years of hard work. They want to attend, get through the rigamarole, walk across the stage and share that moment with their friends and families. Why should they have that disrupted by people who, in deciding when to pick their battles, decided that now was the appropriate time for this action? I’d have been pretty pissed if someone had chosen my commencement as the time to make a grand political statement, no matter where on the spectrum they were. What’s more, this isn’t an event open to the general public. Ohio State has every right to set certain terms and conditions for allowing people to attend, just as they would for a football game or concert held in the same venue. On the other hand, I fully support the right of people to speak out and protest against policies and persons they consider unjust. I’m just not sure a commencement address is the right time. I suspect people’s opinions on this topic will vary with their political outlook, as well. People who are upset about Bush protestors being “silenced” might be unlikely to have a problem with Clinton protestors being “silenced.” > [@](#): > > Fourth, again assuming that this is true, what can we do besides whine and complain about it? Or should we whine and complain about it? Should fascism be just another thing terrorist-hating Americans should endure to proclaim their love for this country? Fascism? I think this falls far short of fascism. I think it falls closer to not wanting one group of people to fuck up graduation for everyone, and perhaps erring on the side of being too heavy-handed about it. I don’t think that discouraging things like this at commencements is a bad idea. Let me give you an example of something comparable: Back in 1988, when Bush Sr. was campaigning, Reagan was out stumping for him. He came to speak at my college, Baldwin-Wallace College, a small liberal arts school in NE Ohio. The campus Democrat organization planned a small rally/protest on Bagley Road, the road the President’s motorcade would be coming down as the approached the event location. Just about 15-20 people with some signs, like any other protest of its kind. The Secret Service forced the group to move around behind a building, where they would not be visible to the President or assembled crowds, ostensibly in the interest of safety, but also because they didn’t want Reagan to be upset by the protest. Now **that** is bullshit writ large, and should never have happened. A clear First Amendment violation. But commencement ceremonies are not open to the general public, and are not intended to be political in nature. I have a hard time supporting the actions of people who disrupt them and try to ruin them for everyone in the interests of making them political. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/5 "2002-06-15T16:05:11Z")
Commencement is a time of celebration and these pathetic people insist on ruining it for their “little” protests. I remember another commencement where Bush the elder spoke and one of the speakers blasted Bush for his foriegn policy or something. It is not the time or place for that. One question I have though, did this type of stuff happen to Cllinton or Gore when they spoke? I never remember hearing anything like this happening to them. Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/6 "2002-06-15T16:05:31Z")
The only part I have a problem with (and I’m certainly no fan of Bush) is the “arrest” part. Sure, if you want to make someone leave because they are disrupting the occasion, I don’t have problem with that. But subjecting them to arrest??? Are they really criminals? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/7 "2002-06-15T16:06:56Z")
An announcer urging thunderous applause is innocuous. No hurt, no foul. The implication that _enforcement_ (expulsion and/or arrest) might be called down upon a dissenting opinion is odious and unAmerican. Was Our Leader, The Man Who Would Be Churchill, aware of this? Did he approve? You can find several postings on this at [Buzzflash.com](http://Buzzflash.com) (Warning! Highly partisan site!) along with a rather nifty comparison to what Bill Clinton did under very much the same circumstances. The disparity is striking, and, in my estimation, very telling. ---
**Author:** ![JDM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/90db22/32.png) [@JDM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDM)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/8 "2002-06-15T16:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zap\_Rowsdower \* > \*\*Commencement is a time of celebration and these pathetic people insist on ruining it for their “little” protests. I remember another commencement where Bush the elder spoke and one of the speakers blasted Bush for his foriegn policy or something. It is not the time or place for that. \*\* You are wrong. > [@](#): > > \*\* > One question I have though, did this type of stuff happen to Cllinton or Gore when they spoke? I never remember hearing anything like this happening to them. Just curious. \*\* [Yes](http://clinton6.nara.gov/1996/10/1996-10-29-president-remarks-to-the-people-of-columbus-oh.html) At the same University, even. And note that Clinton upheld the First Amendment. JDM I saw elucidator’s post after I wrote this, but my link is better. So there ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/9 "2002-06-15T17:18:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JDM \* > \*\* You are wrong. [Yes](http://clinton6.nara.gov/1996/10/1996-10-29-president-remarks-to-the-people-of-columbus-oh.html) At the same University, even. And note that Clinton upheld the First Amendment. JDM > > I saw elucidator’s post after I wrote this, but my link is better. So there \*\* Sorry, but what part do you feel is “wrong”. And I agree Clinton did a better job in dealing with the protestors during his speech, and I think it is a disgrace that students protesting Bush might be arrested. However, I still feel there are better times to protest than a graduation ceremony. While I do not like Clinton or Bush, I would at least give them the respect of listening to their comments, and leave the protesting to before or after the ceremony, not during. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/10 "2002-06-15T17:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Um . . . you do realize that “expulsion” refers to expulsion from the stadium for the duration of the commencement, not to expulsion from Ohio State University, right? According to the OP in the linked thread, this isn’t what the announcer meant. This person could be exaggerating things or flat-out lying, and that’s why I posted the link in the first place. > [@](#): > > Commencement is a time of celebration and these pathetic people insist on ruining it for their “little” protests. How is a silent protest (simply turning one’s back to the speaker) ruining your little “celebration”. > [@](#): > > But commencement ceremonies are not open to the general public, and are not intended to be political in nature. Bullshit. The commencement ceremony at my university–which is public just like Ohio State–was open to everyone. No tickets were collected. No one asked if you were affialiated with the school. Everyone could come. And if they are not political in nature, why do they often feature controversial politicians as the address speakers? Why do the speakers often talk about political subjects (as the speaker did at the commencement ceremony recently held at my school) if they aren’t political? Perhaps they aren’t meant to be political, but that doesn’t mean they often aren’t. > [@](#): > > However, I still feel there are better times to protest than a graduation ceremony. Well perhaps universities should think about who they should invite as a speaker. If a large percentage of Ohio State’s student body has a problem with Dubya (which the school could have figured out by simply polling them), there wouldn’t have been a protest in the first place. > [@](#): > > An announcer urging thunderous applause is innocuous. No hurt, no foul. I agree, but I still don’t like it. I can understand an announcer saying, “Let’s give it up for George Bush Jr.” right before he takes the podium, but it seems as if this announcement was made even before Bush arrived. That seems very weird to me. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/11 "2002-06-15T17:54:53Z")
There are better times to protest than during a commencement exercise, I agree. However, in my opinion, since so many politicians (right and left) use these events to give political speeches, they have pretty much given up their protection from being protested. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/12 "2002-06-15T18:17:28Z")
> [@](#): > > According to the OP in the linked thread, this isn’t what the announcer meant. This person could be exaggerating things or flat-out lying, and that’s why I posted the link in the first place. Well, no, what the link said was: > [@](#): > > A few students asked for the definition of expulsion…did it mean removal from the stadium or refusal of their diplomas, or both? One of the persons at the front said “Both. And what will your parents do when they are paged from the crowd to bail out their son?” \*\*I do not know if this person had an official capacity with the Ohio State University or any police department. > > I must say, I did not hear that exchange. I was informed of it later\*\* when I found outside the stadium protesting. So the person in the link has the information second-hand, and does not even know the status of the person who allegedly delivered the information to _their_ source. So we have the information third-hand, originating with a person of unknown status. I’m going to bet it means “expulsion from the premises.” > [@](#): > > Bullshit. The commencement ceremony at my university–which is public just like Ohio State–was open to everyone. No tickets were collected. No one asked if you were affialiated with the school. Everyone could come. Well, then, YMMV. My commencement was emphatically not open to the public. > [@](#): > > And if they are not political in nature, why do they often feature controversial politicians as the address speakers? If a college cannot invite the President of the United States to speak, exactly who can they invite? ---
**Author:** ![perspective](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@perspective](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perspective)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/13 "2002-06-15T18:22:14Z")
During a graduation ceremony at my school. We actually had Mumia Abu Jamal speak through a tape recorded speech. This was not a decision by the school administration but the graduating class. Protestors flew across the nation with placards and stood not too far from the outdoor ceremonies. The media came in droves like buzzards hoping for something to go wrong. Before the speech the school president made some comments about not interrupting the speech and respecting the students right to listen. One of the graduating members of the class was actually a police officer. He stood up along with a few others and turned his back during the entire speech. But no one interupted or made any calamity. The officer was allowed to express himself and things went smoothly. He had every right to turn around and I think those students at Bush’s speech did too. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/14 "2002-06-15T18:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > If a college cannot invite the President of the United States to speak, exactly who can they invite? I’m not saying they can’t, **pld**. A university should be able to invite whomever they want, as long as they allow the students to voice their dissent. It’s not against the law to turn your back on the president, AFAIK. This is what I’m fired up about. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/15 "2002-06-15T19:06:56Z")
Its perfectly reasonable, I suppose, for a representative of the University to urge propriety. At bottom, it could be taken to be an expression of an opinion. No hurt, no foul. Any implication of an _official_ sanction - whether is expulsion, arrest, or revocation of dessert privileges - crosses the line. That’s not how we do things here. If the story is as given - that is, if the students did in fact simply stand and turn away from the speaker - it is difficult to imagine a more dignified and respectful mode of protest. My hats off to them. I’m further impressed with the self-discipline of standing there silently while Our Leader drools platitudes onto the lectern for God knows how long! ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/16 "2002-06-15T19:34:48Z")
Here at the University of Missouri law school, our ceremony had Missourian John Ashcroft as it’s commencement speaker. Since it was the law school, admission wasn’t free and open as it is for undergraduate departments’ ceremonies. People had to have tickets. The ceremony is for graduates of the law school, their friends and family, and the legal community here in Columbia, MO. A political demonstration at the ceremony would have been inappropriate, and none occured there. There was a giant protest parade that morning, however. My **VERY** liberal friend Anthony attended the parade. He attested that alot of the protesters didn’t really have well-reasoned objections to Ashcroft’s policies, they were just doing this because their particular campus interest group had decided to oppose the AG’s visit. As the Washington Post once said in response to our being the only _city_ in the country with its own can-deposit law, Columbia is the Berkeley of Missouri. So the protestors came out. As a libertarian (of both the big and small “L” varieties) I certainly have much to object to in Ashcroft’s policies. However, this is the Attorney General, a very high government official. He is also a native Missourian. He takes the time out of his exceedingly busy schedule in the war on terror to come to his home state’s premier public law school. I think that deserves our respect. To welcome the man back to Missouri with a parade protesting him is just inappropriate and above all, rude. At least it happened before the event and on a public street. If the protest had taken the form of being so rude as to turn backs towards the speaker during the ceremony, while parents and students were attempting to enjoy the one of the greatest achievements of their lives…well, that would have been intolerable. At that point, removing those people from the facility would have been more than justified, it would have been necessary. Such breach of decorum would have been even more egregious in the case of President Bush, as the office he carries merits the highest level of respect in a public setting, regardless of who occupies the office at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Mandelstam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Mandelstam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mandelstam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/17 "2002-06-15T19:56:04Z")
_“…that would have been intolerable.”_ Intolerable? Sorry, **RexDart** , you don’t sound like much of a libertarian to me. I can’t say that Bill Clinton was consistently given, in deference to his office, a “high level of respect in a public setting,” even by many senators and members of congress. OTOH, as a liberal who believes in free expression, I didn’t and wouldn’t expect anyone to perform a hollow of ritual of respect. The turning of one’s back seems a relatively considerate expression of one’s political dissent. If people feel politics shouldn’t be mixed up with commencement ceremonies, they should petition those in charge to invite only non-political speakers. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/18 "2002-06-15T20:13:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Such breach of decorum would have been even more egregious in the case of President Bush, as the office he carries merits the highest level of respect in a public setting, regardless of who occupies the office at the moment. Sure, fine, he’s the president. That’s a venerable position. However, why should folks be _arrested_ for simply turning their backs to him? To me, it harkens by to the olden times when folks were punished for not bowing to the king. If they had hooted and hollered, I can understand how that could be construed as disrupting the peace. But I don’t understand how turning ones back is disruptive. I don’t like Bush’s policies, but I’m not sure I would have participated in a silent protest against him. However, I would like to think that if I wanted to protest against him or another public official, I could without fear of punishment. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/19 "2002-06-15T20:26:59Z")
There is a time and a place for one’s political expression. Being a libertarian means that I believe people should have the freedom to express any and all beliefs. It does NOT mean that I believe in being impolite. I absolutely despised many of Ralph Nader’s political views, but if he had come to campus and greeted students on the street I would have shook his hand and been polite. A recent Missouri gubernatorial candidate, a prominent evangelist and philanthropist, came to the campus to shake students hands and I did just that when he came up to me, putting aside what I thought of his stands on some issues. (I recall Bea Arthur’s character on ‘Golden Girls’ planning to ambush Bush-41 when he came to her door to give her an education award, and even she couldn’t do it…though I suspect Maude would have given him an earful.) The rules of decorum and behaviour in public don’t cease to exist just because we have freedoms. There are appropriate times to express your beliefs, and times when you should just smile to yourself and keep those thoughts inside. A commencement ceremony is one of those latter times. A protest is supposed to oppose viewpoints, not people. Protesting a commencement speaker who took time out of his life to speak to a group of students is a rude, personal attack. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225/20 "2002-06-15T20:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Being a libertarian means that I believe people should have the freedom to express any and all beliefs. Good. > [@](#): > > It does NOT mean that I believe in being impolite. This contradicts your stance about freedom of expression though. I don’t think the concept of freedom of expression is limited to things that don’t offend. The Bill of Rights was not written by Emily Post and thank God for that. > [@](#): > > I absolutely despised many of Ralph Nader’s political views, but if he had come to campus and greeted students on the street I would have shook his hand and been polite. Good for you, but people don’t have to be like you. I’m sorry, but if David Duke came to my university to pound the flesh, I wouldn’t give him my respect. My friends and I would boo him off the stage. Not doing so gives the impression that I respect him and his beliefs and that I appreciate his presence on my campus. > [@](#): > > The rules of decorum and behaviour in public don’t cease to exist just because we have freedoms. Simply being impolite is not against the law. Turning your back against someone you disagree with–even if he is the prez–is not against the law. IMHO, it shouldn’t get you kicked out of a stadium either but it especially shouldn’t earn you a trip to jail. > [@](#): > > There are appropriate times to express your beliefs, and times when you should just smile to yourself and keep those thoughts inside. If you really believe firmly in something, then this philosophy doesn’t fly. Some people believe being polite is being fake. And even if it did, who’s to say commencement ceremonies should be solemn and sacred events? Like I said before, if universities never want their students to get riled up, they shouldn’t pick speakers that are controversial. The president of the US probably shouldn’t be controversial, but in Dubya’s case, he is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-lovin-americans-get-your-behinds-in-here-now/114225.md?page=2)