Resolution in Opposition to Condoleezza Rice as Commencement Speaker

Whereas Condoleezza Rice, as National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, played a prominent role in his administration’s efforts to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the existence of links between al Qaeda and the Iraqi regime,

Whereas the lies thus promoted led to the second Iraq war, which caused the death of over 100,000 men, women and children, and the displacement of millions of others,

Whereas Condoleezza Rice, at the very least, condoned the Bush administration’s policy of “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as waterboarding, and its attempt to present such techniques as legal,

Whereas Rutgers, as a public institution of higher learning, should educate its students about past historical events, not pretend they never took place,

Whereas a Commencement speaker, who is entrusted with speaking to graduating students about the direction of their future lives, should embody moral authority and exemplary citizenship,

Whereas an honorary Doctor of Laws degree should not honor someone who participated in a political effort to circumvent the law,

Therefore be it resolved that the New Brunswick Faculty Council urges the Board of Governors to rescind its misguided decision to invite former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to deliver the keynote address at this year’s New Brunswick Commencement ceremony, and to award her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.