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Newt Gingrich to be spring commencement speaker at UMW Date published: 3/17/2007
By JEFF BRANSCOME
Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich will give the spring commencement address at the University of Mary Washington. President William Frawley said the board of visitors, senior UMW officials and others collectively decided to invite Gingrich to the May 12 ceremony. They wanted someone, in part, who is making decisions that affect students' lives, Frawley said yesterday. During his 20 years in Congress, Gingrich pushed for the "Republican Contract with America." These days, he serves as a political analyst for Fox News and is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He founded the Center for Health Transformation and is a board member of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. "As an accomplished policymaker and potential presidential candidate, speaker Gingrich is an excellent choice to have at UMW," Frawley said in a statement. An alumnus put the university in touch with Gingrich, who agreed in January to appear. Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell will introduce him to the graduates. Gingrich also is lined up to be the spring commencement speaker at Liberty University in Lynchburg. He earned a doctorate in modern European history from Tulane University in New Orleans. Obviously, not all students agree with the partisan Republican's positions. But "this is a university, and a university is a forum for all ideas," Frawley said. Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com
The first writer is correct that the invitation is too close to an
endorsement. Want to invite Gingrich and others as
speakers to campus? Great. But a commencement
speech is not the right context: it's a day for parents and
teachers to celebrate with grads, and the speaker should
be a role model, someone who can inspire the grads as
they leave the university. What kind of role model is
Gingrich? Aside from his politics, the guy is deeply
hypocritical and is of dubious moral character.
Yeah, it's a Left wing conspiracy. Try reading the comments before answering. The point is against UMW endorsing a candidate by having only him speak at the ceremony. I would have the same criticism if the speaker were not a GOPer or had better morals. You, though, would obviously have criticized the decision only if it were a democrat who had been invited. Bias is not open-mindedness. Frawley is wrong and I hope that the students/alumni/taxpayers protest the decision.
UMW is now an open-minded institution, unlike GOUSA's comment. It seems liberals only think liberals should get to speak in the public square. They call it free speech. Conservatives should never get to speak in the public square. Liberals call it hate speech because they disagree with it. I am sure the grads will benefit from a conservative point of view, something they probably rarely get at UMW. Their guests will simply think UMW has become fair and balanced. Let's hope they are correct.
This is a biased position by UMW. It's one thing to invite presidential candidates to speak on campus...that is available to all. But, to have one be the commencement speaker is an endorsement by a public university. Liberty U can do as it pleases, it is private. Public college grads & guests should not be made to listen to a campaign speech. This is their day, not Frawley's or his choice for president. By the way, which of his wives is he bringing?
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