Hillary to Give RPI Commencement Address [What type of honorary degree should they award?]

Rensselaer Polytecnic Institute Press Release ^ | March 3, 2005

[ml/nj]

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton To Speak at Commencement 2005

Troy, N.Y — United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) will speak at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 199th Commencement, on Saturday, May 21, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. at the Harkness Field.

“Senator Clinton is a national and global leader, focusing on issues of national security, innovation and science, and education. She has given important focus to regional economic development, paying particular attention to upstate New York concerns,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “We are delighted and honored to have her speak to the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and the arts at the May Rensselaer commencement.”

[ml/nj]

This is just disgusting news to me.

What could the Commodities Scam Queen possibly have to say to a bunch of graduating Engineers and Scientists besides advice on how to lie, cheat, and steal?

I hope other RPI alums will take the time, as I did, to let the school know how they feel about this. I let them know that my (meager) annual contributions would cease for at least a couple of years.

Non-RPI-alums might enjoy playing a game suggested to me by a Freeper-colleague which is to suggest to RPI what sort of honorary degree they might bestow upon this wretch. (I'm so mad about this that I cannot come up with a good suggestion at this time!)

ML/NJ

[billorites]

"What type of honorary degree should they award?"

Some kind of "strap-on" I would imagine.

[thoughtomator]

She'll be getting a B.S. in Broomstick Husbandry.

[sierrahome]

How about awarding her the prestigious Snap-On Tool award

[Tuba Guy]

"...is a ... global leader ..."

Gaaaack !!!

[Keith in Iowa]

Give her a PhD in BS (as in bovine scatology)

[fishtank]

Russian translation: "Hillary, the one playing with herself."

[EagleUSA]

"..She has given important focus to regional economic development, paying particular attention to upstate New York concerns.."
====
Yeah, right, sure, so she could get elected Senator. What a bunch of fools in NY to vote for this felonious Marxist...this makes me sick beyond belief, that an institution of higher learning would invite this backwoods charlatan Marxist to speak --- the desperation amongst the libs for any form of credible self-identity and purpose is TOTALLY ON THE ROCKS.

[rtwingr]

I'd mail my degree back to RPI but I'd have to find it first.

Actually, I'm surprised she didn't pick Russell Sage instead. It's more like her alma mater, Wellesley where 11 "people" were recently hospitalized from alcohol poisoning at the annual Dyke Fest.

[rocksblues]

We are delighted and honored to have her speak to the next generation of leaders in science, technology,

Mean while she recently appeared in India and whole heartedly endorsed their efforts to steal IT type jobs from American workers!

[carlr]

She has given important focus to regional economic development, paying particular attention to upstate New York concerns

What a load of crap.
I live about 40 miles north of Troy and we have seen property taxes go up 17% in 2002,30% in 2003.It took nearly a riot to keep them down in 2004.The biggest reason,Medicaid and Family/Child health plus socialized medicine.
The second reason is the state retirement system that gave away the ranch during the bubble in the late 90s and now is short of funds to cover the generous benefits after the phony Clinton bubble burst.
Upstate counties are teetering on the verge of insolvency with no help in sight from Albany or Washington DC.They enacted the programs but when the costs escalate they shrug their shoulders and look the other way.
The only thing regarding upstate that Hillary cares about is getting enough displaced NYC voters at the polls to overcome the needed turnout to defeat her.

At least when they move up here the libs from the city don`t pollute other states.

[ml/nj]

The only good thing about this is that I probably won't have to put up with her at Cornell. (My son graduates in May.) I'm too lazy to look now, but if I don't have something pressing that day I could be persuaded to dress in black and show up at the 'Tute for a Freep.

ML/NJ

[parcel_of_rogues]

Well considering the luminaries I had to sit through included Jacques Cousteau and Carl Sagan, I can't say their standards have fallen that much.

[ml/nj]

I can't say their standards have fallen that much.

I guess this means that your are an alum. Please be sure to write to the 'Tute and let them know how you feel; and don't be afraid to encourage like-minded classmates to do the same.

And BTW, I don't know about Cousteau, but Sagen was a charlatan not a crook.

ML/NJ

[mcenedo]

I managed to (barely) graduate in '72.

I emailed some commencement topics:

Commodities trading - Vince Foster - Socialized Medicine - $ for Pardons (Family Values) - Looting of the White House.

I blame her appearance on the female in charge of RPI.

[ml/nj]

I blame her appearance on the female in charge of RPI.

"Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D." surely has been a disaster for RPI. President Folsom was mostly invisible to me when I was there, and this caused me to wonder what presidents do. Some years later George Low became president of RPI and I never wondered again.

ML/NJ

[bitjuglr]

In '76 we had Walter Cronkite. I suppose I expected Rather this year; but the speaker they came up with leaves me speechless.

[upier]

I think she should get a degree in Rape Counseling based are here work with Juanita.

[bitjuglr]

I've included a editorial from the Polytechnic regarding Sen. Clinton's selection as commencement speaker.

http://www.poly.rpi.edu/article_view.php3?view=3822&part=1

Dear President Jackson,

I want to start out by saying that I’m a Democrat. I supported Hillary Clinton in her Senate bid in 2000, and will again in 2006, should she choose to run for re-election. For the most part, I’ve supported your decisions here at Rensselaer since I arrived in the Fall of 2001, but I can’t support your decision to have Senator Clinton here as our commencement speaker.

To me, the choice of speaker should not be a question of politics. A person should be invited to speak at Commencement to offer words of advice and encouragement to the outgoing class, as they commence the rest of their ongoing education, and as they enter the working world. They should not, however, be used as a political statement to further any extra goals or agendas.

I don’t know what goals or agendas you may or may not have, but I do know that Senator Clinton is an extremely controversial person. From the moment she announced her candidacy to run for office, people all over the country have been arguing with each other about her motives and ideals. For whatever reasons they may have, a lot of people in the country, let alone New York state or even RPI, simply hate her.

Whether you have used the choice of Senator Clinton to bring the Institute esteem and fame, I don’t know. If you have used it to increase alumni giving or make our school more attractive to prospective students, I can’t say. But to me, as a current student and senior, I know that this has outraged people on campus, and a lot of seniors, several of my friends included, have pledged to never give to Rensselaer or even attend their own Commencement.

I think the students should have a say in who speaks for their Commencement. I think it’s too late to go through all the candidates again, but I, for one, would rather have no speaker and graduate with my class than have Senator Clinton speak with my friends and classmates upset or missing. We should put it to a vote, a referendum during the GM week elections, in which seniors can vote—yes, or no—on whether or not Senator Clinton should speak. I think that’s the only fair way to do it, and I think the Senator herself would agree with me that that would be the best solution.

From the kids who sweated through each and every one of their classes, to the student-athletes who have gone on to records and titles, to those student-employees who have worked to better campus as members of FYE, Residence Life, or Admissions, this day is about them. It’s about their time here; a celebration of what they have done. To many, however, the choice of Senator Clinton is a slap in the face on what should be their day.

I think that it would be a crying shame to go ahead as is. To stop even some of our seniors from enjoying that day to their fullest degree is deplorable. I know I won’t be able to. I’ll go no matter who speaks, but we got here as a class, and we should all leave together.

Vidhu S. Pandey

MECH/AERO ‘05

[ml/nj]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I didn't even think to look at The Poly to see what it might have to say about this.

The piece you quoted is an op-ed article. I thought it interesting that there was no news article about the selection of the CSQ as commencement speaker. The only mention I could find was in an article entitled, "Tuition rises over seven percent to $31,000," and there the mention was an oh-by-the-way single sentence at the end of a paragraph near the end of a relatively long article:

Dr. Jackson ended with some final comments on the focus of the “Renaissance at Rensselaer” and future goals. “Our competitors are not standing still; they continue to press forward...each has a larger faculty, each does more research, each has more endowment, and each has more programs than Rensselaer does, but it is possible to surpass them with careful planning…and judicious use of resources,” Jackson said. “The FY06 budget offers much, but also demands much…we must enroll a freshman class of 1250…and stay the course on research and graduate tuition.” Jackson also announced the speaker for this year’s 199th commencement is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, with the comment that she “has been an advocate for support of basic research,” as well as “a friend to Rensselaer.”

I guess I would say that if you asked 500 people (other than Ms. Dr. Jackson) to write down five things they associate with this wretched woman, not a single one would think to list "research."

ML/NJ