Many members of the Dartmouth faculty have been known for making outlandish and disrespectful political statements, but this one certainly tops all of the ones that I’ve heard so far in my two years at Dartmouth in terms of its utterly shameless partisanship. Seventy-five members of the faculty have signed a petition in Protest of George H.W. Bush’s honorary degree, which will be awarded to him at the class of 2011’s graduation ceremony.
They believe that Bush the elder’s values do not reflect those of the college criticizing his record on race relations as President along with his actions as Director of the CIA. They refer to those actions during his period as Director of the CIA as “illegal operations”. Most Americans would view these so called “illegal operations” as protecting America from one of the greatest threats in history, the Soviet Union. Not only did Bush dedicate most of his life to the pursuit of public service to our Nation, but he also put his life on the line defending our nation in World War II as a naval aviator. He also pursued a successful business career in the Texas oil industry. This man’s extraordinary life exemplifies the values that our beloved college should be promoting.
The entire country does not necessarily agree with the actions of the Commander in Chief, but regardless of one’s views the office must be shown the proper respect that it deserves whether that is towards a former President such as George H.W. Bush or towards our nation’s current President, Barack Obama.
I am sure that the majority of the Dartmouth Community regardless of political affiliation will welcome our nation’s former President with open arms and show him the proper respect that he deserves!
–Coleman E. Shear
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