http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=971476As colleges and universities across the country get ready for spring graduation ceremonies, one conservative organization is releasing data it says shows a "clear liberal bias" in schools' selection of commencement speakers.
CampusReform.org is composing a growing list of 2010 commencement speakers. So far the list includes more than 160 names -- and the ratio of speakers known to be left of center to those known to be right of center is nearly 4-to-1. The list of "left-leaning" speakers includes such notables as President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, TV anchor Katie Couric, actor Alec Baldwin, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, former President Bill Clinton, and former Vice President Al Gore.
Bonnie Kristian, communications manager for CampusReform.org, says schools apparently do not want to miss one last opportunity to deliver a liberal message.
no right turn sign"[W]e see this as a sort of last chance for the school to get in a little bit of, I guess you could say even, indoctrination in some cases, where they're not necessary pursuing academic freedom but trying to push a particular viewpoint on the students who attend their school," she offers.
Kristian notes that President Obama and other liberal political figures will be desirable speakers with the left in control of the White House and Congress. "But at the same time," she says, "if you consider that there are still a large number of conservative and libertarians in various positions in government and...well-known conservatives and libertarians in the media...these are not the people who are being chosen."
Commencement speakers with "conservative" credentials, says the group, include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Arizona Senator John McCain, and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.
CampusReform.org is encouraging students at schools which have scheduled a "left-wing" speaker to protest the selection, urge the administration to create a balanced roster of campus speakers, and educate the community with the truth about the speaker's liberal ideology.