Putting away my Rutgers apparel

[flockofseagulls104]

Every once in a while, I wear my Rutgers hat or hoodie, like to poker tournaments or such. No more. I am embarrassed by my Alma mater, for a lot of things lately, but most of all because they let a small group of political bigots insult Condi Rice and deprive the students and faculty of hearing a point of view that might be different than their own.

I emailed the president of the University, Robert Barchi, expressing my disappointment in my Alma Mater becoming a bastion for intolerance and bigotry to anything but liberal speech. He emailed back, (probably a form letter) saying he did everything he could to keep Ms Rice as the Commencement speaker. Maybe he did. But the fact remains that a small group of loud mouth and intolerant fascists got their way, and it reflects badly on the reputation of that institution.

They paid Snookie $30,000+ to appear on the campus, but God forbid a conservative voice be given a chance to speak there. They replaced Ms Rice with an old democratic governor Thomas Kean, and botched an invitation to Eric LeGrande. I have nothing but respect for Eric, who is a close friend of my nephew, and who would have been an inspirational choice by himself as a commencement speaker, and I am glad he will get an opportunity to speak as well as Gov Kean. But it is really disgusting that the State University of New Jersey would treat any accomplished person like Condi Rice the way they did, simply because she is perceived as 'conservative'.

[goongas]

Gov. Kean is a Repbulican.

[Bob Juch]

Um, you do know that it was her decision to withdraw her acceptance of their invitation, right?

[silverscreenselect]

Um, you do know that it was her decision to withdraw her acceptance of their invitation, right?

Flock is doing a preemptory resignation from Rutgers before they start getting their rear ends handed to them in the Big Ten next season.

[flockofseagulls104]

Gov. Kean is a Repbulican.

Well, my bad. I was already long gone from Jersey when he was Gov. Just assumed.

[flockofseagulls104]

Um, you do know that it was her decision to withdraw her acceptance of their invitation, right?

''
Um, yeah, BJ, I am well aware of that. It's called having class.

I would ask you what that has to do with anything I wrote, but I don't really care what you think, so don't bother answering.

[TheConfessor]

They paid Snookie $30,000+ to appear on the campus, but God forbid a conservative voice be given a chance to speak there.

Thirty grand plus? Why do you assume she's not a conservative? Her speech seems fair and balanced.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/0 ... _stud.html

[Bob78164]

Why do you assume she's not a conservative? Her speech seems fair and balanced.

Geez, Ed -- why bother asking a question when you already know the answer? --Bob

[christie1111]

I can certainly understand your feelings.

For awhile wearing Penn State logos was dicey.

Situations are very different of course, but I actually saw a lot of people who chose to wear Penn State gear to show how proud we were of where we went to school inspite of the situation.

Most people around here would not put that much thought into whether or not you were wearing a Rutgers logo.

Okay, most people don't put that much thought into much of anything.

[Bob Juch]

I can certainly understand your feelings.

For awhile wearing Penn State logos was dicey.

Situations are very different of course, but I actually saw a lot of people who chose to wear Penn State gear to show how proud we were of where we went to school inspite of the situation.

Most people around here would not put that much thought into whether or not you were wearing a Rutgers logo.

Okay, most people don't put that much thought into much of anything.

Wearing a Rutgers shirt in Fayetteville probably never has been a good idea.

[jarnon]

Tom Kean was a successful Republican governor for two terms, chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and president of Drew University. I'm proud to say he's a Princeton alum. Maybe you're confusing him with Brendan Byrne, Jim Florio, Jim McGreevey, or Jon Corzine.

Does this incident bother you more than the Rutgers basketball coach controversy?