Fri., 6/14: Protest Bush at OSU Commencement!

Yoshie Furuhashi furuhashi.1 at osu.edu
Wed May 22 11:08:34 PDT 2002


[Bush has yet to confirm his presence, and he probably won't confirm until the last minute, but this is the call for protest issued by the Community Organizing Center, 614-252-9255.... Join us!]

Friday, June 14

Protest Bush at OSU Commencement! 7 AM, Jesse Owens Plaza @ the Ohio Stadium, the Ohio State University, 411 Woody Hayes Dr., Columbus, OH.

* From the north: Take I-71 south to I-270 west. Take I-270 west to SR 315 south. Exit at Lane Avenue. Turn left on Lane. Turn right on Tuttle Park Place. The Ohio Stadium is on the right. * From the south, east, or west: Once inside Columbus, take I-71 north and follow the SR 315 north detour signs to I-670 west. I-670 west will become SR 315 north, just north of the construction zone. Exit at Lane Avenue. Turn right on Lane. Turn right on Tuttle Park Place. The Ohio Stadium is on the right.

Maps, Directions, & Parking Info: <http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/visitors/popular/ostadium.html> & <http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/ucomm/commence/family2_O.html>.

Come and protest against US aid to Israel that funds its violations of international law and of human rights of Palestinians. Come and protest endless US military interventions abroad. Come and protest Plan Colombia. Come and Protest the "war on drugs." Come and protest Bush's destruction of democracy and attacks on working people in the USA.

Cf. From the OSU student paper _The Lantern_:

***** You've got to be kidding me. The Columbus Dispatch is reporting George W. Bush will be speaking at spring commencement. This is what I get after five years and $50,000? Last year, they got Bill Cosby. At least the 'Cos is intentionally funny.

George W. has not done something big. Or great. The popular vote did not grant him the presidency. His administration is built on his father's foundation. His advice comes from a spiritual flatfoot and oil baron environmentalists. At least George W. has a true warrior leading the troops. But his White House was too busy hunting terrorists to hear our Israeli allies screaming and see the atrocities against Palestinians.

My elders tell me to respect the Office of the President of the United States. The history of my lifetime tells me otherwise. Watergate is my first political memory. When I think of Gerald Ford, I see Chevy Chase. Carter's rescue mission crashed in Iran. Reagan and the elder Bush denied knowledge of our government's support of guerrillas in Nicaragua, funded with cash illegally diverted from arms-for-hostage deals with, ironically, Iran. The president said he was uninformed. Clinton did not legally engage in "sexual intercourse." He did lie.

How can I respect an administration that twists the tragedy of Sept. 11 to their political advantage? They blame it for the recession while tucking tax cuts in their breast pockets. Protect us by cracking civil liberties with increased Internet surveillance and expanded arbitrary searches. Counter gasoline sticker shock with a proposal that would swing the ecological balance of pristine environmentally-protected land in Alaska for the equivalent of soda backwash in the world oil supply. They label political opponents as traitors.

While the Bush administration had to take action against the terrorists, a diplomatic president with a plan has many options at his disposal. A great president harnesses his exceptional skills to defeat the enemy. Lincoln preached honesty and equality. Roosevelt spoke softly. Kennedy shared a vision. George W. Bush, praised by his party as a coalition builder, stands alone on the world stage war mongering over oil fields. Threatening enemies and abandoning allies with inconsistent policies. A politician's words count as much as their deeds.

Our commencement speech looks to be the same prideful, righteous, campaign-trail, content-deficient rhetoric that has inflamed the ignored poor against America. Any advice on accountability pales in the shadow of Enron and Arthur Anderson. Trust and faith in the future are betrayed by his abandonment of global warming and missile agreements. His morally superior ideals are erasing the line between church and state as the nation's largest congregation admits covering for predators in the priesthood. I wanted to be inspired by this capstone of my OSU experience, not use my English degree to decipher the Bushisms....

Andronic P. Orosan is a graduating senior in English. Send your commencement comments to andronicporosan at lycos.com.

<http://thelantern.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=249957> *****

***** Bush should not be grad speaker

As an Ohio State grad (Ph.D., '92), I want to express my strong disappointment with the decision by the Class of 2002 to even consider asking President George W. Bush to be a commencement speaker.

Almost everything President Bush represents is antithetical to the goals and virtues of public higher education.

An average high school student, Bush used his family's legacy to be admitted into Yale, thus denying a spot to a more qualified student. One of his first acts as president involved cutting $39 million from the national library budget.

And, as anyone who attends OSU should know, his Republican allies in Ohio have done nothing to improve public higher education in this state.

It will be a sad day, a day dripping with hypocrisy and irony, if the 2002 grads have to sit and listen to this man.

Kevin Griffith Columbus

<http://thelantern.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=252346> ***** -- Yoshie

* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>



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