趕走Haverford大學畢業典禮演講嘉賓Mr. Birgeneau

遭學生反對，大學畢業典禮把演講嘉賓拒之門外

海外教育RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA2014年05月14日

由於左派的抗議，越來越多的學校失去了畢業典禮上的演講者，周二， 哈弗福德學院(Haverford College)也出現了這種情況，前加州大學伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley)校長羅伯特·J·柏敬諾(Robert J. Birgeneau)退出了該學院於本周末舉行的畢業典禮。

哈弗福德學院是一所鄰近費城的文理學院，該學院的一些學生和教職工 反對邀請柏敬諾發表演講並接受榮譽學位，原因是在他擔任校長期間，加州大學警察曾在2001年用警棍驅散參加「佔領」抗議活動的人群。當時他首先表示支持 警察，幾天之後又稱關於現場對抗的視頻讓他感到不安，並且下令進行調查。

反對授予柏敬諾榮譽學位的哈弗福德學院師生要求他道歉，並且對他提出了一系列要求，比如採取行動培訓校園安保隊伍，以便更好地處理抗議活動，但遭到他的拒絕。

 柏敬諾宣布退出的前一天，史密斯學院(Smith College)表示，國際貨幣基金組織（International Monetary Fund，簡稱IMF）總裁克里斯蒂娜·拉加德(Christine Lagarde)已因遭遇抗議而退出了該學院的畢業典禮。前美國國務卿康多莉扎·賴斯(Condoleezza Rice)在本月表示， 她不會在羅格斯大學(Rutgers University)發表演講，因為她收到的演講邀請遭到了反對。上個月，布蘭迪斯大學(Brandeis University)取消了對出生在索馬里的活動人士阿亞安·希爾西·阿里(Ayaan Hirsi Ali)的邀請，因為她發表了批評伊斯蘭教的言論。

此類取消演講的舉動——無論取消決定出於校方還是演講者——在以前非常罕見，過去幾年卻變得比較普遍。

羅伯特·J·柏敬諾本來將在大學畢業典禮上講話。

Paul Sakuma/Associated Preess

長期以來，左派校園活動人士一直反對賴斯等比較保守的人物露面，但 就一般情況而言，儘管有人反對，活動還是會照常進行。更不同尋常的是，他們竟然反對拉加德和柏敬諾這樣的人物露面。拉加德是一名具有開拓精神的女性，通常 被視為中立派，因IMF在她上任之前對貧窮國家的政策而備受批評；伯格諾則以對同性戀及非法移民學生的寬容政策而聞名。

哈弗福德學院大四學生邁克爾·拉什莫爾(Michael Rushmore)是致伯格諾的公開信的作者之一。他說，柏敬諾的批評者並沒有設立一個不公平的高標準，雖然「我認為這樣的擔心可以理解」。

「我們承認，一個人不可能方方面面都招人喜歡，」他說。「但是，這一點以非常直接的方式觸動了我們中的許多人，因為我們參與了『佔領』活動。我們認為，我們必須對一些共同立場採取行動。」

周二，哈弗福德學院院長丹尼爾·H·韋斯(Daniel H. Weiss)發信通知學生和教職工，柏敬諾已經退出周日的活動。韋斯寫道，他欣賞抗議者的觀點，但「我們失去了一個認識並聆聽美國高等教育界一名影響至深的領袖的機會，這還是令人深感遺憾」。

翻譯：陳柳、許欣

In Season of Protest, Haverford Speaker Is Latest to Bow Out

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑAMay 14, 2014

Haverford College on Tuesday joined a growing list of schools to lose commencement speakers to protests from the left, when Robert J. Birgeneau, a former chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, withdrew from this weekend’s event.

Some students and faculty members at Haverford, a liberal arts college near Philadelphia, objected to the invitation to Mr. Birgeneau to speak and receive an honorary degree because, under him, the University of California police used batons to break up an Occupy protest in 2011. He first stated his support for the police, and then a few days later, saying that he was disturbed by videos of the confrontation, ordered an investigation.

Those at Haverford who objected to his being honored asked Mr. Birgeneau to apologize and to meet a list of demands, including leading an effort to train campus security forces in handling protests better; he refused.

Mr. Birgeneau bowed out a day after Smith College said that Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, had withdrawn from its commencement because of protests. Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, said this month she would not deliver the address at Rutgers University after the invitation drew objections. Last month, Brandeis University rescinded an invitation to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born activist, over her criticism of Islam.

Such reversals, whether initiated by the school or the speaker, were once rare, but have become more common in the last few years.

Robert J. Birgeneau was to be a commencement speaker.

Paul Sakuma/Associated Preess

Campus activists on the left have long objected to appearances by more conservative figures like Ms. Rice, though usually the events proceeded despite the protests. What is far more unusual is to see them block appearances by figures like Ms. Lagarde, a trailblazing woman usually seen as a centrist, who faced criticism over I.M.F. policies toward poor nations that predated her tenure; or Mr. Birgeneau, who was known for liberal policies toward students who were gay or not authorized to be in the country.

Michael Rushmore, a Haverford senior who was one of the authors of an open letter to Mr. Birgeneau, said his critics were not setting an unfairly high standard, though, “I think that’s a fair concern.”

“We recognize that we can’t like every single thing about a person,” he said. “But this was something that touched a lot of us very directly because we were at Occupy events. There was some solidarity there that we felt we had to act on.”

On Tuesday, Daniel H. Weiss, president of Haverford, sent a message to students and staff members that Mr. Birgeneau had pulled out of Sunday’s event. Mr. Weiss wrote that while he appreciated the views of the protesters, “it is nonetheless deeply regrettable that we have lost an opportunity to recognize and hear from one of the most consequential leaders in American higher education.”