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 illary
got the nod to deliver the commencement address at
Yale, but will anyone show up?
Just days after the Yale
Daily News reported that Sen. Clinton would deliver this
year's address, a firestorm is brewing over the controversial choice.
Yale conservatives are working on an organized boycott of the event:
"At minimum, I bet we can get 10% of 1,300 Yale seniors to sign
our boycott statement," says Dan Mindus, a Yale senior who is leading
the effort.
The campus is likely to be divided on the controversial invite.
According to the News, many seniors requested Mrs. Clinton
for Class Day speaker. The News, in an editorial, gushed
over the junior senator from New York: "She is an avatar of the
modern working woman, balancing family, career, marriage and one
of the nation's most trying jobs: first lady."
But conservatives are already mobilizing, preparing to gather signatures
on the boycott statement, spread the word through religious groups
and sports teams, and set up information tables on campus.
"I strongly wish Yale had chosen a better speaker," said former
Yale College Republicans Chairman Howard Clark ('01). "There are
so many leaders out there…that have so much more wisdom than
she has."
Says Mindus: "Nobody can deny that a large number of Americans really
hate her. Graduation is supposed to be a unifying experience. We
should choose as a commencement speaker someone who has displayed
qualities and has a breadth of experience that can be universally
admired. Hillary is not that person."
Of course, Hillary has experience as a commencement speaker. In
1969, she delivered a fiery address as a student at Wellesley College.
This time around, she may be the target of student anger herself.
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