Furman University's Shame: The Gang of 200

In an act reminiscent of students who heckle and shout into silence conservative speakers such as David Horowitz, former Muslim Jihadist Nonie Darwish, Ann Coulter, and many others, 200 students and faculty at South Carolina's Furman University have signed a petition protesting the school's scheduling of President George W. Bush to deliver the graduation address.

The prestigious Baptist university, located in the scenic foothills of upstate South Carolina, prides itself on the fact that its students average roughly 1350-1400 on their SAT scores.

Through the years, however, the school has gradually fallen into the hands of liberal extremists.

Furman severed its centuries-old relationship with the South Carolina Baptist Convention several years ago in an attempt to prevent conservatives from gaining a controlling majority of its Board of Trustees. Since that time the school has continued its gradual descent into the abyss of liberal politics and religion.

One would think that having a U.S. President speak at one's college graduation ceremony would be a rare and high honor. Normally that would be true, with the exception of the 200 Furman students and professors who signed a letter objecting to the President's visit, and placing on the school's website a post entitled, 'We Object.'

Granted, out of the 2,625 students on campus, a mere 200 protesters is a tiny minority. However, given the Furman faculty's penchant for leaning Left in matters political and religious, the protests point to a much deeper and broader problem at the school.

Claiming that Bush had engaged in 'obstructing progress toward reducing greenhouse gases while favoring billions in tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies that are earning record profits,' the gang of 200 stated, 'We are ashamed of this administration.'

Perhaps the Baptists who gave of their hard-earned dollars to establish Furman would be ashamed to know that these so-called 'brightest of the bright' would buy into the debunked garbage of the 'global warming' nutcases.

Or perhaps these geniuses didn't do their economics homework, given that the percentage profit margin of Microsoft and Google surpasses that of the oil companies. The oil companies do not set the price of a barrel of crude, either.

Further, the 'gang of 200' wrote that they are ashamed of the administration's engagement in the War in Iraq, which 'has cost the lives of over 4000 brave and honorable U.S. military personnel.'

True, Bush has not always handled Iraq prudently. But the War has been an absolutely necessary component of the War on Terror, the central fact of which is that Islamic Jihadists around the world want to kill us.

But this has never mattered to anti-war freaks. They would prefer to lay down their weapons and surrender to being beheaded than to send one single soldier into war to defend this country against ANY enemy.

Much to Furman's credit, the 'gang of 200' has been the target of harsh criticism and condemnation on the part of other students (but not the school's faculty or administration, which have remained silent). One student in particular wrote to the group, 'Don't you dare ruin my graduation.'

I hate to break it to you, my friend, but, they already have. By merely initiating this insane, imbecilic 'protest' leading up to a graduation ceremony, the 'gang of 200' has already left a sour taste in the mouths of many students, and most definitely in the mouths of South Carolina Baptists who at one time sent multi-millions of dollars to Furman.

And all we get for the effort is a faculty of Left-wing kooks and a group of students so dumb as to blindly follow in their wake.

Perhaps the school's financial supporters should send a clear signal to Furman that this sort of overt and crude manner of handling a Presidential visit will not be tolerated. They can easily do this by withholding their funding.