UPDATE: Furman's Faculty of Fools

Furman University, the school in South Carolina that is the center of a storm over its invitation to President Bush to speak at its graduation ceremony this Saturday, is back in the news with even more controversy.

The Furman faculty, hereafter referred to as the 'FFF' or Furman's Faculty of Fools, has voted 82 to 79 to castigate the University's President for 'inviting Bush to speak at the graduation without first consulting with the faculty.'

We were not aware that a faculty has to first grant its approval before the school President can invite a speaker to deliver the graduation address. Normally these are decisions that are left to the discretion of the President.

Not so, says the FFF. The FFF now claims it has to be notified first so that it can give the nod on a potential speaker.

It is to be wondered if the FFF has ever claimed such a thing in the past. Has the University President ever felt it necessary in the past to seek prior approval from the FFF before he invites speakers to the graduation ceremony?

If the vote of the FFF is any indication, apparently a significant number of professors do not believe it is necessary...79 of them to be exact.

But the 82 who voted in favor of reprimanding the school President apparently believe that a university's top administrator has no authority apart from them, particularly when it involves inviting the President of the United States to speak.

Excuse me, make that a President who dared to fly in the face of the intelligentsia by actually having the gall to send troops to fight terrorists, and to oppose the outlandish and foolish balderdash of the environmentalist wackos.

Had Al Gore or John Kerry been President, for example, I am quite sure that the FFF would have been absolutely delighted by the prospects of a Presidential visit and speech.

It is time for sane, rational donors who give the big bucks to Furman to seriously consider withdrawing their funds from the school. In this way they can send a message to the Furman faculty that there is little tolerance for the antics of fools.

And by the way, the 79 faculty members who maintained their sanity and stood against the 82 wackos are to be commended heartily.