Bastards! 31 Furman Professors Excused from Graduation

Breaking their contract agreement with the university, a group of 31 Furman University professors have been 'excused' from attending the school's graduation ceremony today.

The group is miffed that President Bush will deliver the commencement address.

Administrators at Furman granted the 31 professors 'conscientious objection' status so that they could break their contractual agreement without suffering any negative consequences. Furman professors sign a contract that stipulates that they attend all graduation ceremonies.

But apparently the school decided that the 31 gold bricks do not need to follow their contracts like everyone else.

And what about the students who will miss out on having some of their professors at the ceremony, all because they are too self-absorbed on political matters to put the students first?

We can rest assured that these students will never forget that in the final analysis it was more important for these 31 sorry excuses for teachers to make a political statement than to celebrate the graduation of their students.

If it were up to me, the 31 bastards would be 'excused' from service to Furman permanently.

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.

'Gang of 200' at Furman Univ. Makes National News

Furman University's 'Gang of 200' professors and students who are protesting President Bush's graduation address at the school have made national news. NPR News reported, incorrectly I might add, that the 'Furman faculty protests Bush's visit.'

NPR's leftist slant on the story is to be expected. However, let's not forget facts in the face of seizing the opportunity to make the story seem as though nearly all or at least most of those who teach at Furman agree with the protest and signed the letter entitled, 'We Object.'

In actuality only about 200 professors and students signed the protest letter--a tiny minority of the faculty and students at Furman.

Further, the group that calls itself 'Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow' circulated a counter-protest letter that garnered over 650 signatures from students and faculty--3 times that of the liberals who wish to make a graduation ceremony all about Bush and not about the students.

In fact, a strong case can be made that the faculty members who originated the 'We Object' letter wish to make the Bush visit all about them rather than the deserving students who need the support of their professors at graduation, no matter what their political stripe.

Perhaps the actions of the gang of 200 are a way to 'flip the proverbial bird' at Furman's conservative students, who make up a fairly large portion of the student body.

For example, Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow sponsored a speech on campus by national conservative columnist and Fox commentator Ann Coulter. Coulter spoke to a full house of about 2000 or more attendees that observers said reminded them of a rock concert.

The crowd was, to say the least, Coulter-friendly.

This sort of thing has never happened before at the traditionally-liberal Furman. The fact that the conservative group is so strong and active--and successful--on a liberal campus is sure to stick in the craw of the leftist professors who make up a significant portion of the Furman faculty.

Could this be their way of making the student body pay for its conservative beliefs? What better way to disrupt and turn sour a graduation event that is supposed to be a happy occasion?

The liberal professors and students have made their point. They have had plenty of free publicity. We know where they stand. So, why continue with the juvenile display at the graduation ceremony, unless there is a hidden agenda that goes far beyond what the gang of 200 claims as its main objective?

Mature adults know when to protest and when to be silent. Babies who never grew up, although they are significantly older in years, insist on their way and exercise absolutely no prudence, rationality, or the broader issue of taking into consideration the pain they cause those who do not share their views nor want them displayed at their graduation ceremony.

For more information, the following links will lead to the website of Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow, the 'Support Our Seniors' webpage, and the NPR news story on the gang of 200:

http://furmancsbt.org/gradinfo.aspx

http://furmancsbt.org/graduation.aspx

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90664132

More Fallout from Furman's 'Gang of 200'

On Monday of this week, the group that calls itself 'Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow' released a letter containing over 500 signatures that criticizes a group of liberal professors and students for protesting President Bush's graduation speech at the school on May 31.

The letter written by the liberals called 'the gang of 200' contains only about 200 signatures.

Those who object to the President's visit have threatened not to attend the graduation ceremony, in spite of the fact that all faculty members at Furman sign a contractual agreement which contains a clause requiring them to attend all graduation ceremonies as part of their duties.

Furman's administration has stated that provision will be made for the gang of 200 by giving them an area under a tent, away from the area where the graduation ceremony will be held so as to minimize any disruption.

The group has not made clear whether or not they will mount a full-fledged protest during the graduation ceremony.

Students and faculty who signed the letter criticizing the gang of 200 have stated that they consider it a major honor to have a sitting U.S. President address their graduating class, and they denounce the gang of 200 for putting politics and publicity-seeking antics ahead of honoring those who are graduating from the prestigious Baptist school.

Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow wish for their letter to be added to the school's website, along side of the letter written by the gang of 200. Furman officials stated that they would 'consider such a move.'

The question is, what is there to consider? Without hesitation the school allowed a protest letter critical of Bush to be posted on the Furman website by a tiny minority of faculty. So what's the problem with posting a letter containing the opposite point of view, unless Furman's liberal bent prevents them from exercising objectivity?

I think the idea about putting the gang of 200 in a tent, separating them from the graduation ceremony, is great idea, however. The only thing missing is having them wear dunce hats while they entertain themselves under the tent.

For a recent rundown on the events surrounding this controversy, click here to go to the Greenville News (South Carolina) website:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/NEWS04/805190326/1001/NEWS

Update on Furman's 'Gang of 200'

Apparently the controversy at South Carolina's Furman University concerning the graduation speech by President George W. Bush is growing. You will find complete details of the protests of the 'gang of 200' in an earlier post today on The Liberty Sphere.

As the childish and inappropriate tantrum of the group of 200 professors and students continues, a backlash has begun on campus, led by a group of conservative students.

Calling themselves 'Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow,' these brave young men and women are calling on Furman's administration to hold the faculty to their contracts, which mandate their attendance at graduation ceremonies.

Apparently the cry-babies of the 'gang of 200' have been threatening not to show up for the ceremony due to the Bush speech.

In addition, apparently the Furman administration has refused to allow responses to the 'gang of 200's' letter, which was posted on the school's website. The conservative students are demanding that if Furman allows overt political commentary on its website, the least it can do is allow students to respond.

In fact, the conservative group is asking the administration to disallow a political statement by a tiny minority of the faculty to be posted on the website at all.

These students are to be highly commended for their willingness to stand up to the liberal machine in academia, which often effectively shames and silences conservative voices among students and guests.

If Furman allows the 'gang of 200' to get away with these juvenile antics, then I renew my call for the school's financial donors to withhold their funds until some sanity is restored to the University.

Here is a link to the website operated by 'Conservative Students for a Better Tomorrow' at Furman:
http://furmancsbt.org/graduation.aspx

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.