Word: coline
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...yesterday, Oppenheimer and Alejandro Reuss '93 said they hoped the protest would expand beyond the issue of Harvard's dining halls to include the University's decision to invite Gen. Colin L. Powell as Harvard's Commencement speaker...
That said, it should still be a consideration that the speaker chosen should not be too bitterly divisive to the community being addressed. After all, Commencement is supposed to be a time for celebration and reflection, not dispute. In this regard, the selection of Colin Powell to speak at the 1993 Commencement is astonishingly inappropriate. This point has been made before, but it cannot be fully appreciated without considering the full range of issues that have arisen during the tenure of the Class of '93 that have so bitterly divided our community as to spark mass public protest...
President Rudenstine was not yet with us, but those of us that were here have not forgotten the protests, the arguments, and the bitter conviction, either that protesting students were betraying them. Colin Powell's reputation was born out of this conflict. It was a reputation for competence, having competently carried out the will of our nation's elected Commander-in-Chief, having competently planned and executed the destruction of an ancient nation and the killing of 100,000 people of color. (Choose your preferred interpretation...
...Discrimination against homosexuals. The other issue by which we know Colin Powell is his opposition of allowing gays to serve in the military. Sure enough, the second most hotly disputed issue of campus during the last four years has been the issue of homosexual rights. The ROTC issue, homophobic graffiti and vandalism, the infamous Peninsula issue, the theological dispute between Reverend Gomes and Conservative Christians, and the BGLSA's graphic postering campaigns all helped to keep this issue in the campus consciousness...
...Harvard's gay, bisexual and lesbian students, faculty and staff, it is an issue of personal identity and personal safety as well. While much progress has been made towards insuring homosexuals equal civil rights, the ROTC issue in particular has not yet gone away. In part, we have Colin Powell to thank for this. And while our administration offers a hefty dose of principled rhetoric to address both the ROTC issue and the Powell invitation, it has not yet allowed such considerations to affect its actions. It is sadly ironic that Powell should be an outspoken opponent of civil rights...