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"    The folding chairs are assembled on the Lawn at the University of Virginia. Traffic is already swollen on this Friday before what Mr. Jefferson called &amp;quot;final exercises.&amp;quot; I am brushing lint off of my velvet gown and tam as I prepare to hug and high-five my students and shake hands with hundreds of proud and exhausted parents. Every graduation weekend seems to generate sermons. I&amp;#039;ve been reading too many of them already this week. So I figure I should offer one of my own. I find it disappointing, but not surprising, that so many people think that Rutgers University students protested Condoleezza Rice speaking at their graduation because of what she thinks or says. Rutgers students protested Rice because of what she did. Somehow that fact eluded some of our smartest pundits. Isaac Chotiner writes in The New Republic that the student protests &amp;quot;suggest rising levels of liberal intolerance, which is good for neither university campuses or the truly shun-worthy people in our midst.&amp;quot; I don&amp;#039;t see how that follows. Sure, there are plenty of examples of left-wing (as opposed to liberal) intolerance in academia. And the principled liberal push-back against intolerance (for example, witness the widespread disappointment with the American Studies Association&amp;#039;s silly decision to &amp;quot;boycott&amp;quot; Israel despite never planning on spending any money in Israel in the first place) is part of that very turmoil of debate that makes this whole endeavor essential in a democratic republic. But the question of Rice speaking at graduation is not among them. And Timothy Egan, writing on The New York Times op-ed page, declares &amp;quot;Near as I can tell, the forces of intolerance objected to her role in the Iraq war. O.K. And by shutting her down, the point is ... what? That extremism, whether in the climate-denial echo chamber of Republican Party elites or in the fragile zone of college faculty lounges, is the worst enemy of free speech.&amp;quot; Oh, please. It&amp;#039;s not like Rice was scheduled to show up in New Brunswick and lead a seminar on the causes and effects of the Iraq War. That would cool. I would totally drive to New Jersey to hear that. No, she was invited to drop 40 minutes of empty platitudes on thousands of captive students and relatives. And by inviting her in the first place, that great state university was granting her the status befitting one of our most esteemed citizens. She is simply not worthy of that status any more. Her sins are too great. Let&amp;#039;s not get all worked up over the role of graduation speakers within the larger and actually important flow of ideas and arguments that occur on American campuses. Graduation speeches and the honorary degrees that often accompany them are merely ceremonial. They recognize people of some earned status (as Rice, with her significant academic credentials and rise at a young age to the role of advisor to two presidents, certainly demonstrates). But they also should reflect the larger moment. Graduating students deserve to have their own accomplishments honored as well by a person of high moral standing who can offer trustworthy words -- often merely harmless blather, but sometimes profound wisdom \u2013 of guidance and inspiration. But they are nothing like seminars, lectures, classes, symposia, and publications that constitute the actual intellectual and cultural work of a university. Graduation ceremonies are important rituals. They are rituals that should reflect the moral trajectory that we all hope our students take as they push themselves into positions of leadership and responsibility. Honoring Rice is unacceptable because she dishonored herself and her country. She looked in our eyes and lied to us. Repeatedly. So 4,400 American service people and 174,000 Iraqis died in an illegal and unjustified war. She also ignored clear warnings that Al Queda was planning to attack the United States. So 3,000 civilians died. Congratulations to Rutgers students for refusing to forget. Shame on those who think she is just conservative or just a Republican. She&amp;#039;s a disgrace. One guiding principle that could let universities avoid such debacles is this: If you can&amp;#039;t tell the difference between a smoking gun and a mushroom cloud you have no business pretending you have the moral authority to preside over a graduation ceremony at a great American university. Here at the University of Virginia students are getting ready to hear from Denver Broncos&amp;#039; quarterback Peyton Manning on Saturday and then former Mississippi Governor and US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on Sunday. One is a Republican. The other is a Democrat. Neither have any obvious academic connection to this university (well, Manning&amp;#039;s wife went here). Both are accomplished in their fields. Both are honorable. There won&amp;#039;t be any protests. Now, given this university&amp;#039;s proximity to Washington, DC, I am sure that had Eli Manning been invited to address graduates, there would have been many protesting students wearing red and gold. I am grateful that no one in the audience will have to look up at Manning or Mabus and think, &amp;quot;That guy lied to get us into a war and now my brother is dead.&amp;quot; And I am just as grateful that no one at Rutgers has to do that now either. Former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean will speak instead. He&amp;#039;s about the most boring person in American public life. But he is honorable and worthy. Here at the University of Virginia, this weekend will be about our lovely and brilliant students. I&amp;#039;m looking forward to it, as I have every year, regardless of whether the speaker was to be Stephen Colbert, Katie Couric, or not-at-the-time-indicted Governor Bob McDonnell. My students will conduct themselves with honor and dignity because the moment calls for it. Now the class of 2014 at Rutgers may enjoy the same. Congratulations, graduates. Siva Vaidhyanathan is the Robertson Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a28738/rutgers-condoleezza-rice-speech-051614/>