Attorney General
Law Profs Tell Mukasey He’s Not Wanted as Commencement Speaker
Posted Mar 13, 2008, 08:00 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Twenty-two law professors at Boston College Law School are sending a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking him to withdraw as a commencement speaker.
The letter (PDF from Eagleionline) is the latest in a simmering controversy over the decision by law school dean John Garvey to invite Mukasey to address 2008 grads, reports Eagleionline, a student-run website. After some students raised objections to the address, Garvey announced he would not give the school’s Founder’s Medal to Mukasey or any future commencement speakers.
In the letter, the professors “respectfully request” that Mukasey reconsider his decision to deliver the commencement address because of his refusal to declare that waterboarding is torture.
“We realize that you face complex professional difficulties in your position as Attorney General,” the letter says. “We are very concerned, however, that your role in the current controversy regarding the legality of waterboarding has made you a symbol of administration policies that conflict with basic principles of international and domestic law, the ideals of Boston College Law School, and the Jesuit principles that underlie Boston College’s educational mission.”
The professors say they would welcome Mukasey's appearance in a different forum that discusses the Justice Department's role in harsh interrogation techniques.
Related Stories
- Texas Judge and Law Prof in Civil Rights Case is Arrested
Jul 3, 2008, 12:10 pm CDT - Justice Department Admits Snafu in Death Penalty Case
Jul 3, 2008, 07:25 am CDT - Student Loses Suit Claiming Unaccredited Law School Induced Him to Stay
Jul 3, 2008, 06:19 am CDT - More than 900 Whistle-Blower Cases Caught in DOJ Backlog
Jul 2, 2008, 07:28 am CDT
Related Topics
Commenting has expired on this post.
Comments
Posted by J. - 3 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 12 hours, 21 minutes ago
The letter continued:
“We seek only radicalized leftists to speak at our commencement address because we are close-minded and do not want to expose our students to anything other than radicalized liberalism. We want to make sure that their minds are permanently warped and as closed as ours.”
Posted by K - 3 months, 3 weeks, 17 hours, 7 minutes ago
If obeying the common morals of humanity and the rule of law is narrowminded, so be it.
I think authority figures need to feel some sort of consequence from their illegal actions.
Posted by L. - 3 months, 3 weeks, 16 hours, 37 minutes ago
/\ “Illegal” according to your opinion. And that’s fine. But I’m sure that being a conservative is an affront to the “common morals of humanity” in your opinion as well.
Diversity of opinion should be celebrated. But you, and the professors, want political uniformity. We had that before. It’s called the USSR and Nazi Germany.
Posted by Elle - 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes ago
If professors and students feel so strongly against Mukasey being the graduation speaker, they should start a petition or decide to boycott graduation. That should send a message to the administration loud and clear.
Posted by K - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes ago
I dont care if its left or right or center, dont confuse politics with humanity. Torture is not a polictical question, its one of humanity or inhumanity.