Ashcroft met with some boos at Truman, but otherwise fairly peaceful
Source: Kirksville Daily Express
There were some boos. Some people turned their backs. And others held up newspapers over their faces. But other than that, according to the Kirksville Daily Express, it was a fairly peaceful scene during former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft’s speech at Truman State’s graduation on Saturday.
The university’s decision to grant Ashcroft with only the second honorary degree in the school’s history — and to ask him to deliver the commencement speech — created quite a stir on campus. Some students and faculty questioned the decision because of Ashcroft’s record, including his support of expanded interrogation techniques after Sept. 11 that critics said are the equivalent of torture. A petition to protest his honorary degree at Truman garnered at least a couple hundred signatures.
Truman officials have said they gave Ashcroft the honorary degree because he signed legislation in 1985 when he was the governor of Missouri to change the school’s mission from a regional teaching college to a selective, statewide liberal arts university.
On Saturday, before a mostly-receptive crowd, Ashcroft told the audience that none of the honorary degrees he’s received before have meant as much to him as the one from Truman, according to the Kirksville Daily Express. He said the school has helped elevate the quality of higher education in the state.
“My association with this institution is a matter of great gratification to me,” he said.
He also compared his decisions as attorney general to Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb during World War II, the newspaper said.
“And so we had to ask ourselves, are there things that we should be doing in order to safeguard the freedoms of the Unites States?” Ashcroft said. “Are we willing to make tough decisions, like the decision made by the namesake of Truman for this institution, which made a monumental difference for mankind?”
At the end of the speech, some in the audience showed their discontent by refusing to stand and by not clapping.
Heidi Templeton, a university spokeswoman, said the school has not yet transcribed Ashcroft’s speech. She noted that he did not speak from a formal, prepared speech, but spoke more extemporaneously. I am hoping to post the speech to this blog when it becomes available.
As I noted in a previous blog post, Truman is also granting honorary degrees to Charles McClain and the late Gov. Mel Carnahan in recognition of their service to the university. But the university has decided to hold separate ceremonies later on to give out those awards.
The Grade is the St. Louis region’s premier blog on education and child welfare. To read other recent posts, go to www.stltoday.com/thegrade.
Kavita Kumar covers higher education for the Post-Dispatch. 
I was there. I was a graduating senior caught up in all of this mess. Here is a recap of his speech: He started saying it was going to be short–which the audience of course loved. He cracked a few jokes, so far so good. He then stated that he had done this speaking gig before and had received over 30 honorary degrees–all of which were stuffed away in some closet back home. He assured us that Truman’s meant the most. I am sure it will have a rightful place on the top of pile of other honorary degrees. He then went on to talk about this role as Governor and the naming of Truman. That part wasn’t bad. If he had just focused on Truman, higher education, and his role as Governor, the speech would have been fine. But he didn’t. Instead of discussing the achievements of the graduates, he decided to take this moment to address criticisms of his term as Attorney General. This tangent went on for 15 minutes. He attempted to defend his actions as AG, comparing them to Harry Truman’s and the dropping of the atomic bomb. He then mentioned “liberty” like 10 times. Talked about slavery and cab drivers (for real). He was uninspiring, ungracious, and the focus was on him… not the graduates. I am really disappointed with Truman, specifically President Krueger and the Board of Governers.
Typo– I meant to write “Board of Governors.”
I am certainly glad I missed out on going to a college that must teach their students to be disrespectful to leaders — whether you agree with policy or not, respect gos much further than what this sounds like…I would be ashamed of saying I attended Truman after reading this, and would certainly not hire someone who showed this sort of “respect” to a former leader of our state and in our country.
Becky, perhaps respect is lacking in modern times from young people, but we do live in a country that celebrates (and practically worships) freedom of speech. Unlike dictatorships, we are not required to like our leaders, merely to elect them by majority. I would not want to work for someone who does not respect my personal choice to exercise my constitutional rights. They did not protest loudly but respectfully and did not go to great lengths to disrupt THEIR ceremony over something over which they had no choice. Truman is a fine institution and the graduates are intelligent and apparently able to think for themselves. Whether or not YOU agree with them doesn’t matter in this case. The graduates were celebrating THEIR achievements, not the achievements of the former attorney general. As Brandon said, he probably should have stopped after the first couple of paragraphs.
Add another boo from me. At his best, Ashcroft was an embarassment as AG - who can forget his ridiculous drapery over the sculptures in our capital he decided were immodest? Glad I’ll be going to Mizzou’s commencement. Jay Nixon and Debbye Turner are scheduled to be commencement speakers.
Where would Truman be with out Ashcroft Or McClain today?? That Put Truman State Unviversity and Kirksvile,MO Where it is today.. Thanks Because Truman would not have the Students. Even if they would like to be some where esle…But you can not please every one. The Students put Truman in a bad light after spending 4-5 years @ Truman to get their Degrees. Did they not bring any manners from home…
Again THANKS!! TO ASHCROFT AND McMLAIN.
just be thankful…
he didn’t sing.
I thought they taught respect for diversity of opinions at college. Oh, yeah…only if you’re a liberal. What, Bill Ayers wasn’t available to blow something up?
As an alumnus of Truman I’m glad to see this protest. Torture is not a “diverse opinion”.
I couldn’t be prouder of my alma mater. I’d have been right there with you guys.