Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 5-9-17

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Controversy Swirls Around Speaker For Bethune’s Commencement
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
As the month of May ap- proaches, Mother’s Day is the first event on most folks’ agenda, followed by gradu- ations – from kindergarten to college.
Commencement exer- cises for Bethune-Cookman University kicked off on Fri- day, May 5th with the grad- uation ceremony being held on Wednesday, May 10th.
The school’s website
PRESIDENT EDISON O. JACKSON ...President, Bethune- Cookman University
says the speaker, TBA. However, there has been controversy swirling around the name of the person who has been announced as the speaker – President Don- ald Trump’s selection for the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.
B-CU’s 6th President,
Dr. Edison O. Jackson,
however, has defended the decision to invite Ms. DeVos as the speaker. In a letter to alumni, he said:
“...I understand your concerns, and I genuinely appreciate your willingness to voice those in a construc- tive manner. I also ask that you take the time to read and reflect upon this letter, and to attempt to gain a fuller understanding of my
decision. As a veteran edu- cator, I am especially sensi- tive to balancing the notion of academic freedom with quelling potentially hateful and harmful rhetoric.
“I am of the belief that it does not benefit our stu- dents to suppress voices that we disagree with, or to limit students to only those perspectives that are broadly sanctioned by a specific community. If our students are robbed of the opportunity to experience and interact with views that may be different from their own, then they will be tremendously less equipped for the demands of demo- cratic citizenship.
“Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, our venerable founder, did all that she could during the nascent stages of this institution to equip her students with the necessary skills to navigate the precarious waters of fundamental disagreement. She modeled this by inter- acting with and uniquely engaging those who had to be convinced of her mission to provide education to her people. Dr. Bethune de- pended upon the support of people who were scattered all along the ideological and political spectrum – some she agreed with, and some she did not.
“Perhaps Secretary DeVos, much like those early initial skeptics that Dr. Bethune invited to visit and speak on this cam- pus, will be inspired by the profound work that occurs here with our students. At the end of the day, it really is all about the success of our students, and if there are opportunities to possi- bly influence their success,
then we must seize upon them.
“I have chosen to pro- vide our students with an opportunity to hear from someone with whom they may disagree, but someone who has the ability to po- tentially influence their fu- ture.”
Alumni Responds
ANDRA DIGGS ...President, Hillsborough County B-C Alumni
Active alumni had differ- ent views from that of President Jackson.
“As the President of the local B-CU Alumni Chapter, I was disappointed and dis- turbed to find out that Betsy DeVos is scheduled this year to be the keynote speaker for the commence- ment ceremony at our beloved alma mater, Bethune-Cookman Univer- sity. The choice of Betsy DeVos has created a firestorm among the stu- dent body as well as with the Alumni. She is just a bad choice as commence- ment speaker for our grad- uates. She has no idea of what most of these students have gone through to get to this point in their lives, and she has no idea of the things these students are about to face. She is not a good choice to speak to and en-
courage our graduates.”
Andra Diggs, President
MOLBERT SCRIVEN
Molbert Scriven said: “I do believe in the First Amendment which guaran- tees freedom of speech and a person’s right to express ones views. Consequently, one does not have to agree with the rhetoric being per- petrated. First amendment rights and controversial dia- logue are necessary parts of educational exposure and academic growth, and aca- demic institutions entertain opposing views of various subjects. It doesn’t mean that a person cannot still maintain ones convictions. I hope however, that this visit by the Education Sec- retary provides students with a lesson in respectful tolerance, and an opportu- nity to hear other view points while remaining dig- nified and civil.”
Birdie Underwood
gave this statement: “There are a lot of mixed views about U. S. Education Sec- retary Betty DeVos, mainly because of her state- ment earlier this year about Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I’m sure if she received an invitation to be the commencement
BIRDIE UNDERWOOD
speaker at Bethune-Cook- man, it must be in support financially of the University staff and students.”
The Florida State Con- ference NAACP also dis- agreed with the choice of Secretary DeVos. Last Monday, the Florida State Conference “demanded” B- CU to deny Secretary DeVos to speak at the com- mencement, and she should not receive an honorary de- gree from the HBCU.
ADORA OBI NWEZE ...President, NAACP Florida State Conference
Adora Obi Nweze,
President of the Florida State Conference, said in a press release: “...If Secre- tary DeVos ultimately speaks at commencement and receives an honorary degree, this would be a slap in the face to minorities, women and all communi- ties of color.”
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