The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright does not deserve an honorary degree from Northwestern. But then again, nor do Barack Obama, John McCain, or the myriad of other dignitaries and characters that have marched along the Northwestern graduation stage in goofy robes and been handed those fancy certificates. Northwestern rescinding the invitation to award Wright an honorary degree at this year’s graduation was an inspired move, if only because it means one fewer silly and transparent attempt at soaking up a little bit of press coverage through association.
The whole institution of honorary degrees seems contrived. But even if, for the sake of argument, one were to concede that there is some merit or meaning attached to honorary degrees, Northwestern’s behavior in the Wright debacle was an unfortunate blunder. It makes the school look ill-prepared, having extended an honor to a person it had presumably not fully vetted.
The school may claim that it’s uninviting Wright because it wants to keep the graduation ceremony focused on the students and free of controversy. This is a noble goal that properly emphasizes whom the university should be serving: the students. But it seems like the final message imparted by Northwestern onto its graduating class is hypocritical, if not outright discriminatory. We’re taught to consider all viewpoints, not to conveniently play with the guest list to fit our political needs.
Upon hearing that Wright would no longer be gracing us with his racist, hateful presence, my initial reaction was to snicker at his unfortunate reversal of fortune. Good riddance, we don’t want your brand of preaching here anyway, I figured. But if President Bienen had been withdrawing Janet Reno’s honorary degree, or some other polarizing figure with whom I happened to agree, I realized that my reaction would be markedly different. And that wouldn’t be fair, not to our guest and not to this institution’s supposed commitment to open and free discussion. It’s not much to ask the administration that all candidates are reviewed thoroughly, and offers extended only to the most worthy.
If Northwestern had properly reviewed Wright’s record and found it exemplary in the areas of academics and social justice, then at least they should have had the decency to stick with their decision. Wright does not belong at Northwestern not because he’s controversial, but because his message is antithetical to the values of acceptance and tolerance championed by our liberal arts education.
What Wright was spewing in November, and for the past several years, is the same rhetoric that he is now being criticized for. There exists no mitigating circumstance, no excuse as to why the administration was so late in coming to the realization that Wright is not the kind of activist it wants associated with its brand. Perhaps demonstrating that every decision should be made by committee so as to make finger-pointing harder, Northwestern is now shuffling the brunt of the blame for inviting him in the first place.
The biggest mistake Northwestern made here was not in taking back an offer, as it is a private institution and President Bienen is within his power to do what he believes is in the best interest of the students. But Northwestern’s mistake was in taking a risk it was not prepared to back if public opinion turned against it. The most responsible course of action would have been to consider Wright’s full record back when the honorary degree decisions were being mulled over. That Bienen and the administration realized their faux pas and corrected it is fine. But controversy should hardly be used to judge the worthiness of the administration or student action, and is something that should be engendered instead of shied away from.
Our school’s president should not hand Wright an honorary certificate, and it would be a sad day if Northwestern compromised its standards of promoting justice and good in favor of standing by an uninformed decision. What is regrettable, however, is Northwestern’s weak appeal to wanting to maintain decorum at the graduation ceremony. Instead, anyone responsible for voting to add Wright to the guest list should now either admit they made a bad decision or defend his invitation by appealing to Northwestern’s mission to foster dialog between all viewpoints.