A Goddard College Alumna Responds to the Mumia Abu-Jamal Commencement Address
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| Haybarn Theatre: Goddard Commencment 2014 ____________________ |
“I shot the motherfucker and I hope the
motherfucker dies.”
-- Mumia Abu-Jamal, shortly
after his arrest for the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner and as heard by
several witnesses (Philly.com)
As a Goddard Alum, I posted, on
October 4, 2014, the following message on Goddard’s MFA Facebook page:
I am a
Goddard graduate, and I protest the commencement speaker who is cop killer
Mumia Abu Jamal.
He killed a man in absolute cold blood (the killer was stopped for a
traffic violation) and should not be extolled by a college that embraces peace
and love.
While I agree that no one should be executed and am glad that execution
for Jamal was taken off the table, I believe this man should spend the rest of
his life in prison.
I am disappointed that the college I love would choose a cold-blooded
killer to be a commencement speaker.
Therefore, I will be withholding future donations until further notice.
So Goddard College has garnered its
15 minutes of fame.
Too bad it’s for
all the wrong reasons.
Not very
original, either.
Evergreen and
Antioch Colleges have already beat it to the punch.
Therefore,
Goddard becomes just another follower, not a leader.
A graduation
speech should be a celebration of the graduates’ scholastic accomplishments,
not a soap box for convicted killers.
Of the 23
graduates, 3 have decided not to attend.
What about the three absent voices? I would like to
hear what they have to say.
Do they feel as
if their graduation ceremony has been hijacked? I sure would.
I feel as if my
alma mater has been hijacked.
Dissenting voices
at Goddard (other than the majority) are often silenced, where leaning moderate
or even slightly to the left is not considered cool. At least this was true
back in the early 1990’s, when I was a student (although I have/had never let
this stop me from speaking up).
Still, I had
always considered the “Goddard voice” an important one, even when I disagreed
with the tone (for example, some strident voices referring to heterosexuals as “breeders”
– I answered that one, too).
Look. I’m not
opposed to bringing this killer’s “message” to the campus – some misguided souls
seem to be convinced of his innocence, and if they can make a case for this, then,
perhaps, they should pursue this possibility, but commencement is not the place
or time.
A Mumia Abu-Jamal
project could be done in various ways, such as a project for a student or an
event on campus.
But a graduation
speaker should be someone who uplifts and sends graduates off into the world
with an inspiring message, and, sometimes, that means someone non-controversial
AND accomplished, someone like Col. Chris Hadfield, well-liked and admired (yes,
he’s white and seems to be relatively
conservative in his views).
The only thing
this killer has accomplished: the cold-blooded murder of a human being and the
decimation of his innocent family.
This sickens me.
What else is
there to say?
Truly, Goddard
has definitely jumped the shark.
Sources:
Opinion:
Jennifer Semple Siegel, the
webmaster of this blog, graduated from Goddard College in 1994 with an M.F.A.
in Creative Writing.
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