Three years ago, officials at Rutgers University invited ‘Snooki’
Polizzi of TV’s Jersey Shore to
be the guest commencement speaker. The
university paid her thirty-two grand for the privilege of watching her put on
parade the trivia of her mind on graduation day before an audience of Rutgers’
graduates, their families and friends, and, presumably, prominent intellectuals.
This year, Condoleezza Rice, one
of our nation’s foremost African-Americans who rose to prominence as Provost of
Stanford University long before she entered government service, was slated to
deliver the commencement speech at Rutgers.
Rice became National Security Advisor to George W. Bush, and
was subsequently appointed to the post of U.S. Secretary of State. Previously, Rice had served on the National
Security Council under George H.W. Bush, where she honed her skills as an
expert on the Soviet Union.
