condi is coming

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 6, 2002

Stanford students to protest the actions of Condoleezza Rice at Commencement

Students and other members of the Stanford community who are concerned about the policies and actions of Commencement speaker Condoleezza Rice are organizing a non-disruptive, symbolic protest to occur during the Commencement ceremony.  Many of the concerns we are addressing are detailed in a petition focusing on Rice's actions as National Security Advisor, her role as Provost at Stanford, and her role on the Board of Directors of Chevron.  The text of the petition, which is currently being circulated among the Stanford community, is available online in HTML format at http://www.stanford.edu/group/rats/Condi/Condoleezza_petition.html or PDF format at http://www.stanford.edu/group/rats/Condi/Condoleezza_petition.pdf.  Paper copies are available upon request.  Members of the Stanford community who have not had the opportunity to sign the petition in person are encouraged to email their "signature" to jzide [at] stanford.edu.  Please include your name, year, and Stanford affiliation.

Graduates who object to Rice's actions and policies will be wearing red flyers on our caps.  We intend to distribute pamphlets (on matching red paper) to as many of the attendees of graduation as possible explaining why we are protesting and providing the text of the petition.  When Rice speaks, many of us will hold up our caps (with the flyers) towards her in order to symbolically confront her on these issues.  Others will participate with other non-disruptive techniques.  We strongly encourage members of the audience who share our concerns to hold up their copies of our pamphlet in solidarity.  In addition, we are inviting Bay Area organizations which also deal with the issues we are addressing to attend and participate.

We hope to make it clear that many of us object to actions taken by Rice in her roles as National Security Advisor, Stanford Provost, and member of the Chevron Board of Directors and to encourage people to think critically about these policies while preserving the decorum appropriate to Commencement.  We feel this is critical because Rice is a prominent political figure, and her selection sends a strong message about the priorities of Stanford to the student and alumni body as well as to the larger community of which the University is a part and into which many of the graduating seniors are headed.

The ceremony will be held at Stanford Stadium on Sunday, June 16, 2002 and begins at 9:30 am.  It is free and open to the public.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Joshua Zide, one of the protest coordinators, via email at jzide [at] stanford.edu or via telephone at (650) 497-6710.