[NU Sports] NU Withdraws Honorary Degree for Rev. Wright

[Mike Nolan]

> Ok--Since you are the one in charge, I have to defer to you--But if anything 
> related to NU is fair game, then discussions could get ugly

Let me start by admitting that I do not know what schools the three
Presidential candidates went to, nor have I even taken the time to look
that up this afternoon.

Among the credentials for that office, what school someone went to 20-40
years go is pretty far down the list of things I feel I need to know.

There have been some pretty good Presidents who went to Ivy League schools,
and some that weren't very good.  We may not as a group agree on which
Presidents should go on which list.

In general the discussion here should be about Northwestern, not the 
personal lives of its graduates.  

I even get somewhat uncomfortable when Joe Girardi's name comes up.  Yes, 
he's an alum and a sports hero, but his professional career is really not 
that relevant to NU any more, not even to the athletic department.  Is 
someone going to attend NU because Joe's managing the Yankees?  I doubt it.
When Joe gets fired (and that's almost certainly a 'when', not an 'if', 
given the history of the Yankee's owner), will that bring discredit to 
Northwestern?  Of course not.  

I was not really aware NU was even offering Rev. Wright an honorary degree 
until this came up.  I would have said that was a controverial decision 
even before Rev. Wright became a point of contention in this year's 
Presidential race.  I don't think that was a bright move by Northwestern,
honorary degrees should make the institution look good, I cannot see how
this one would have.  
--
Mike Nolan