Following protests from student and faculty at Rutgers University in New Jersey, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that she will no longer speak at Rutgers’ graduation.
Last week, more than 150 students staged a sit-in outside the university president’s office to protest the upcoming speech. The protest was largely due to Rice’s involvement in the Iraq war, along with her relationship with former President George W. Bush.
“She misled the American public,” said Sherif Ibrahim, who helped organize the sit-in. “She made dozens of statements to several media outlets that said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and as we all know, Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.”
In a statement released on Facebook, Rice said “Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.”
Rutgers has yet to name Rice’s replacement.