Students protest George W. Bush’s humanitarian award in Denver. (Credit: COSPA)
via the nation
Denver v. Bush
On September 9, more than 100 students, alumni and faculty from the University of Denver rallied against the university’s decision to grant the “Global Service Award” to former president George W. Bush—disregarding 1,600 petition signatures and months of pushback. Created and granted by Dean Christopher Hill of DU’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, who served under Bush as ambassador to Iraq, the award was originally named the “Improving the Human Condition Award,” a title that sparked outrage among the university’s community and was changed in response. Even after two-thirds of the Korbel faculty signed a letter opposing any award given to Bush and students collected more than twenty nominations for alternative recipients, Dean Hill moved forward. Korbel students and members of the Colorado Student Power Alliance responded by organizing a protest and press conference outside of the award ceremony in Denver. Alumni have also organized a boycott campaign, known as “Not A Dime!” to discourage Korbel graduates from donating to the school until their “Restore Integrity to Korbel” Committee’s platform is adopted. While an evangelical Christian university in Canada cancelled an appearance from Bush in response to campus protest the same week as the DU protest, the DU and Korbel administrations have yet to respond.
– Roshan Bliss