This. Not a fan of his at all, but thought he was fine today. I fully expected campaigning and him pushing his views, so I wasnt upset over it. Right/center/left...whatever, the sitting POTUS speaking at our 250th commencement is great exposure for the university and all who were able to attend. Good day for RU.
President Obama @ RU Commencement (merged)
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This. Not a fan of his at all, but thought he was fine today. I fully expected campaigning and him pushing his views, so I wasnt upset over it. Right/center/left...whatever, the sitting POTUS speaking at our 250th commencement is great exposure for the university and all who were able to attend. Good day for RU.
I didn't approve of much that the Bush administration did, but I was disappointed by the uproar at Rutgers to her speaking. No one can dispute that she is highly accomplished and would have had a lot to offer as a speaker. As a university we should be accepting of someone of her qualifications as a commencement speaker even if there were objections to things she may have or may not have done as a member of the Bush administration. I think that's what Rutgers should be about. My daughter graduated that year and we got Governor Kean. A nice safe but pedestrian choice.
We got this gem: a bullet from the POTUS after dodging the Pork Roll debate.
Ignorance is not a virtue.
It's pretty good I
I hope Rutgers will be able to use it for our advantage. That would be smart PR!
MO
Anybody surprised by that must not have listened to him speak for the last 7.5 years.
Saw this on twitter. Pretty cool! What a memorable 250th anniversary & commencement for the Class of 2016 and RU.
Mad respect for the folks who have issues with the President but found the decency to acknowledge what an honor this was for The State University of New Jersey, and that the President's remarks brought great prestige to today's ceremonies and to the Class of 2016.
If only he could have told people to support our starting QB's while he was at it.
What should be a glorious day for all Rutgers alums to celebrate has devolved into another display of partisan small mindedness. The real shame is that some of you actually hold a Rutgers degree. Obama honored our heritage today. Too bad we have so many who regularly disgrace it.
If you cannot celebrate the significance of this 250th anniversary of Rutgers and the distinct honor of having a sitting president deliver the commencement address, you should at least show some DAMNED respect for your university. I am at a loss to understand the pettiness of some of my "fellow" alumni, as reflected in this thread. Where is your sense of decency folks?
She has become one of my favorite young ladies.I wish her extreme success in her career.The 6th pic above looks familiar:
:thumbsdown: To this, but [thumb2] to the rest of thread.
Folks let's keep this thread on track as far as Obama speaking at commencement.
Regardless of what you think about the man, I thought it was an excellent speech for the graduates. I think he gave them very good advice and a lot of encouragement to get involved and vote. And I liked that he very gently chided the university and study body about Condi Rice and how the students should embrace opposing opinions instead of refusing the listen to them. A message many on both sides of the aisle could do well to reflect upon.
His researchers did a brilliant job of researching RU and NJ in general. Humorously touched on the Taylor ham vs. pork roll debate, mentioned Grease trucks and fat sandwiches.
His researchers did a brilliant job of researching RU and NJ in general. Humorously touched on the Taylor ham vs. pork roll debate, mentioned Grease trucks and fat sandwiches.
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Brilliant speech by our esteemed POTUS. One more reason to Come Out on this board. Hope and Change! Viva Rutgers! Viva Obama!
I love the Condo Rice comments because I am an independent and believe we need to be respectful of all views so we can argue for Our views to win some.
Not sure what your question implies but I cut and pasted below what I said in an earlier post on this thread. Maybe that will answer your question.
"I didn't approve of much that the Bush administration did, but I was disappointed by the uproar at Rutgers to her speaking. No one can dispute that she is highly accomplished and would have had a lot to offer as a speaker. As a university we should be accepting of someone of her qualifications as a commencement speaker even if there were objections to things she may have or may not have done as a member of the Bush administration. I think that's what Rutgers should be about. My daughter graduated that year and we got Governor Kean. A nice safe but pedestrian choice."
I would have told my parents first.
I heard him saying this to you today, "...ignorance is not a virtue!".
Maybe he never heard Teddy Roosevelt say "speak softly and carry a big stick." Or the saying "people in glass houses should not throw stones."
Great, great commencement speech. Anyone who loves Rutgers had to love the first 10 minutes of Obama's speech, where he showed great respect for RU's unique history and paid great compliments to Rutgers's recent successes, great faculty and wonderful, diverse student bodies, and highlighted Rutgers as being one of the premier research universities in the country.
He was clearly prepped very well, calling out our start in 1766 in a converted pub, noting some of our great students and loved his personal touches on noting RU winning the first college football game, mentioning Exit 9, talking about Fat Cats and Grease Trucks, and speculating that a few students might have stayed up too late last night at Olde Queens.
Was so cool hearing so many great things about Rutgers from the President of the United States. I was smiling from ear to ear knowing Rutgers received the kind of gift, today, that only comes along once in a great while - was a wonderful advertisement for Rutgers University. Anyone who can't appreciate that is being unreasonably close minded and really ought to do a little bit of soul searching.
I also really liked how he weaved in his four points or suggestions for the new graduates to consider as they move on to the next phase of their lives. Here are his points, which he elaborated on, but I'll just list the points:
Point 1: When you hear people longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt.
Point 2: The world is more interconnected than ever before - building walls won't change that.
Point 3: In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.
Point 4: Have faith in democracy.
Yeah, he got political with his thinly veiled shots at a few of Trump's ridiculous positions, but those positions scream out for serious lambasting and he did it well. Loved that he also chided Rutgers for discouraging Condi Rice from speaking here and making it clear people ought to listen to each other, especially people they disagree with.
He then added in a fifth point: gear yourself for the long haul - you're going to have some setbacks and won't always get everything you want, but stick with it and be persistent and that better is good. And he even quoted the Boss, from Badlands: "they spend their lives waiting for a moment that just don't come."
And he finished strong, highlighting some great accomplishments from some Rutgers students, which made him ask the rhetorical question if there was any wonder why he is so optimistic. Finally, he implored everyone to get to work and make sure the next 250 years are better than the last. Great commencement speech.
Very proud of our President and our University today.
He was clearly prepped very well, calling out our start in 1766 in a converted pub, noting some of our great students and loved his personal touches on noting RU winning the first college football game, mentioning Exit 9, talking about Fat Cats and Grease Trucks, and speculating that a few students might have stayed up too late last night at Olde Queens.
Was so cool hearing so many great things about Rutgers from the President of the United States. I was smiling from ear to ear knowing Rutgers received the kind of gift, today, that only comes along once in a great while - was a wonderful advertisement for Rutgers University. Anyone who can't appreciate that is being unreasonably close minded and really ought to do a little bit of soul searching.
I also really liked how he weaved in his four points or suggestions for the new graduates to consider as they move on to the next phase of their lives. Here are his points, which he elaborated on, but I'll just list the points:
Point 1: When you hear people longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt.
Point 2: The world is more interconnected than ever before - building walls won't change that.
Point 3: In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.
Point 4: Have faith in democracy.
Yeah, he got political with his thinly veiled shots at a few of Trump's ridiculous positions, but those positions scream out for serious lambasting and he did it well. Loved that he also chided Rutgers for discouraging Condi Rice from speaking here and making it clear people ought to listen to each other, especially people they disagree with.
He then added in a fifth point: gear yourself for the long haul - you're going to have some setbacks and won't always get everything you want, but stick with it and be persistent and that better is good. And he even quoted the Boss, from Badlands: "they spend their lives waiting for a moment that just don't come."
And he finished strong, highlighting some great accomplishments from some Rutgers students, which made him ask the rhetorical question if there was any wonder why he is so optimistic. Finally, he implored everyone to get to work and make sure the next 250 years are better than the last. Great commencement speech.
Very proud of our President and our University today.
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Just listened to and watched the speech replay. Excellent speech; right amount of local flavor, levity and enough pearls of wisdom aimed at the graduates. Complete disconnect from the chowderheads on here who heard only what they thought already knew, which, ironically, was one of his points. Great day for Rutgers and thank you Mr. President.
I've suggested it several times. Unfortunately, mounting them in existing concrete is very costly. Not like putting one in the ground.
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