"We cannot seal ourselves off from the world's benefits - or the world's curses."

So opines University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann on the selection of Kofi Annan to deliver the commencement address yesterday (where the university also honored him with a Doctor of Laws degree).

As part of the buildup, President Gutmann had previously described Annan as the "perfect speaker":

Annan's commitment to international peace, human rights, and the universal values of equality, liberty, opportunity and human dignity make him the perfect speaker to address Penn students.

And at the risk of being called a fascist, I just don't think "perfect" is an adjective I would use to describe Annan, and with all due respect for Dr. Gutmann, I don't think it's appropriate.

Nor do all Penn students agree that Annan was perfect for their commencement. Those against honoring him at commencement formed a group called Kofi Off Campus, and gathered signatures on a petition -- "200 online, and 500 on paper" according to the website. The group's president, Brian Quimby was a guest on Fox News Live this past Sunday:

A spokesman from the Penn College Democrats declined an invitation to appear with him.

Last week's Carnival of the Vanities host Fresh Politics, a blog run by Penn students, has been following the Ivying of Annan:

All those "freedom froms" should tell you right away what brand of philosophy he follows. Annan is the quintessential statist, a believer in a philosphy inherently opposite to the American philosophy of individual liberty. (It's not freedom of (speech, press, congregation...), it's freedom from.)

Freedom from fear? Not the richest tycoon in the world does not live free of fear.

UPDATE: I've got good news, it looks like I'll be able to videotape Kofi as he tries to sell his statist garbage to the Penn audience. I'm planning to host the speech on Fresh Lila (our trusty webserver) for the greater good. I'll keep you posted.

The honoring of Annan was noticed by New York blogger Slant Point, who linked to a particularly scathing piece by Clifford May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. The latter, writing in the New Hampshire Union Leader, called the event a "ray of sunshine" for Annan:

through the cloud that hangs over Annan, a ray of sunshine has found its way to him. Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, that prestigious Ivy League seat of learning, has invited Annan to serve as this year’s commencement speaker. And that’s not all: In what can only be seen as an expression of wacky collegiate humor, the university also will award Annan an honorary — yes, honorary — doctorate of law — yes, law.

I suppose one could say, “Oh what the heck! So a few billion dollars fell through the cracks. It’s only money!” But that would not be correct. Oil for Food (OFF) was meant to ensure that the international sanctions imposed on Iraq targeted Saddam Hussein — not innocent Iraqis. Because the program was corrupted, not only did Saddam end up with plenty of funds to build palaces and buy weapons; more distressingly, money that was meant to buy food and medicine was diverted. As a result, Iraqi children died and their grieving parents were robbed — by Saddam with U.N. connivance.

I suppose one could still say, “Oh, fiddlesticks. OFF was one U.N. program out of dozens. In other ways, Annan has been the very model of a modern secretary-general.” But that, too, would not be correct. The United Nations, almost eight years after Annan assumed leadership, is embroiled in more scandals than at any time since its founding. As serious as OFF — in a different way — is the scandal involving U.N. peacekeepers in Africa sexually abusing the women and children they were sworn to protect. The exploitation continued even after press reports had forced a U.N. internal investigation.

Nor does Annan deserve high marks for the work he did before becoming secretary-general. As head of U.N. peacekeeping operations, he failed to raise alarms over rising ethnic violence in Rwanda. As a result, the Rwandan genocide took place on his watch. The mass murders at Srebenica and Darfur also occurred during his tenure in top U.N. jobs.

And straight out of a George Orwell novel has been the U.N. Human Rights Commission — a body where the worst human rights violators gather to criticize others.

There have been other scandals as well — too many to detail here and perhaps some we’ll never know about: A U.N. survey last year showed that a significant portion of Annan’s staff fear retaliation if they call attention to management failings.

So, recently I wrote to Gutmann to share these concerns about her decision to honor Annan. To do so, I argued would be an embarrassment to the institution she leads.

Leslie Laird Kruhly, the “Secretary of the University,” responded on Gutmann’s behalf. She said she was “sorry to learn” I disagreed with the choice of a commencement speaker. Nonetheless, she added, “I believe that U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is deserving of this honor” in recognition of “his career of devoted service to the goals of development, international peace and security, human rights, and the rule of law.”

That he has failed to make progress toward these goals is, apparently, irrelevant. What lesson might graduating seniors draw from that? That there is nothing wrong with failing as long as you convince people you’re “devoted”?

She then told me that “Dr. Gutmann’s administration has passionately committed itself to protecting intellectual freedom. We believe that a great university must never compromise on its devotion to free speech.”

What has intellectual freedom and free speech to do with the appropriateness of honoring a man who has presided over mass corruption — well beyond the wildest dreams of anyone at Enron — while turning a blind eye to genocide, organized sexual abuse and long lists of human rights violations? Who knows? Who cares? Apparently, no one at the once-great University of Pennsylvania.

I have to disagree with Clifford May's characterization of Penn as "once great," though. Because if he is right, then it might follow that no commencement speaker could have been more perfect.

UPDATE: In other Ivy news, Power Line has an unconfirmed report that Columbia students were treated to a speech likening Americans to an obscene gesture:

Ms. Nooyi began to compare the world and its five major continents (excl. Antarctica and Australia) to the human hand. First was Africa - the pinky finger - small and somewhat insignificant but when hurt, the entire hand hurt with it. Next was Asia - the thumb - strong and powerful, yearning to become a bigger player on the world stage. Third was Europe - the index finger - pointing the way. Fourth was South America - the ring finger - the finger which symbolizes love and sensualness. Finally, the US (not Canada mind you) - yes, you guessed it - the middle finger. She then launched into a diatribe about how the US is seen as the middle finger to the rest of the world. The rest of the world sees us as an overbearing, insensitive and disrespectful nation that gives the middle finger to the rest of the world.

(Via Glenn Reynolds.)

MORE: I don't know how many people are interested in historical trivia, but according to Straight Dope, the middle finger is a classical tradition:

The "one-finger salute," or at any rate sexual gestures involving the middle finger, are thousands of years old. In Gestures: Their Origins and Distribution, Desmond Morris and colleagues note that the digitus infamis or digitus impudicus (infamous or indecent finger) is mentioned several times in the literature of ancient Rome. Turning to our vast classical library, we quickly turn up three references. Two are from the epigrammatist Martial: "Laugh loudly, Sextillus, when someone calls you a queen and put your middle finger out."

(The verse continues: "But you are no sodomite nor fornicator either, Sextillus, nor is Vetustina's hot mouth your fancy." Martial, and Roman poets in general, could be pretty out there, subject-matter-wise. Another verse begins: "You love to be sodomized, Papylus . . .")

In the other reference Martial writes that a certain party "points a finger, an indecent one, at" some other people. The historian Suetonius, writing about Augustus Caesar, says the emperor "expelled [the entertainer] Pylades . . . because when a spectator started to hiss, he called the attention of the whole audience to him with an obscene movement of his middle finger." Morris also claims that the mad emperor Caligula, as an insult, would extend his middle finger for supplicants to kiss.

UPDATE (05/18/05): Many thanks to the Philadelphia Inquirer for linking this post in its Blog Cabin column. Welcome Inquirer readers! If any of you are new to the blogosphere and want to learn more, well, you're in luck! Because, the post you are reading was also linked by today's Carnival of the Vanities, which provides an overview of the blogosphere with reviews of many excellent blog posts submitted by a wide range of bloggers. It's a sort of BEST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE, so be sure to click on this Carnival link to learn more.