To the Editor:

Re “In the Garden, Graduates Boo McCain. Kerrey, Too” (news article, May 20):

As one who holds a degree from the New School (Ph.D. in political science, 1975), I am embarrassed by the reception given the graduation speaker, Senator John McCain, and Bob Kerrey, the university’s president.

I have been an opponent of President Bush’s invasion of Iraq, but I have no tolerance for people on either side who try to disrupt the expression of views they don’t like.

It does the New School’s long-held reputation for open-mindedness and receptivity to dialogue no good. I also fear that it could reflect negatively on employment opportunities for the school’s graduates.

I am sure that the founders of the New School, themselves the victims of intolerance, would strongly disapprove of these tactics.

James Shelland
Bellmore, N.Y., May 21, 2006
•

To the Editor:

Senator John McCain’s comments about the New School student protests were just as canned as his commencement speech: “I feel sorry for people living in a dull world where they can’t listen to the views of others.”

Because he had delivered the exact same words twice before, these students had not only heard his comments, but they had also clearly listened to them.

Indeed, the nimble thinker in this ordeal turned out to be Jean Sara Rohe, a student speaker, who veered from her planned remarks to address the speech’s content more specifically.

If this was Mr. McCain’s attempt to “bolster his conservative credentials,” his inability to deviate from his script did provide an apt counterpoint to Ms. Rohe’s speech, which revealed the sort of agile, analytic and “brave” thinking we should expect from a graduate of a progressive university.

Nancy R. Tag
New York, May 20, 2006

•To the Editor:

Re “Make Poetry, Not War” (column, May 20):

As a faculty member who attended the commencement for New School graduates, I’m glad that Maureen Dowd witnessed and wrote about it. She reflected the spirit of the “rough crowd for agents of American imperialism,” and I would add that there was a standing ovation after Jean Sara Rohe’s impassioned speech.

Yet in my view, Bob Kerrey, the New School president, rose to the occasion. After Senator John McCain’s recycled speech, Mr. Kerrey, besides admonishing the crowd for heckling, referred to Ms. Rohe’s and Senator McCain’s speeches as acts of bravery.

In his opening address, Mr. Kerrey expressed acceptance of the controversy and approval of the right to dissent. In acknowledging Ms. Rohe’s bravery, he made clear that he will not alter the spirit of liberalism and the freedom of expression that are the hallmarks of the university.

Mimi Turque
New York, May 20, 2006