Another high-profile speaker has withdrawn from participating in a 2014 commencement ceremony.
Robert Birgeneau, former chancellor at the University of California-Berkeley, on Tuesday eliminated himself from this weekend’s graduation at Haverford College, according to an article in The New York Times. Birgeneau was also scheduled to receive an honorary degree from the liberal arts institution in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
Some individuals on campus publicly opposed his invitation because police used batons to disperse an Occupy protest in 2011 during his time at the University of California-Berkeley. At first, Birgeneau supported the officers’ actions. But days later he implemented an investigation because he said he was disturbed by videos he saw of the encounters, the Times reported.
When dissatisfied people at Haverford recently asked Birgeneau to apologize prior to the event this weekend, he refused. International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde this week also canceled her upcoming May 18 appearance at Smith College because of anti-IMF protests from faculty and students at the Massachusetts institution, msnbc previously reported. Additionally, former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice stepped down from her future appearance as Rutgers University’s commencement speaker after students and staff railed against her role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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