Arizona State University my Alma mater recently created a controversy of sorts when they decided not to give an honorary degree to President Obama. He has been invited to give the commencement address at their spring commencement ceremony in the month of May this year.
Many universities do have their own traditions which include giving honorary degrees to invited guests. However, I tend to agree with ASU in this case. Nevertheless there has been a big hue and cry regarding this with university being pushed on the back foot.
The reason given for this alleged Faux Pas is that Obama's body of work is yet to come. Which in my opinion is correct. Let's face it, the only notable achievement that President Obama has to his credit is running a very successful election campaign and occupying the esteemed office. When I say this, I say it in no demeaning way. I expect him to succeed, I want him to succeed. We all need him to be the best president in these challenging times.
But before we start showering the rewards and honors, don't we need to see his "Body of Work". There is no reason to make a rock-star out of him just due to the resentment targeted against his predecessor. We need to give him time to see if he can measure up to our expectations and only then we should judge him. "Yes we can" was a nice campaign slogan, whether it gets converted to "Yes we did" remains to be seen.
Many universities do have their own traditions which include giving honorary degrees to invited guests. However, I tend to agree with ASU in this case. Nevertheless there has been a big hue and cry regarding this with university being pushed on the back foot.
The reason given for this alleged Faux Pas is that Obama's body of work is yet to come. Which in my opinion is correct. Let's face it, the only notable achievement that President Obama has to his credit is running a very successful election campaign and occupying the esteemed office. When I say this, I say it in no demeaning way. I expect him to succeed, I want him to succeed. We all need him to be the best president in these challenging times.
But before we start showering the rewards and honors, don't we need to see his "Body of Work". There is no reason to make a rock-star out of him just due to the resentment targeted against his predecessor. We need to give him time to see if he can measure up to our expectations and only then we should judge him. "Yes we can" was a nice campaign slogan, whether it gets converted to "Yes we did" remains to be seen.
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