Almost a month after students rallied to protest the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings blocks from GW’s campus, some students are outraged at the University’s decision to give World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn an honorary degree at the Class of 2000’s graduation.

Students in the newly formed GW Action Coalition led a candlelight vigil at President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg’s home last Sunday to contest the decision.

We want to say that we are quite outraged in both Wolfensohn and Albright receiving degrees, said Michele Bollinger, a graduate student in the school education.

The World Bank is an organization that promotes world poverty and Albright is a war-monger, Bollinger said. Sanctions on Iraq, which have increased under her administration, have killed one to five million Iraqis since the early 1990s. Ambulances, medicine, pencil and other supplies cannot be let into Iraq. We’re disgusted that Trachtenberg can turn a blind eye to that.

About 30 students joined the vigil Sunday, chanting and holding signs to express their discontent with the graduation speaker. Several students spoke and drafted a letter to Trachtenberg outlining the group’s position.

After the group spent about a half-hour in front of Trachtenberg’s house, two University Police officers arrived on the scene to oversee the demonstration. Twenty-five minutes later, the Metropolitan Police showed up with three officers and two squad cars. The event ended without interaction between police and demonstrators.

UPD came, so that tells me (Trachtenberg) was home, said junior Lauren Lastrapes, a member of the Action Coalition. I think he heard us, that means we were successful. We’ll see if he responds.

Group members said they feel GW is taking a position against protesters of the World Bank.

This represents that the administration, which is supposed to be neutral, came out against protesters at the a16 event, Bollinger said.

Some graduating seniors agreed with the protesters.

There’s still a powerful group of students who are strongly against (the World Bank), and that alone should cause them to choose someone else, graduating senior Eileen Moran said. There’s so many people who they could choose to `graduate’ with us who would better represent us.

It’s sort of a stab in the back because the University kept sending our parents letters (during the protests) about how all they’re doing is protecting us, graduating senior Desiree Battaglia said. Then to go and choose these people is like supporting the (World Bank’s) cause. That’s pretty hypocritical after they denied involvement.

A few seniors felt that Wolfensohn’s presence was unfair for their graduation.

The process by which they picked these people was completely undemocratic, as are most things at GW, Moran said. People who speak at our graduation should be people we support, and these definitely are not those people.

The claims of this group are unwarranted, University Marshal Jill Kasle said.

Wolfensohn was invited in the fall of ’98 to get an honorary degree in May of ’99, she said. He accepted, then he had to cancel because something worldly came up. The lineup of Commencement honorees for May 2000 was made in October of 1999.

Sir Martin Gilbert was the only speaker scheduled within the last 12 months, Kasle said. The other nominees were chosen as long as two or three years ago. The speakers are not always able to attend right away because of scheduling conflicts.

It’s a fluid process, Kasle said. We have already started to think about May 2001.

Kasle said the final schedule of speakers is usually finalized in October of the year before graduation.

Every October when we make a decision we are not starting new, we are carrying with us previous invitations, she said.

This information did not change the stance of the Action Coalition.

I think that even if it was decided before, it could have been reversed, considering thousands of people came to protest (the World Bank), Lestrapes said.

Kasle said there are certain qualities GW looks for in honorary degree candidates.

We look for someone who has achieved excellence in his or her field, she said. Most of the time, and honorary degree is awarded for a lifetime of achievement.

Some students said the University should re-evaluate whom they consider worthy of an honorary degree.

When they give an honorary degree to a sweatshop worker who has endured a life of poverty, then we might be getting somewhere, Bollinger said.