NewsMax Wires
Friday, May 14, 2004

President Bush's national security adviser spoke to about 10,000 people — including a small group of protesters — at Vanderbilt University's Senior Class Day.

The bombing at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham killed four girls, including her friend, 11-year-old Denise McNair, and was meant to instill fear, Rice said.

"Those terrorists failed because of the poverty of their visions — a vision of hate, inequality. ... And they failed because of the courage and sacrifice of all who suffered and struggled for civil rights."

Today, many express doubts about prospects for freedom in the Middle East, much as they once did about Russia, Africa and the American South, Rice said.

She urged students to avoid the mistake of thinking some people do not "share your desire to live freely."

Some Vanderbilt students and faculty had signed a petition to protest Rice's selection for an award. The petition said the award amounted to a university endorsement of Rice's role in the war in Iraq and described her as a "person who repeatedly misrepresented the truth to tragic effect."

Constance Gee, a professor and wife of Chancellor Gordon Gee, was among 200 people who signed the petition against Rice receiving the Chancellor's Medal.

Before Rice's speech, about 40 protesters gathered in the drizzle, some holding signs such as "Vandy Does Not Support Liars."

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