Scripps College Students Denounce Choice Of 'War Criminal' Madeleine Albright For Commencement Speech

CLAREMONT (CBSLA.com) — Students and teachers at an all-women's college in Claremont are voicing their opposition to a planned commencement speech by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state, was booked to deliver the commencement address at Scripps College in
Claremont on May 14, but some students have called Albright a "war criminal," according to the Los Angeles Times.

Other protesters have said Albright's speech should be canceled for her remark that they could wind up in "a special place in hell" if they didn't support Hillary Clinton's historic run for the White House.

According to The Times, nearly 30 professors have joined the protest, vowing not to share the stage with Albright when seniors don their sage green caps and gowns on Saturday.

"People have a right to state their views," Albright told The Times. "I also think they have a duty to listen to people that they might disagree with."

Much of the opposition at Scripps stems from Albright's record on human rights as well as some displeasure that the commencement speaker was not a noted woman of color.

In addition to the Scripps address, Albright is also headlining graduations this year at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the University of Denver, where her selection was welcomed without controversy, The Times reported.

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