Pebble Hills University degrees can be attested as equivalent to US regionally accredited degrees and Royal Charter accredited degree, considered to the highest form of accreditation in the world by agencies. An evaluation report is an individualized, written report describing each certificate, diploma or degree you have earned in a foreign country while specifying its U.S. equivalent.

PHU graduates are widely accepted by universities throughout the world such as Wisconsin International University, USA, International Open University, IMPAC University, USA, Concepts University, EU, The University of the Punjab, Pakistan, Westbrook University, USA, Southern Pacific University, University of NorthWest, West Coast University (WCU), Akamai University, Midwest Missouri University, St. Elias School, Bircham International University and St. Augustine Educational Services, etc

Pebble Hills University degrees can be attested as equivalent to US regionally accredited degrees and Royal Charter accredited degree, considered to the highest form of accreditation in the world by agencies. An evaluation report is an individualized, written report describing each certificate, diploma or degree you have earned in a foreign country while specifying its U.S. equivalent.

PHU graduates are widely accepted by universities throughout the world such as Wisconsin International University, USA, International Open University, IMPAC University, USA, Concepts University, EU, The University of the Punjab, Pakistan, Westbrook University, USA, Southern Pacific University, University of NorthWest, West Coast University (WCU), Akamai University, Midwest Missouri University, St. Elias School, Bircham International University and St. Augustine Educational Services, etc

Apostille Information

The Pebble Hills University Apostille Degree is officially certified in convention participating countries as provided by the 1961 Hague Convention. Since October 15, 1981, the United States has been part of the 1961 Hague Convention. The Convention provides for the simplified certification of public documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. An Pebble Hills University Apostille degree is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use, and no certification by the Authentications Office, or legalization by the embassy, or consulate of the foreign country where the degree is used is required. The Authentications Office only certify to documents from other federal agencies and officials from foreign governments with the Apostille. (See text of the Convention may be found in T.I.A.S. 10072; 33 U.S. Treaty Series (UST) 883; 527 U.N. Treaty Series (UNTS) 189, and Martindale-Hubble International Law Digest.)

Pebble Hills University Academic Credit System (US-based system)

The American university system may be quite different from that of your home country. Evaluation may be based on objective examinations, in-class essays, or original papers written out of class. Be sure you understand at the beginning of the term your various instructors' expectations, grading mechanisms, and evaluation procedures. The most frequently used grading mechanism in the United States is a letter grading system. The grades A, B, C, D and F have equivalent numeric values used in computing the grade point average (GPA). A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. Although D is a passing grade, normally a 2.0 cumulative average (Cum) is required to obtain an undergraduate degree and a 3.0 to obtain a graduate degree. Grade values are A (Excellent) = 90-100; B (Good) = 80-89; C (Average) = 70-79. To remain in Academic Good Standing, you must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and earn the minimum grade of C in no more than two courses.

Usually that student has a family and must work full time while in the program. We will work with you to overcome the areas where you are lacking. Our faculty are highly experienced in curriculum designs for online teaching and education.

Admission Requirement: the threshold is high for this program, student is at least 25 years of age with professional work experience and learning experience (such as diploma or certificate holder in a specific area).

Application procedure: applicant should submit a very detailed CV and prefereably a reference letter, our staff will evaluate it free of charge and this may take up to two weeks, and then we will send you a study plan and offer letter by email if your application is sucessful.

Administrative and Tuition Fee: fixed fee of US$2000 if you are admitted to our Degree Completion Program no matter how many courses or exams you have to take with us.

Please contact us at admission@pebblehills.edu for details.

Sure, Barack might have received an honorary degree from Wesleyan, but Michelle Obama is now an honorary sorority girl. It's like Revenge of the Nerds, but they're already married and only honorarily sticking it to Ted McGinley. [Sanguine et Purpure]

A vet student caring for a cute little puppy? Child's play. Try mothering a dung beetle. [Kissberry]

A student is suing the University of California for raising fees when they said they wouldn't. So... fees raised (assumedly) to maintain budget and the school is now taking a $7 million legal hit. Things are looking good for UC. [Nuts & Boalts]

The finality of binding the thesis comes without streamers and fanfare, but with a new question regarding a newly former student's identity (not to mention their blog's title). [I Hate My Thesis]

Tip link: Some slightly unorthodox ideas for reducing stress from a student blogger. [college]

No matter where you pursue your education – be it in the brick and mortar world or on the Internet and World Wide Web – the academic staff associated with a particular school or program is what is most responsible for ensuring your success.  The fact is that there are some solid benefits that can be realized when it comes to the staff of instructors and professors that are associated with a particular online education, online degree or distance learning program.

First of all, when it comes to an online education, online degree or distance learning program, you many times will have access to instructors and professors that are at the top of their fields the world over.  Through this type of education program the instructors, teachers or professors are not constrained by geography.  The world literally can become your classroom through these types of programs.

One of the major drawbacks associated with an advanced or continuing education in the brick and mortar world is class size.  Normally classes that are held in real world settings are very large.  Being able to access a teacher, professor or instructor for one on one assistance can be a challenging task in and of itself.

On the other hand, when you go the online education, online degree or distance learning route, you actually will have a better connection with you professor, instructor or teacher.  Despite the fact that you very well may be located a great distance away from your teacher geographically, you can connect with that individual directly and personally over the Net.  Students in these online courses of study nearly universally report that they have had a better connection to and access with their instructors than what is experienced by similarly situated students in the brick and mortar world.

With these factors in mind, as you go about considering different online education, online degree and distance learning options that are available to you today, you definitely will want to take a close look at the academic staff associated with these programs.  As was stated at the start of this article, when it comes to any type of educational program, the academic staff truly does make all the difference.  And, as was also noted, though online education, online degree and distance learning programs you really can access incredible teachers who can change your life for the better.

Website: www.pebblehills.edu

Through an online education, distance learning or online degree program you have the ability to undertake a course of education on your terms.  You can take classes and participate in different online courses at those times that work best for you.  In other words, you decide the schedule rather than having an course schedule make unreasonable if not impossible demands on your life.

In addition to the time constraints, many people find themselves unable to pursue their education because of cost related issues.  The fact is that a traditional course of higher education at a college or university in the brick and mortar world can be an extremely expensive endeavor.

The majority of people in the world today find themselves struggling to make ends meet as it is – living from pay check to pay check.  There simply is not reasonable room in the budget to allow for a traditional course of higher education.

Once again, a course of online education, distance learning or online dgree program can be the ideal solution for you.  In the end, the price different between an online education, distance learning or online degree program is significant less than what you would pay through a more traditional course of learning in the brick and mortar world.

You also need to understand that the quality of education that is offered through online programs of different types – distance learning and online degree options included – is comparable to what you can access and undertake in the real world.  You are not getting some sort of “lesser education” by enrolling in an online education, distance learning or online degree program.

Finally, by taking the online education, distance learning or online degree approach, you actually will be able to access instructors and professors that are tops in their fields from all over the world.  The academic staff of these higher education programs is not limited by geography or the halls of campus based buildings.  Truly, the world becomes your classroom.  And, your instructors really do end up being the best of the best from all corners of the globe in many instances.  In the end, your the instructors of these types of online education, distance learning and online degree programs are invaluable assets all around.

www.pebblehills.edu

As a private institution operating in many countries, the University's outlook is radically different from that of many other universities. Its individualized model of education is based on real-world values that are directly relevant to your life and aspirations, creating a uniquely forward-looking profile within contemporary higher education.

Incorporation
Being a global university, Pebble Hills University, incorporated in America (Delaware, US) and Australasia (HuttRiverProvince)

Global Licensure
The Somali Ministry of Education and the office of Governmental Communications & Contracts has granted an Educational Licensure to the Pebble Hills University, which PHU can operate and teach in the Republic of Somalia. The Somali Transitional Federal Government has authorized to Pebble Hills University to fully teach virtually, in traditional class room or request for educational funds on behalf of the Somali Transitional Federal Government.

The SBC- Antico Principato di Seborga's Council for Distance Education, Culture and Faith, Council of Accreditation has admitted Pebble Hills University as a member of the Council for Education, Culture and Faith of the Sovereign Order of the Antico Principato Di Seborga of Castrum Sepulcri of the SBC.

The University is fully licensed and permitted, to provide Educational programs, seminars, electronic learning and similar, leading to the granting of academic and professional degrees, by Hutt River Province, Australasia.

Accreditation
Pebble Hills University is then fully accredited by the International Commission for Higher Education, which is the professional quality control mechanism for Colleges and Universities' standards. Their Accreditation gives a public record of your learning that will be widely accepted by employers, professional associations, by other colleges and universities, and will be recognized in and out of state as well as internationally.

PHU is also fully accredited by The Professional Managers Association (PMA). PMA will accept Pebble Hills University's graduates for full Membership of the Association. These with Master's degrees can enter the PMA at Certified Professional Manager (P.Mgr) level. Those with Doctoral degrees will be entitled to enter as Fellows. In addition, the PHU degrees will be accepted for Exemption from the Association's Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Graduate Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies at equivalent levels. PHU's Bachelor level graduates will also qualify for Credit Transfer award of our Graduate Diploma in Management Studies and those with PHU's Masters or Doctoral degrees will qualify for award of PMA Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration by Credit Transfer.

Pebble Hills University is an official department of the World Information Distributed University (WIDU). WIDU is an entity included in the L'Academie Europeenne d'lnformatisation (A.E.I), established in Belgium under the decree of the Belgian King Albert II. Pebble Hills University is an approved department of WIDU. WIDU is licensed by Moscow (Russian Federation) to train and award scientific degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Grand Doctor of Philosophy and approved to act as a world base of educational programs and to facilitate the development of expertise Vis educational programs.

Our online degree programs:
BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA)
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING (BSEE)
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (BSIT)
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING (MSEE)
GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MASTER CERTIFICATE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MBA
GLOBAL EXECUTIVE DBA
Master of Philosophy (M.Phil)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Graduates of PHU programs will be recognized by the following organizations for membership at a

grade appropriate to each applicant's qualifications and working experience:
International Sales Pros Association
International Business Association
The Institute of Management Specialists (IMS)
The Institute of Manufacturing (IManf)
Professional Business & Technical Management (PBTM)
The MBA and Professional Managers Guild
The Academy of Multi-Skills (AMS)
The Academy of Executives & Administrators (AEA)
Asia Pacific CEO Association
Asia Pacific VIP Association
Asia Pacific BBA Graduates Association
Asia Pacific MBA Graduates Association
Asia Pacific DBA Graduates Association
Chartered Association of Accounting And Finance
Chartered Association of Financial Accountants
Chartered Association of Directors
Association of Certified Financial Controllers
Association of Registered Financial Planners
Certified HR Managers Association
Registered HR Managers Association
Association of Certified Investment Analysts
Chartered Management Association
Association of Certified Management Consultants
Hong Kong Sales And Marketing Association
Chartered Association of Property And Security
Association of Certified Public Secretaries And Administrators
Association of Registered Public Secretaries And Administrators
Association of Certified Purchasing And Supply Managers
Chartered Institute of Training And Development
Chartered Association of Technology And Engineering
Chartered Association of Hotel And Tourism
Association of Certified Housing Managers
Association of Registered Housing Managers
The International Institute of Engineers
Corporate Members of the DTMSI with suitable engineering related education, training and experience, or those members within the International Institute of Engineers (IIE), qualify for registration with the SPE provided they fulfill the experience, training and professional career requirements and are welcome to apply to be admitted to the register as a Professional Engineer (P Eng UK))
The International Institute of Scientists
The International Guild of Academicians
The International Institute of Architects
International Association of Educators (INASED)
Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP)
International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED)
International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
The International Association for Computer Information Systems
International Association of Information Technology Trainers (ITrain)
The International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER)
International Benevolent Research Forum, India (IBRF)
Corporation of Executives & Administrators (CEA)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountantants (CIMA, Nigeria)

Pebble Hills University degree can be notarized, authenticated and apostilled by the Government and hence will be accepted by country as per Hague Convention.
Embassy Legalization is a process wherein documents issued in one country are authenticated by the issuing country authorities such that the document is deemed legitimate for use abroad . It serves as evidence that the document was issued by the person(s) claiming to execute the document, on the date, and place of execution. A competent official certifies this document to be authentic for international use. i.e. proof that the document is genuine and not fraudulent.

Documents sent to member nations, completed with an Apostille at the state level, may be submitted directly to the member nation without further action.
1. Notarization
2. Secretary of State level authentication
3. U.S. Dept of State level national authentication
4. Embassy Legalization

Please contact us at admin@pebblehills.edu if you would like to apply for the above services.
Website: www.pebblehills.edu

Prof. Muhammed Ayinla Omolaja, the President of International College of Management and Technology (Nigeria) and regional director of PHU, Nigeria, claimed that “it is the universality of the institution in its approaches that is fetching it so much popularity in recent time among education lovers over and above regional Universities the world over.”

Learn to hold on to what you believe is right and just. Be gracious enough to accept your mistakes and resolve to improve. Humility never demeans a person rather it elevates him. Take each difficult head on and see it as an opportunity to learn and excel.

The best study mode for working adults would be distance learning, which is practical for them to balance their work, family and study.

The overriding philosophy of an outstanding distance learning University is to prepare managers, administrators, scientists, engineers, technologists and agriculturists for critical tasks of the moment and for the future. This objective will be met by providing a foundation on which students can build and grow after they graduate; a foundation sufficiently general to be relevant to a broad range of management, social and technology contexts.

Dr. Patrick A. Welsh, the Principal of Caribbean Institute of Business expressed that “Pebble Hills University has opened up another door, creating another chance for success for those students in Jamaica who would be left behind by not having a BSc. or an MBA.” (Pebble Hills University is a global online university)

Global business is expanding, that’s why you need a global institution with a radical outlook towards education. Due to an education system based on real world values, the knowledge gained can be incorporated easily & more practically in the relevant field.

According to Prof. Manfred of Pebble Hills University, “the highly diverse community at the University consists from many cultures, nationalities and religions offers students a unique environment and a great experience. Also the students who enrol in to study programs can complete them in their local campus. Also they have the option of completing the selected study with PHU directly, online.”

You may visit www.pebblehills.edu for more information

Regardless of any notion of a "political spectrum," Schlafly's ideas are quite extreme. They're extreme enough for the Women's and Gender Studies Department to boycott the ceremonies and for students, faculty, and staff to join together in one of the most organized and determined protests in the last four years. At this point, it doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with her views. And it doesn't matter if you believe the University should allow anyone of any political ideology to receive recognition.

The Chancellor needs to take a page from Northwestern's playbook and rescind Schlafly's offer. The Chicago Tribune quotes Northwestern President Henry Bienen's letter to Reverend Jeremiah Wright: "In light of the controversy surrounding statements by you that have been recently publicized, the celebratory character of Northwestern's commencement would be affected by our conferring of this degree." It's likely the first for Northwestern, and a similar action at WUSTL may be the first, but it's the right move.

The Chancellor needs to recognize the utmost priority of the commencement ceremony: to honor the academic achievements of students at Washington University. Schlafly's views are in direct conflict with the ceremony, and the protests are justified. Yet the Chancellor does not need to submit solely to the student opposition. He can save face with the Board of Trustees by explaining his desire to present the award, but the need to change plans because the protests caused by her presence are not appropriate for the ceremony.

There is still time to end this debacle before it starts. The Washington University Alumni Council urges Chancellor Wrighton to rescind Schlafy's honorary degree offer. There are many legitimate reasons why the University should not give her one. Above all, students deserve a peaceful, distraction-free ceremony.

O doutoramento foi atribuído pelo reitor Dr. Alan Finkel e pelo vice-reitor Richard Larkins, numa cerimónia em Melbourne. O multifacetado artista australiano - músico, novelista, actor, compositor de diversas bandas sonoras e argumentista - viu, assim, o seu trabalho recompensado pela universidade que se viu obrigado a deixar.

"A sua reputação e popularidade atravessam barreiras de idade e de cultura. Nick Cave tem elevado a imagem da Austrália a nível internacional, particularmente em termos de criatividade e capacidades artísticas da nossa nação", disse o vice-reitor Richard Larkins. Destacou ainda o facto de Cave ser um dos mais bem-sucedidos artistas em cerca de 30 anos de carreira, com um impacto de grande relevância na cultura contemporânea "alternativa".

Independentemente da pessoa se ter graduado ou não, a Monash University pode conceder o doutoramento como reconhecimento da contribuição de serviço público ou distinção na área do ensino ou das artes.

Christopher Guest: Mockumentary Director

[video 6740 w=435]

Christopher Guest: A Legendary Impresario

A Surreal Honorary Degree Ceremony

Honorary-degree presentation ceremonies are usually dignified and tedious events. On the other hand, when you're honoring the songwriter who conceived Sex Farm and Big Bottom, stoic moderation would seem out of place. Consequently, when Boston's Berklee College of Music bestowed a doctorate on Christopher Guest this past semester, the college and the honorary recipient embraced the ceremony's dreamlike ambience. Mr. Guest, the actor, director, and musician whose humorously ironic songs spice up his documentary-style comedies, earned cult-hero status with his role as Nigel Tufnel, the bumbling guitarist from 1984's hard-rock spoof This Is Spinal Tap.

Once the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony was over, there was time for a real rock and roll show. Mr. Guest joined a group of Berklee students, with whom he had rehearsed for two days, for a round of his greatest hits, some given new arrangements. "My one request about the ceremony was that it could be built around a concert," Mr. Guest said, "as opposed to just showing up and putting on the cap and gown."

Berklee usually honors jazz legends, like Ornette Coleman, or pop-music icons, like Aretha Franklin. But the concert showed that Mr. Guest has serious musical talents. The Spinal Tap songs might have been the fan favorites, but Mr. Guest raves about a reworked version of Skeletons of Quinto, a relatively obscure song that was featured only briefly in his 2003 mockumentary, A Mighty Wind. When students asked in one of his Berklee classes about his next project, ever-the-satirist Christopher Guest joked, "It's a movie about a music school in Boston. Students learning jazz, what they go through." The students filling the Berklee Performance Center laughed nervously. Their worry was understandable. Some of Guest's more renowned films, This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, parody musicians. Yet the films also have a hearty amount of sympathy for them, owing to Guest's own involvement with music.

However, more serious music is not as unusual for Guest as it might seem. He'd been a musician for almost twenty years before This Is Spinal Tap, attending the High School of Music and Art in New York and touring with his longtime collaborator Michael McKean's Lenny and the Squigtones. Guest approached the music clinics somewhat apprehensive of students expecting him to be funny. "The one thing I've never done is stand-up comedy. I don't even know any jokes," he said. But his answers to students' questions were couched in his own sense of deadpan humor. Often, his first response was a simple one-syllable answer. He'd wait a beat for the crowd to shift uncomfortably, then elaborate.

Asked by students what the biggest challenge of his career had been, Guest joked, "This has been." But getting serious for a moment, he said that, "Making parodies is difficult, we have to pull back from reality-it's too stupid or sad," he said. He shared with the students an anecdote that he was never able to include in the movie: In the middle of Guest pitching his first movie, a studio executive fell asleep. The executive was startled awake a few moments later, and the first words out of his mouth were "Great, let's do it."

As was fitting in honoring a career that blends film and music, the tribute concert began with clips from his movies, then transitioned into a live performance in the middle of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight." Berklee students sang lead on most songs, with Guest either playing electric guitar or just looking on appreciatively. A full band backed them up, including piano, trumpets, saxophones, violins, and cello.

The performances themselves were interspersed with videos of musicians congratulating Guest on his honorary doctorate. Steve Vai warned him that he wasn't a real doctor, so he shouldn't "operate on anything but a G-string." Elvis Costello played a bit of A Mighty Wind's "Penny for Your Thoughts" and said Guest has "the soul and ear of an artist, but considerably more wit." Tom Hamilton joked that Aerosmith opened for Spinal Tap, and "we all got completely wasted and destroyed the room. Cops came and arrested Nigel and took him to jail for destroying the hotel room. He's not going to see this, is he?"

Guest took it all in stride, working the crowd like a pro. And for the last song, the wall between performers and audience melted as over 50 student and faculty bassists filled the aisles for a rendition of Big Bottom that broke Spinal Tap's previous record of 15 bassists onstage. It was a grand finale worthy of the greatest excesses of heavy metal-and of Guest's films.

"Up until an hour ago I thought this was a practical joke," Guest cracked as he took the podium at the Berklee Performance Center. But the actor, director, composer, and musician's body of work is no laughing matter. As the night's MC, Larry Monroe said that at a clinic Guest taught earlier in the day, "His music is solid. There are gags in the lyrics, but there are no gags in the music." And the audience saw the strength in the music firsthand as Berklee students and faculty joined Guest onstage for straight covers and unique interpretations of the songs from his movies This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind.

[video 6763 w=435]

Guest Performing with Berklee Students and Faculty

A Mighty Wind: Christopher Guest's Trompe L'oeil Satire

Christopher Guest's Pseudo-Documentaries

In Guest's films, beloved by so many that they can recite the lines by heart, his characters have grand dreams. In Waiting for Guffman, the citizens of Blaine (MO), want their community-theater production to move to Broadway; in Best in Show, a variety of dog owners push their pooches to win top prize at a Westminster-like show; in This Is Spinal Tap, washed-up rockers give a doomed comeback tour their all; in A Mighty Wind, three folk acts whose 15 minutes of fame expired 35 years earlier get a crack at a comeback. Guest has respect and affection for the oddballs he creates. No matter how absurd their circumstances, he always takes them seriously, which only makes them funnier. Their wrenching heartbreaks and tiny triumphs make them exactly like us.

In A Mighty Wind, Mr. Guest, his writing collaborator Eugene Levy (who also plays Mitch), and their goofy deadpan ensemble have decided to resuscitate the commercial folk music that survives nowadays mostly at summer camp sing-alongs and on public television, and they have done so with sweet-natured, goofy affection. Like the small-town troupers in Guffman and the dog-show competitors in Best in Show, the pickers and chirpers of A Mighty Wind are immune to embarrassment and utterly devoted to their own peculiar notions of artistic accomplishment and show-business glory. They are, it must be said, pretty good at making bad music. The soundtrack, full of swaybacked metaphors, rousing choruses and mind-numbing harmonies, may yet make stars of Mitch and Mickey and their fake-folk comrades, the Folksmen and the New Main Street Singers. Sincerity is the hallmark of this kind of music, and the parody of it that Mr. Guest and his company offer here is often indistinguishable from the real thing.

[video 6759 w=435]

A Mighty Wind: Pretty Good at Making Bad Music

[video 6766 w=435]

The Title Song: A Mighty Wind

[video 6768 w=435]

A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow

The film's pseudo-documentary narrative is built around a memorial concert for Irving Steinbloom, a legendary impresario. The event is organized by Steinbloom's son Jonathan (Bob Balaban), a compulsive, unsmiling fellow whose adult personality may owe something to the childhood experience of being forced by his over-protective mother to wear a helmet while playing chess. Jonathan enlists his father's favorite acts, including the Folksmen (Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Mr. Guest) and the New Main Street Singers, a ''neuftet'' that blurs the boundary between singing group and cult. (Their leaders, played by John Michael Higgins and Jane Lynch, practice a spiritual discipline based on the vibratory power of color.) But the real coup is reuniting Mitch and Mickey (Catherine O'Hara), onetime lovebirds who endured a bad breakup and who have moved on to other things, he to a mental hospital and she to a second marriage to a model-train enthusiast who works in ''the bladder control industry.''

The matter-of-fact absurdity of this last phrase is a hallmark of Mr. Guest and Mr. Levy's improvisatory comic style. Their jokes are sometimes so subtle as to seem imperceptible, until you realize that they are everywhere, from the broadest gestures to the tiniest details of dress and décor. There is something almost shockingly poignant about the way they portray former lovers who have drifted far from stardom, and from each other, and who are drawn back together by the power of music. The music may be perfectly awful, actually it is both perfect and awful, but its power, this movie suggests, is nothing to laugh at. Or so you might realize, if you could only stop laughing long enough to form such a thought.

Technorati: Christopher Guest, honorary degree, honorary doctorate, Berklee College of Music, Boston, This is Spinal Tap, Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, humor, entertainment, films, movies, motion pictures, documentary, music, songs, art, celebrities, personalities, photos, photographs, photography, video, music video, WordPress video, culture, cultural, social, social life, society, world
Please Be Social:

May 9, 2008

Chancellor Mark Wrighton
1 Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1192
St. Louis, MO 63130

Dear Chancellor Wrighton:

As the undergraduate members of the Board of Trustees Honorary Degree Committee, we want to express our disappointment with the choice to award Phyllis Schlafly an honorary degree at the 2008 commencement ceremony. The selection process was ineffective in providing a complete picture of the nominees, and the environment was hostile to dissent. We recognize our role in representing our peers, and we accept partial responsibility for the insufficient scrutiny of all nominees. However, throughout the two meetings of the Honorary Degree Committee and discussion of Ms. Schlafly, her prejudice views were never brought to light.

The committee's recommendation of Ms. Schlafly was based on a complicated voting system. Voting occurred in two stages. In our first meeting, we ranked our preferences from approximately thirty names. The nominees were ranked based on the first balloting, and the top five were collected in a slate. We voted yes or no on the entire slate. An objection by one student was met with hostile opposition. The block of five names was then approved unanimously. We implore you to clarify the University's official statement on the nomination Ms. Schlafly. The explanation of the selection process suggests a unanimous vote on each nominee and disregards the balloting process. It endorses the widely held misconception that every member of the committee voted in favor of Ms. Schlafly.

Ms. Schlafly's views, specifically those opposing a woman's place in academia, are contradictory to the mission of Washington University and inappropriate for recognition at the commencement ceremony. We believe the selection of Phyllis Schlafly was a mistake. The undersigned students have reversed their decisions and urge you to do the same.

Sincerely,

The undergraduate members of the Board of Trustees Honorary Degree Committee

Hui Amy Chen
Amelia D. Keiser
Neil K. Patel
Aaron Robinson
Rachel L. Tucker