To the editor:

The decision by UMass’ bureaucrats and board of directors to award an honorary degree to Andrew H. Card Jr. ought to be immediately rescinded in no uncertain terms. He should also not be allowed to attend this year’s graduate and undergraduate convocations. The chicanery of Mr. Card, which was immortalized in his sentiment that “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August” (a comment that refers to the campaign to convince the public of the necessity of a war with Iraq), disqualifies him from such an honor.

Mr. Card lacks honor and integrity. The idea that the U.S. government ought to treat voters no differently than an audience targeted by a corporation during a marketing drive is contemptuous and plainly contradicts the principles of democracy. Voters ought not be treated as consumers by their government; they are citizens, and the decision to go to war is not comparable to puzzling over whether to purchase a Kia or a Honda. To embrace such undemocratic sentiment warrants scorn, punishment, and not commemoration with an honorary degree.

Panayiotis T. Manolakos
UMass alumnus
Xenia, Ohio