June 1, 2014 --

1. The commencement address at Brandeis, last month,  was given Geoffrey Canada, CEO and president of the Harlem Children's Zone, in New York City.   Before delivering his prepared remarks, Mr. Canada told the Brandeis graduating class that he was happy to be with them, adding, "I will tell you, there is nothing that would have stopped me from addressing this commencement today."  Brandeis, located in Waltham, Massachisetts, of course, previously had stopped Ayaan Hirsi Ali from being an honorary degree recipient at the university's 63rd commencement exercises.

2. Originally, the Brandeis commencement was to have honored five individuals. The disinvite to Ms. Ali left four honorary degree recipients, including Jill Abramson who, four days before the Brandeis May 18 commencement, found herself disinvited as executive editor of The New York Times.  Apparently the day after Ms. Abramson lost her job at The New York Times, she notified Brandeis President Frederick Lawrence that she was withdrawing as a Brandeis honorary degree recipient, saying, by President Lawrence's account: "'I don't think this is my year to be there for this.'"

P.S. Ms Abramson gave the commencement address at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, May 19, and received an honorary degree in humane letter.  At Wake Forest, then, this was Ms. Abramson's year to be there for that.

Full disclosure from LPR's proprietor:  I graduated from Brandeis in 1962.  I have never been disinvited as an honorary degree recipient, anywhere -- but, then, I have never been invited, either.