Is Princeton peddling warmongering? Students call out Condoleezza Rice speaking to the campus community

The “Torturing Democracy” flyer created by Sarah Mayer.

On May 8 Condoleezza Rice spoke to the Princeton Theological Seminary community as part of the Intuition’s inaugural forum series on faith and American democracy called, The Future of American Democracy. According to the series’ promotional material, its intention is to address the uncertain political realities of our time by discussing topics from polarization to bipartisanship. 

The series is described more fully in this quote from its official website: “In a moment defined by cascading crises, many across the nation and world are wondering aloud about the future of American democracy. Princeton Theological Seminary will confront this uncertainty head-on, convening a series of timely conversations with leaders poised to shape that future.” 

The series itself was convened by Dr. Heath W. Carter, associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Seminary. According to his biography on the seminary's website, his subject of interest is "the intersection of Christianity and American public life." According to the organizer, the series was funded by the “new faculty initiatives” grant pool created by an anonymous donor. 

While the notoriety of the speaker struck some on campus, others were concerned about this new connection between Rice and the seminary due to her connection to the Bush administration.

Given the frustration on campus, Seminarians for Peace and Justice (SPJ) along with several professors organized a series of events to denounce and critique her speaking at the seminary. The week prior to Rice’s speaking event, the coalition of students and professors organized a public viewing of two documentaries, Torturing Democracy and Torture Made in USA, on Wednesday, May 3 and Thursday, May 4, respectively, on Princeton Seminary’s campus. The focus of both documentaries was the war crimes at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib during the Iraq war. According to the documentaries, these horrendous human rights violations were perpetrated by the Bush administration—of which Rice was part. 

The week of counter events ended with a teach-in on Thursday, May 4 in the main lounge of the McKay Campus Center at Princeton Seminary. Multiple experts on the topic of Rice’s connection to and sanctioning of torture and abuse were present and shared their perspective.. The speakers were Karen J Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law; Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002-2005; Jeffrey Sterling, a lawyer and CIA whistleblower; Ray McGovern, a CIA analyst for 27 years serving seven U.S. presidents; and Linda McDonald Carter, Esq., retired professor of criminal justice, law, and political science and the professional lawyer of the year in 2021.

Dr. George Hunsinger, a professor of systematic theology at the seminary and the founder of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, began the event with a scripture reading to remind students and affiliates of the Christian obligation to justice and peace. He read Hebrews 13:3, which states, “Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.” The invitation to solidarity with the incarcerated rings loud and clear in this verse.

While each panelist spoke about the issue from a different perspective, their message was the same: Condoleezza Rice sanctioned torture and should not be viewed as an expert on democracy.  

All mentioned that Rice had never formally apologized for or even acknowledged her role in the torture and abuse of incarcerated individuals during the Iraq War. In a statement from Colonel Wilkerson (ret.) read by Prof Hunsinger, given the Colonel’s inability to attend in person due to scheduling conflicts, the former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell (2002-2005) wrote the following concerning Rice: 

Before Donald Trump's ascendancy to the White House, I had rarely encountered a high-level public servant who upon retirement from public office so richly deserved to be refused an audience among those interested in preserving our democracy — and particularly so if they are young people engaged in gaining an education to participate in that vital task. The condoning of state-sponsored torture alone damns Ms Rice. 

Several other panelists and professors echoed Colonel Wilkerson’s sentiment and made it clear that the connection between Princeton Seminary and Condoleezza Rice was a shame and disgrace to the institution, which prizes itself on fostering a community founded on Christian principles of justice, faith, and truth.

Panelists, faculty, and students were not the only ones to share their disapproval of the upcoming event starring the former Secretary of State, Jennifer Ring, a current seminary student who attended the panel, said the following concerning Rice’s connection to the seminary:

 As someone who watched on television the horror of September 11th as a recent college graduate, I remember years later finding out about the lies we had been told as Americans. I remember the photos from Abu Ghraib prison and others. I know we have been promised by numerous Presidencies that Guantanamo would be shut down. It has always been convenient to think that those involved had no intention of harm because I think that is ultimately what God asks of us. Perhaps I always knew differently, but I am thankful to the Seminarians for Peace and Justice and Professors Hunsinger, Mikoski, and Taylor, in addition to the panelists that shared their insight to inform me otherwise. Now, the hard work begins to discern what God calls us to do with this information as we move within our various ministries in the world.

Allie Graham, another current student who also attended event said similarly: 

The horrific acts of the Bush administration, and especially then-Secretary of State Rice have left the front of the public mind in light of more recent atrocities. These cannot be forgotten nor pushed under the rug. The variety of voices brought together by this panel provided a rich context into the lives damaged and justice denied by Rice. For someone raised by a pastor in a city with as tumultuous a history as Birmingham, she is an example of disappointment rather than someone to be uplifted.

Given the pushback from a significant portion of the student body and faculty, some may argue that the desire to cancel Rice's event, or at least have her actions acknowledged by the seminary, is censorship. Others argue that an analysis of the former secretary of state's positionality and history is critical.

Emma Marshall, a first year student at the seminary, noted:

There’s a bit of a moral panic right now about “censorship” on campuses of higher learning. This panel was a great illustration of the difference between censorship and questioning the decision to platform people with complicity in violence and oppression. Secretary Rice has no shortage of outlets to talk about her life and work; the panel raised good questions about whether it is right for a Christian institution, a seminary, to be one of those outlets.Despite the numerous on-campus events criticizing Rice and the Bush administration’s participation and perpetuation of state sanctioned torture and the many letters written by students and faculty to the administration, the seminary did not respond to the protestations. Rice’s event at Princeton Seminary went on as planned. 

Emily Stuphin, a graduating dual degree student, reflected on the absence of any kind of official response from the seminary: 

I am disappointed in President Walton's lack of commentary or action regarding Sec Rice's visit. Multiple students and I wrote Dr. Walton asking for him to intervene. To my knowledge, Dr. Walton has not replied to any of such emails. It is disheartening that an institution that claims to follow a tortured and crucified savior would allow a person who actively promotes torture a platform. 

PTS has a long history of being complicit in injustice. Yet again, we find ourselves on the wrong side of history, supporting all we claim to be against. 

Never in a million years would PTS invite one of Sec. Rice's victims of torture to speak at an event representing the seminary. Which makes me wonder why the person leading the torture campaign was.

While the seminary has not responded officially, much of the online promotional material from Rice's event has been either obfuscated or removed. For example, her event is no longer listed on the series’ website. The only online evidence that the event did indeed take place is on the seminary’s eventbrite page. 

Despite the lack of engagement and any official response from the Future of American Democracy organizers and the seminary itself, students and professors continue to decry her connection to Princeton Theological Seminary and all other forms of injustice of which the institution is part. For example, the Seminarians for Peace and Justice (SPJ) is currently pressing the administration to make its endowment transparent so the institution, associated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), can be in line with the denomination’s standard of ethical investing.