Academics from around the United States voiced their support of Colombian Jesuit Javier Giraldo’s protests against former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s appointment at Georgetown, according to Caracol Radio.
A letter, addressed to Georgetown president John DeGoia, is circulating across the country and requests that DeGoia “reconsider his decision to name Alvaro Uribe in Georgetown in light of the concerns raised [by Father Giraldo]. His presence here is an affront to academics and their educational mission.”
Uribe has been appointed as a guest lecturer at the Washington, D.C. university’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, amid protests from students and human rights activists.
The original letter written by Giraldo on September 6 was sent to U.S. Jesuit John Dear saying that Uribe’s presence at Georgetown is “offensive” and “puts at risk” the ethical development of students who attend his lectures.
After his time at Georgetown, Uribe traveled to England to speak at Oxford University.