Sir, - It has been argued in the local and national press that the visit of Hillary Clinton to Galway to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree and the freedom of the city is to be welcomed because of the positive interest the visit brought to the city and its university. I wish to dissent from this view for the following reasons:
1. It is morally wrong to award an honorary doctor of laws degree to a leading representative of a country that is taking part in a bombing campaign that violates the UN charter. To add to the absurdity of the situation, Hillary Clinton was lecturing on aspects of peace! It seems as though the university authorities are once again bringing discredit to the institution, as they did some 10 years ago when Ronald Reagan was awarded a similar degree at the time when the US had been found guilty by the International Court in the Hague for mining Nicaraguan harbours.
2. The staff of the university have struggled for decades to maintain academic standards in teaching and research against a chronic shortage of funds needed to maintain laboratories, replace obsolete equipment and appoint junior staff. We have now witnessed the spending of thousands of pounds on painting and cleaning the administrative area of the university for the few hours that Hillary Clinton was present. If allocated to the real needs of the institution, such expenditure could have a lasting impact by assisting in the appointment of junior staff and maintaining laboratories.
3. The upheaval in the routine of the university at the time of major examinations which the visit has caused is particularly disturbing for undergraduate students. The disruption has led to examinations being held in hotels and halls throughout the city, which will inevitably add to the stress that many students experience at this critical time in their academic career.
It appears that the university authorities are primarily motivated by the needs of PR, rather than the needs for scholarship and research, a situation which must surely be condemned. - Yours, etc.,
B. E. Leonard, Professor of Pharmacology, National University of Ireland, Galway.