President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthening international diplomacy and cooperation.”
Obama, as well as others present at the awards ceremony, was reported to have been visibly shocked at the announcement. Since then, questions have arisen as to what qualifications make Obama deserving of the award.
The process for choosing a Nobel laureate begins in September with a call for nominations. Those qualified to make nominations include university professors, former recipients of the prize and members of various international organizations.
Nominations are submitted in February, and the nominees are evaluated by the Nobel Committee through August.
In October, the Nobel laureates are chosen by the Nobel Committee and are presented their award and prize money in December by the Nobel Committee chairman, currently Thorbjorn Jagland.
Unlike Nobel Prizes in other categories, which are generally awarded looking back on the accomplishment 20 to 30 years after the fact, the Nobel Peace Prize has been traditionally awarded for recent accomplishments and is based on current opinion.
Obama, whose presidency spans less than a year, is now among only three other American presidents who have won the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter.
Students like Jared Cottrell, a freshman in aerospace engineering, are wondering what Obama has done as president to win the award.
“I don’t think Obama has had enough time to establish himself as a meaningful role,” Cottrell said. “He has not been in office long enough to have significant influence on the world yet.”
Cottrell said people like Obama as president and the only effect he has had is to make people happy.
“The committee wants to make people happy too; that’s why they gave him the award,” he said.
Winslow Dalpe, freshman in computer science, said the Nobel Committee awarded the prize as a political statement on Obama’s presidency compared to that of George W. Bush.
“It’s too soon, [Obama] hasn’t earned it yet,” Dalpe said. “They’re cheapening the merit of the award by giving it away prematurely.”
Obama’s victory comes at a time of a major shift in the Nobel Committee, namely Jagland’s return from retirement to become chairman of the committee.
Jagland was reported to have wanted to begin with his term with a splash and promised the winner would have global renown. To that end, Obama’s victory has been criticized as a populous play.
Despite this, some students are defending Obama and the legitimacy of the award.
Tom Wilkinson, a second year graduate student in English, said he was going to take the victory as a patriot.
“I’m frustrated that Obama is being criticized for winning the Peace Prize,” he said. “We should be celebrating his victory and using it to move the country forward.”
Wilkinson said he felt the social or political circumstances were irrelevant.
“I don’t know if there were other politics involved, and I don’t know that politics really matter. It’s not like Obama had a hand in deciding if he won or not,” Wilkinson said.
