When you think back on George W. Bush’s presidency, “humanitarian” is probably not the first word that comes to mind. After all, the man was the cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths, including almost 5,000 American troops. His failure to pay attention to his daily briefs and other intel quite possibly allowed 9/11 to happen. The treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo and other sites was anything but humanitarian. His approval rating as he left office was the lowest of any sitting president at 25 percent.

Nevertheless, officials at the University of Denver decided that Bush deserved a humanitarian award for “improving the human condition.” Your reaction was pretty much the same as a substantial group of students, faculty and alumni of the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. They spoke out in an online petition:

“Former President George W. Bush left behind a legacy of human rights abuses, including the torture of detainees in extraterritorial jails, preemptive war, domestic surveillance programs and other egregious actions that deleteriously impact the human condition. As students, alumni, faculty, and supporters of the Josef Korbel School and the University of Denver, we urge you to choose an alternative recipient of the 2013 ‘Improving the Human Condition Award’ who better represents a humanitarian spirit, a commitment to human rights and human dignity, and whose contributions and leadership have truly resulted in positive change.”

The petition has been signed by over 1,100 students and alumni since June 23rd. In addition, 20 faculty members circulated a letter to officials at the university. It stated, in part, that they were “shocked, disappointed and embarrassed” that the school would present such an honor to Bush.

The university still plans on giving Bush an award at the annual fundraiser on September 9th, but it will be called something else. Though officials are unsure of exactly what it will be called, they are still hoping that Bush’s appearance at the annual dinner will raise funds for the school.

Though his other legacies are extremely negative, Bush’s aid for Africa has been praised even by his detractors. His work to prevent AIDS and malaria, even though it had some controversy about some qualifications, has made a big impact on that continent. During his presidency, about 2 million Africans were receiving anti-retroviral drugs. An additional $1.2 million went to fight malaria. Even if you don’t like him (and I sure don’t), the aid he sent to Africa even brought praise from Bono, who spoke at the dedication of the G.W. Bush Presidential Library:

“I know that’s hard for you to accept,” Bono said to a surprised crowd and host, “but George kind of knocked it out of the park. I can tell you, and I’m actually here to tell you that America now has 5 million people being kept alive by these drugs. That’s something that everyone should know.”

Is that enough to override his other legacies? Not in my opinion and definitely not in the opinion of students and faculty at the U of Denver. Maybe renaming the award is just semantics but the word “humanitarian” is not one to be thrown around lightly… and certainly not in George W. Bush’s direction. I applaud the UoD for being amenable to the change. The Chancellor’s Award or The Presidential Award is a lot less controversial. It’s good to see some authorities bowing to the people’s demands, for a change.