While withholding the information is certainly reasonable, it is symbolic of much of the speaker selection process. Theresa Bryant, vice president for public affairs, said she started the selection process last spring by inviting students to two meetings to generate ideas. The University also sent an e-mail to all current seniors, asking for suggestions. This, however, was the last time most students had any say in the selection. Before criticizing the University's methods, we must first note that hardly any students participated in these meetings and suggestions.
Students are certainly hypocritical when they gripe about the commencement speaker.
They had the chance to be involved and missed it. But once the chance passed, it was hard for students to even find out anything about the selection process. While the selection committee, which includes several students, did take suggestions last spring, it appears that many potential speakers were automatically thrown out before the process even began. Last year, Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Dole were scratched because of the political message they embody. And even though there may have been a very real chance of getting President Clinton to speak here, it was decided that some older alumni might have felt uncomfortable either with his politics or his behavior, and the possibility of his selection was not even discussed.