Barnard Snags Bloomberg for Class Day Speaker Roster

Well, this has gotta hurt the Columbia students who were complaining about having Schools Chancellor Joel Klein as their Class Day Speaker: Yesterday afternoon, BWOG reported Barnard College finalized its Class Day speaker line-up, which will feature New Yorker editor David Remnick, tennis icon Billie Jean King, Harlem Head Start organizer Thelma C. Davidson Adair, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. One BWOG commenter wrote "Columbia College = completely buttzowned."

Barnard students, though, had very mixed reactions. The Columbia Spectator got a few:

“Bloomberg is speaking at Barnard? I think that’s atrocious,” Svati Lelyveld, BC ’08 said. “First, it’s a women’s college. Second, under Bloomberg, jail construction has gone up ... there have been all sorts of criminal injustices—criminal justice injustices. I don’t think he has anything this women’s college needs except for money.”

“I think it’s weird that he’s not a woman,” Laura Zellerbach, BC ’08, said, “but it’s cool that Barnard got such a big name.”

“I think it’s awesome, and I’m definitely going to go see him speak,” Aja Hazelhoff, BC ’09, agreed. “It’s a good thing for Judith Shapiro’s exiting graduation, and it’ll be good publicity for Barnard.”

Barnard's Board of Trustees chair Anna Quindlen said, “Mayor Bloomberg’s achievements and intellect perfectly reflect the ambitions of our students and the accomplishments of our alumnae. And as the father of two successful daughters, he is ideally positioned to speak from the heart to members of the class of 2008.” Guess the various lawsuits contending he created a "culture of discrimination" against women at his company won't be mentioned.