NAACP President To Speak At Columbia's Class Day

Columbia College's 2010 Class Council announced that NAACP President Ben Jealous will be its Class Day Speaker in May. Jealous, who graduated from Columbia in 1994, was named in the "short list" of speakers, who included Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, actresses Anna Paquin (who attended one year) and Julia Stiles, former president Bill Clinton and current President Obama (Class of '83). Reaction to the pick is mixed—one Bwog commenter says, "great choice" while another says, "thanks, columbia. a last slap in the face"—but complaining about Class Day Speakers is a long tradition. Remember the furor when John McCain spoke in 2006? Matthew Fox in 2007? Or Joel Klein in 2008?

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By Jen Chung in News on March 25, 2010 2:42 PM

Comments [rss]

so2207

i'm graduating this year and honestly I wish we had someone else. I honestly don't really want to hear about racial issues for graduation and would rather have someone like Justice Sotomoyer (who was on the list) give a speech on something more universal than race. Probably I won't remember this later, but this year's speaker sucks and can't believe the council decided on a speaker irrelevant to many.

jgonzz

Couldn't get Pee Wee Herman? Oh, well. I would think 'Epic Beard Man' would be more interesting and relevant...

Papercutninja

I had some black author speak at my graduation. The guy actually said (on purpose): "I'm so happy to see all you WHITE, uhm, RIGHT people here." I think anyone who is part of a racial organization shouldn't speak at a college graduation.

And Anna Paquin was on the short list? WHY? Because she was there for a year? Idiots. This is Columbia, not UCLA. Keep the fucking actors out.

Clarice City

And Julia Stiles? Jesus, when was the last time she was even close to relevant? Ever heard her speak in an interview? She's dumber than rocks.

jtp2106

I graduated from CC in 2008. I was pretty indifferent to Joel Klein. It kind of makes me mad when I see Steven Colbert and Conan O'Brien speaking at Princeton's and Harvard's class days.

Jen Chung

I never remember who spoke at my 1998 graduation, so I refer back to this comment:

http://gothamist.com/2007/03/06/matthew_fox_too.php#comment-1038162