My alma mater Brandeis has named this year’s commencement speaker and it’s the president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn. I expect student reaction to be split three ways:
1. People pissed off because, as head of the World Bank, Wolfensohn is responsible for globalization, and thus not a promoter of “social justice.”
2. People pissed off because they’ve never heard of Wolfensohn, and feel entitled to a more famous speaker. And,
3. People pissed off because they think Wolfensohn is Paul Wolfowitz.
Also receiving honorary degrees are NAACP chairman Kweisi Mfume, scientist Elizabeth Blackburn, businessman/philanthropist Lester Crown, businessman Bernard Osher, and artist Anselm Kiefer. The speakers the last few years have been Israeli Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak, Ted Koppel, Fidelity head Peter Lynch, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Senator John Glenn, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and Shimon Peres.
Posted by Stephen Silver at March 30, 2004 01:47 PMI like your reason #3 the best...but I'm in the 2nd category
Posted by: jaws at March 30, 2004 04:37 PMI would like to add a category #4 that I place myself in. People pissed off because they don't want to have to cross a picket line to get to their graduation.
Posted by: Dahlia at March 31, 2004 12:41 AM