A successful, insightful female CEO and alum as a commencement speaker? What are you, nuts?

April 4, 2001 7:11 AM

A successful, insightful female CEO and alum as a commencement speaker? What are you, nuts? Stanford students don't what to listen and learn from the woman who now leads H-P. Drat, if only Abu-Jamal could get a furlough! Hiring execs, time to rethink the value of that Stanford sheepskin. (via Boortz.com)
posted by darren (11 comments total)

The students should wake up to the simple fact that to Ike's referecnes to the Industrial/military comples and it inroads throughout America's economy, others have added on the Academic area too.
How many schools have a division of Labor and Labor Relations? How many have a division of Business Administration.
Addtionally: honorary degrees are merely attempts to curry favor in order to get gifts flowing to the university, in most cases.

And if a graduate can turn up to show how a degree in liberal arts can be useful to become a leading spokesperson (spokesman?) for women and for a good career, then where is the harm?
How many students without generous scholarships can afford the tuitition required by an elite school?
posted by Postroad at 7:58 AM on April 4, 2001

"Whether you look at this as good or bad, it is not neutral," the letter said.


And we all know that there is no higher aspiration than neutrality. I had to listen to Jean Kirkpatrick at my commencement. These kids have no idea how good they've got it.
posted by gimli at 8:33 AM on April 4, 2001

I was stuck with George Bush I in 1992, while he was campaigning for re-election. Of course, that was better than my high school graduation (catholic school). Back then, I had to listen to Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law babble about the evils of abortion and such.
posted by jpoulos at 8:48 AM on April 4, 2001

My dad had Senator John F. Kennedy in '58 -- and bitched about it for decades ....
posted by darren at 9:05 AM on April 4, 2001

At my undergrad, we had Henry Kissinger - I couldn't understand a single word he said...
posted by m.polo at 9:08 AM on April 4, 2001

Colin Powell at my university commencement in '96. Even got a nice story out of it in the paper when he came out against California's Proposition 209.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 9:53 AM on April 4, 2001

For the life of me, I can't remember who spoke at my commencement. (I think I attended it.) I guess it made a helluva impression!
posted by Dreama at 11:26 AM on April 4, 2001

In 1990, Barbara Bush was selected to speak at Wellesley College's commencement. A huge debacle ensued with students protesting that she did not embody the spirit of a Wellesley education (having dropped out of Smith to marry George). We got national news coverage, most of it negative. Mike Barnicle (formerly of the Boston Globe) called us (my quote is probably not exact since it's been over 10 years now!): "whining, unshaven, feminist, spinster tartlets" (someone made a t-shirt of that which many proudly wore). In the end, I think Barbara came out ahead: she gave a wonderful speech and, to top it off, brought Raisa Gorbachev with her to speak as well. The commencement was broadcast live on the networks. My graduating class, a year later, was very glad to have a nice, quiet little commencement with the wonderful writer, Madeleine L'Engle, speaking.
posted by girlhacker at 11:35 AM on April 4, 2001

I had a friend who attended Wellesley around that time, and I can only say that it's obvious that Mr. Barnicle never visited. As for Kissinger... we just got over Maggie Thatcher.
posted by gimli at 1:23 PM on April 4, 2001

I never had a commencment (a: english b: no university) but I feel fairly confident in the assertion that no single speaker is going to please everyone. Maybe the solution is to have an individual speaker for every student. Maybe they could break into their dorms in the middle of the night and whisper the secrets of success into the young, impressionable ears of even the most disgruntled students. And then there would be someone who'd object to it because of the lack of "community spirit".
posted by davidgentle at 1:39 PM on April 4, 2001

You guys are obviously higher class than me. Where I went to school, the only commencement speaker we ever have is the president of the university, and he gives the same speech every time.

He's not even a good speaker. Wait... I take that back. He's a horrible speaker.
posted by daveadams at 10:19 PM on April 4, 2001