Seniors look forward to graduation for one of two reasons. Either because it symbolizes the end of college, and even the end of school for some, or because of the ceremony itself. Corny at worst, graduations can actually be significant and memorable at best. But year after year Hopkins attracts uneven speakers to this prestigious event.
Some speakers feel relevant and accessible like last year's choice, journalist Fareed Zakaria. After delivering an insightful and genuine speech, Zakaria left immediately to return to work rather than sitting through hundreds of names. This could have come across as arrogant or self-important, but instead it just felt real. The 2008 speaker, Bill Nye, also stands out as a popular, yet intellectual choice. Some other speakers have been less satisfying.
It seems to be understood around campus that the wide range in popularity and appeal stems from the fact that Hopkins does not pay speakers, instead offering them an honorary doctorate. The editorial board views this as a problem. The reality is that campus speaker series like MSE and FAS, along with a host of other school-funded programs and initiatives, consistently attract participants, partly through financial incentives, who are of equal or greater caliber than the average graduation speaker. When so many wonderful individuals are on campus all the time it makes graduation's inconsistencies even more apparent.
This year the Office of the President in conjunction with the Senior Class Council, have selected IBM chair Sam Palmisano as the commencement speaker. This is a natural choice for Hopkins as he is an alumnus and has great influence in the technology industry. Palmisano is incredibly accomplished and no doubt his speech will be substantive and instructive. This page believes that students are looking for something more than just a practical choice, though.
Rarely does this page find itself advocating for additional event expenditures for students. As MSE and FAS clearly show, Hopkins provides an exceptional education and experience as it is without adding any luxury perks. But graduation is a pretty big expenditure anyway, of both money and time, and it is important to this community. The speaker should be consistently exciting from year to year, not just adequate.
