Freedom of Speakers

For the past two years, Columbia College students have been in an uproar over their Class Day speakers. Whether one judges by the protests over Senator John McCain’s politics or the general skepticism over the credentials of actor Matthew Fox, it is clear that the annual selection is no stranger to controversy. This year’s choice, however, may only be met with indifference. Those few students who are well-versed in the politics of the Bloomberg administration will be excited to hear Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein, the architect of the city’s controversial education policy, speak. Most, however, will need a detailed press release to simply identify him. Though the performance by Fox last year revealed that neither experience nor political importance are requirements for a strong speaker, when compared to those of its peer institutions Columbia’s selection leaves something to be desired. Once again, it is clear that Columbia must abandon its policy of exclusively inviting speakers affiliated with Columbia College.

Two years ago, McCain was booed by students at Class Day over his political views. Last year, students felt Fox, as a Hollywood actor, lacked the substance to compare to other Class Day speakers. Fox ultimately responded with a speech that garnered widespread applause and made light of the initial skepticism.

While we hope that Klein’s speech, like Fox’s, will surprise the audience, it still does not make him a good choice. Whoever is chosen to speak at Columbia will no doubt be compared to speakers at peer institutions. That means he or she will be compared to Stephen Colbert at Princeton, J.K. Rowling at Harvard, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the University of Pennsylvania (last we checked, Bloomberg’s only a MetroCard swipe away from Columbia). Ultimately, next to these speakers, Klein does not measure up—the speaker should appeal to the students above all, and the pool of potential speakers should not be confined to those affiliated with Columbia College.

At a University that regularly sees world leaders address audiences, the Class Day speaker should be a keynote address to close the year and the college careers of CC students. Columbia’s location in Manhattan, and its position as one of the world’s leading universities, has made it a popular destination for people of prominence. CC seniors deserve a speaker whose address they can eagerly look forward to, but the administration has once again come up short.