The culmination of our college career is celebrated with our peers, faculty, friends and family on commencement day; a day that the seniors on this editorial board have thought about since we stepped foot on campus as freshmen, and we will be talking about for years. Or at least hope to. We are proud and grateful for the alums who come back and inspire us to start our own Fortune 500 companies, become CEOs of major organizations, volunteer for important causes, receive Fulbrights or serve quietly and accomplish their own definition of success.
As a whole, this editorial board is less than thrilled with the choice for this year's speaker. This is mainly because of the opportunity cost of missing out on someone who could identify professionally with a larger majority of the crowd.
We want to remember our graduation as a celebration of our hard work and as the day that we will begin to apply the lessons we have learned these past four years to our choices about the future. We understand why the select group of DePauw student government seniors wanted a young alum. They're relatable, they're part of our generation and they have a better idea of what life can look like post-DePauw than an older speaker. While we hope she will give a fantastic speech we will reminisce about when we go to the viewing parties in our respective cities for the Monon Bell game, we worry that this won't be the case. High ranking titles, while an applaudable career success, are not a unique achievement. For an individual's impact to be relatable for many, it must surpass the confines of his or her respective organization. It is this type of accomplishment, such as in the cases of Newberry medal winner and renowned author Richard Peck, former Vice President Dan Quayle, world-renowned soprano Alicia Berneche, in addition to Fox News host Bret Baier that demonstrates the unique mark DePauw alums can make.
Looking at Denison, Miami of Ohio and Illinois Wesleyan, schools we are most comparable to, it's disappointing when we look at their 2012 commencement speakers and hear about Carnegie Hall musicians, two-time Academy Award winners, U.N. policy advisors and leaders pioneering the cure for HIV/AIDS. If having alums is important, then someone like Brad Stevens, Tim Ubben or Lee Hamilton would have been better choices, to name a few.
We are not questioning the validity or the accomplishments of the 2013 commencement speaker, we merely wanted to voice a reaction to an announcement that seems to have fallen flat across campus.