Student Commencement Speaker Reconsidered
It's usually taken for granted that the senior class president will give a speech at graduation each year, but the WSA is apparently entertaining a motion this week to turn over selection of a student speaker to a committee composed of senior class officers, who would choose from a pool of applicants and be barred from applying themselves.
Which seems kind of arbitrary. If someone's being chosen to represent an entire graduating class, they should be chosen by more students in the class than just a few WSA members.
But I'm surprised that the article and Wespeaks in the Argus about this issue neglect to mention the likely reason that this resolution was even put forward - last year's senior class president gave a speech to mixed reactions, and it was kind of embarrassing to have someone like Barack Obama (not to mention everyone else present) witness the Wesleyan student body represented by one somewhat erratic speaker.
Which isn't to say that would be the case this year - by at least several accounts, 2009's class president Ravid Chowdhury is deserving of the privilege, and it would be unfair to take it away when he was ostensibly elected by seniors last year with the knowledge that he'd be speaking at graduation.
But the Argus doesn't have a bad idea in proposing that in addition to the class president, who is elected mainly for being a good organizer if not necessarily a good speech-maker, another student be chosen to address the class based solely on their ability to deliver a great speech.
In any case, the WSA votes on the issue this weekend. You can watch the 2008 student commencement address here (cut ahead to 9:40 for it), or read the full transcript.
42 comments:
im surprised at how brazenly you are willing to put down rashida, and her speech. i feel like she accurately and passionately represented the school, and more importantly her class.
Anon 4:35
I disagree. Perhaps the word erratic might be offensive, but Rashida's commencement speech was really lacking given that it was suppose to be so crucial. It didn't have much substance; more or less she said that the most important thing that the class of 08 took away was the memories and friendships they established. I could have said that in one sentence, but she took eight to ten minutes and kind of made a joke of herself. I think I'd rather be addressed by someone who can deliver a speech that is more complex and nuanced than that. Not that I doubt Ravid can't do that. But perhaps if students who really think they can deliver an excellent speech then I think it should be submitted to election.
I'd have to disagree, 4:35. Especially when she laughed about Senior Cocktails being canceled because someone punched a bus driver. It was inappropriate and although I wasn't in the graduating class, I wouldn't want the Wesleyan student body to be represented in that way.
I like Rashida a lot so maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been, but her speech was a train wreck. I got the sense that it was thrown together while waiting to go through security.
I just wanted to make a slight correcton in the post. Under the resolution the WSA is considering, any of the senior class officers would be free to apply to give the commencement address, they would simply be expected to recuse themselves from the selection committee.
Should the resolution be passed, I imagine many senior class presidents would decide to apply for the position, and they'd be free to do so. Also, the resolution that was proposed wouldn't come into effect until the commencement for the class of 2010, so under the current language, Ravid would still be the speaker at this year's commencement.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
-Bradley Spahn
WSA Coordinator
bspahn (at) wes
and what if the class president did not want to give a speech but just wanted to organize sr cocktails? then what? who speaks? this is a good system for ensuring that there will always be a process to select a senior speaker and dividing the two skill sets of speech giving and party planning. thank you WSA.
i agree with 4:35. rashida represented the class and the school, but she did it in a way that in no way sugar coated the experience. the fountain ave incident had a HUGE effect on the class of 08, a very negative effect. earlier experiences of how the school treated traverse sq, confrontations on campus, etc, led us in the class to have a very mixed experience at wes. rashida took the good with the bad, and as a graduating senior i appreciated it.
Another minor factual correction - the committee selecting the commencement speaker would not be composed of "just a few WSA members" - rather, the committee would be democratically elected by the Senior Class when they vote to elect the Senior Class Officers (including President) at the end of their junior year.
Saul Carlin
WSA Vice President
scarlin at wes
rashida's speech was embarassing
As long as anyone's choosing, why not do as other schools have done and make it open to apply for anyone who wants to give a speech? Why does it have to be a WSA member?
And why not just have a direct vote, rather than electing reps? That makes about as much sense as the electoral college, perhaps even less.
Last year's President speech was crass, poorly-delivered, and generally embarrassing. I agreed with much of what she was trying to say, but she delivered it in a snide, dismissive manner that not only undercut her speech's content, it reflected poorly on a class of supremely gifted, thoughtful people. 2009 deserved better, and I'm sure an open ballot would have allowed that to be the case.
Ravid should not take this resolution personally. Rashida, on the other hand, should. Her speech was absolutely atrocious. It sounded like she was incredibly drunk, and making it up as she went along. At a time when the community around us thought of us as snobby college kids who "rioted" at fountain, she thoroughly embarrassed us.
Rashida's speech was an embarrassment to Wesleyan. Here we had one of the great speakers of our generation waiting in the wings and our senior had problems with the concepts of "narrative" and "cohesiveness," not to mention those ever-tough concepts of "noun" and "verb." Awful.
Please please please change this system! We've had so many people come through that office who were really good senior class presidents, and really lousy speakers. There are so many Wes kids who are brilliant writers and speakers. . . and I think that the entire student body should be involved and invested in selecting that person.
get over yourselves. anyone who thinks they could have gotten up in front of the entire class, President roth, Barack Obama and of course the thousands watching around the world, and delivered a flawless speech is fooling themselves. GUESS WHAT? Wes isn't perfect! And Rashida gave an accurate depiction of that. Yes there were plenty of good times but also the bad..and that's what shapes your 4 yrs here and who you are at the end of it..so why shy away from that. Its not a reality of the experience I had here. Obama and the rest of the world aren't idiots. He went to Columbia and Harvard, and I'm pretty sure he can think of times when he experienced racism (cuz he still is!). so, I'm pretty sure he got. Open up your eyes..and get it.
Glad to know that I was not the only one that thought Rashida's speech was utter chaos. I could sense the disappointment in the students around me. I'm glad they are willing open up this honor to more students.
10:49- The problem was not that her speech mentioned bad things at Wes. The problem was not that it had a few flaws. The problem was that it had , in my and many people's opinions, a TON of flaws, in that it was all over the place, not well articulated, and not well delivered.
10:49- The problem was not that her speech mentioned bad things at Wes. The problem was not that it had a few flaws. The problem was that it had , in my and many people's opinions, a TON of flaws, in that it was all over the place, not well articulated, and not well delivered.
thank you 10:49. you are saying what a lot of people, a LOT of people, many of whom no longer read wesleying, want to say.
everyone need to calm the hell down. Her speech was real I'm sorry she didn't sugarcoat our experience. In fact from knowing her she could've mentioned a lot more fucked up shit she experienced at wesleyan in the speech. So for all you ashamed, mad and embarrassed people you should feel that way because its sad those things happened at wes. Also she didn't think the punching the bus driver was funny in fact she had to deal with so much shit this year because of that she probably mentioned it because it is a big memory of our class and shows how dumb we were and still apparently are. And all of this shit is stupid how do you pick a "good" commencement speaker from applying and essay. It still wouldn't prepare them for what Rashida had to deal with which was 2 days before you speak you find out it will be in front of 20,000 people and Barack Obama. OH and another fuck you for everyone, my sister worked for him this summer, talked to him and mentioned our commencement and Rashida's speech and guess what assholes he said he really liked her speech because it was very realistic and seemed heartfelt and written to the class rather than one trying to impress "America" and the families of you assholes.
so happy i'm out of this dumb as school
9:44 - this "dumb as school" is happy to see you gone too.
I was at commencement. My Mom actually asked me in the middle of Rashida's speech if she was "learning disabled" - and she was not being snide. That woman was an embarrassment to this institution. And if this speech was "real" then W should be cannonized as the patron saint of "The Real" and Sarah Palin should be our next "Real" President of the United States.
no offense but then your mom is an ass. I think its offense to compare her to those 2 idiots. And I think the person above meant real as in Wesleyan is a fucked up place and so is the outside world. She obviously wrote a speech just for our class. I really appreciated that since it was obvious most people were not there for us, if you didn't see how the hill cleared out after he spoke. Also the fact that all you people can still sit here and complain 6 months later just shows you were worthless at wes and still are now that you've graduated. In fact, after reading all these comments and seeing how easy people bash someone that did a lot of great things at the school makes me embarrassed to be an alum. You really are just a racist bigoted institution that is trying to find a way to get more white students on the stage because you are sick of seeing students of color hold such an esteemed position. That in itself is unforgivable.
The problem was not that Rashida's speech mentioned embarrassing things, but that it was itself embarrassing. The problem was not what she wrote, but rather that it sounded like she had not written ANYTHING AT ALL. Its not about being real or not. She could have been real and still not sounded like she was speaking at a middle school graduation.
I am really still trying to get my head around 11:35's comment. I really think that if your mother inferred that Rashida is learning disabled then it is most likely that the one with a disability is your mother. Sorry Rashida has a personality and doesn't fit the cookie cutter version of a commencement speaker that your mom expected, but is it really so bad that someone's speech actually shed light on the Wesleyian experience? Also as crazy as Palin is she is a great speaker so super point 11:35.
It was a badly written and badly delivered speech. Whether Obama was there or not, it was a bad speech. And while I have no doubt that it reflected on her experience at wes, particularly because she had to deal with the dumb fucks who did stupid shit like punch a bus driver or throw beer bottles at policemen, it was in no way representative of my experience at wes. Those were things that happened while I was at Wesleyan...they don't define or represent my experience, and I don't think her speech acurately represented either the school or her class.
"You really are just a racist bigoted institution that is trying to find a way to get more white students on the stage because you are sick of seeing students of color hold such an esteemed position. That in itself is unforgivable."
12:29 pm, nobody here dissed Rashida's job as class president - we're just criticizing her poor delivery at commencement. And it was bad. How dare you accuse anyone here of bigotry - it should be clear enough by the fact that no less than the next president of this country, a person of color, is an amazing speaker who spoke that day, that no one is trying to race-bait last year's class president. You should be ashamed of yourself for pulling the race card out like that when no one else even implied that- if a white class president gave a terrible speech at graduation, people would be criticizing them just as much.
i know rashida and lots of people who know her. everyone thought she did a bad job. she wrote a bad speech, and delivered it in an extremely amateurish way. she's not a good public speaker. no bigotry involved.
i don't think that people criticize rashinda because she is black (although i ABSOLUTELY disagree with those who think she did a poor job - her task was to talk, as someone ELECTED BY HER CLASS, about her experiences at wes, and thats what she did) but i can't disagree that wesleyan is a racist, sexist place. i am a white, male, recent graduate, and i am happy to be away from wes precisely for those reasons.
Maybe it wasn't a great speech but can we stop being so harsh to Rashida? She's a fantastic and awesome person. And maybe she's not such a great public speaker, but that's not any reason to trash her.
No one has said anything negative about Rashida except that her speech wasn't good, which given the fact that she ran for an office where it is understood that you're giving the speech...I think is perfectly acceptable, how many people say similar things about bush when he makes a stupid speech, or what about Ms teen South Carolina (or wherever it was). Saying someone gave an aweful speech says nothing about whether they are a fantastic or awesome person.
But see I do think you all are judging her even though you are saying you are judging the speech. And I don't know how I feel about people trying to rationalize that it is ok for them to trash the speech because you know her. If you know her so well you would know she'd rather you say all of this crap to her face than being a child and anonymously trashing her on the internet. Also I think it's really easy to complain 6 months after the fact when you all know none of you could have done a better job or written a mind-blowing speech after finishing a thesis and being attacked by police. She had the speech approved by the school because I remember when she had to send it in a week after her thesis was done and in fact the deans liked the message and content. So every should be quiet, what kind of parents did you all have didn't you learn "if you have nothing nice to say, then don't saying anything at all"
Also all people that didn't get the race comment before, you all misread and probably are contributors to the problems Rashida mentioned by choosing not to education yourself on institutionalized racial problem in the world and at wesleyan.
I can't believe you guys are comparing her to palin and bush. Its not like she got on the stage and gave shout outs and used colloquiums like darn and heck. Whatever, she was nervous don't judge and don't' say she isn't a good public speaker. She actually is and has tons of experience in it, but given the circumstances of Commencement I think only a professional wouldn't stumble
Palin is a great speaker?
Get off of the crack rocks or whatever you are doing.
10/09/08 6:00pm - If things are as you say they are, even if she had some speech approved by the administration it couldn't have been the exact version she read at graduation since theses were due mid april and the events on fountain were mentioned in her speech and happened right before graduation.
I'm not trashing Rashida when I say that the speech, or its delivery at least was not very good. I like Rashida a lot, and I know her to be an intelligent, critically thinking, caring, passionate, and highly involved individual who is going to go on and do amazing things. Saying that the speech wasn't the best is not an attack on her, you can critique something that someone did without it being a personal attack.
Looking at the issue objectively (and not as a referendum on last commencement or its speaker), I think that it would be a good thing to separate out the process for selecting the class president (whose primary responsibility is planning social events for seniors) and the speaker who addresses the class at graduation.
sorry rashida, i know you, and your speech was incredibly embarrassing. seriously i cringed in my seat. and no, i'm not going to tell you this to your face. what would be the point? i just can't believe you blew an opportunity like that. you were able to say anything you wanted to an audience that included likely the next president of the united states, and instead you decided to make a joke out of the whole thing. and youre werent even funny. you sounded like an immature middle schooler. i was really disappointed.
"...i can't disagree that wesleyan is a racist, sexist place. ... i am happy to be away from wes precisely for those reasons.
October 09, 2008 4:19 PM"
so, I guess you're finding the "real" world outside of Wes to be happily free of racism and sexism? yeah, right.
I am SO happy I left Wesleyan. The cruelty in these posts is absolutely phenomenal, way to go wes! Way to be judgmental in a very annonymous "immature middle school" way.
" so, I guess you're finding the "real" world outside of Wes to be happily free of racism and sexism? yeah, right.
October 10, 2008 9:58 AM "
my claim was not that the rest of the world was free of racism and sexism, but that i found wesleyan to be MORE racist and sexist than most other, non-academic environments. and i appreciate that, and i am thus glad to be away from wes.
I knew Rashida since freshman year and to be quite honest, she's one of those happy-go-luck girls that just go with the flow. And I mean this in the most positive and negative way.
To sum up Rashida, the girl was a CSS major who associated herself with both the Ecletic Society as well as the "Politically Active Students of Color" clique, interned at an investment bank her junior year summer, and is now enrolled in a JD/MBA program at Stanford. Read: a very extroverted, *superficially* nice person with a very big personal ambition inside. Someone who fits the Wesleyan prototype but given the opportunity to better herself, will sell-out.
So I figure she could care less about what average Wesleying posters say about her. The fact of the matter is, Rashida probably didn't and doesn't care about the speech she gave and the reception. She's probably moved on to bigger and better things now.
uh... fact check on the stanford claim, but the rest seems right.
Post a Comment