Commencement speaker committee compiles list
The Student Association Commencement Speaker Committee gave a list of their top five choices for the '97 commencement to President Malcom Gillis on Tuesday.
In order, the list consists of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, cartoonist Garry Trudeau, novelist Toni Morrison and appelate lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
"We attempted to solicit as much input as possible from the Rice community to refute claims that last year's committee didn't sufficiently represent students' ideas," Commencement Speaker Committee Chair Krista Kyle said.
Through creation of an e-mail address, use of surveys and generation of extensive discussion, the committee has attempted to represent both the opinions of the Rice community and the ideals it represents and upholds."
Committee member and Lovett College junior Travis Hopp acknowledged that the list was not the exact result of the survey filled out by the class of '97 in the two weeks prior to the decision.
In that list, South African President Nelson Mandela finished second and satirist Dave Barry finished fourth.
"We tried to balance the list for the students. We wanted to use their opinion as much as possible. We didn't want to pick someone who didn't represent Rice or someone who wouldn't come," Hopp said.
According to Hopp, the possibility of getting Mandela, who is still in office, was virtually nonexistent. Barry, on the other hand, was not a good match for Rice.
"We did not think he would fit in with the kind of commencement that Rice wants to put on," Hopp said.
Hopp explained that Thatcher has a son who lives in nearby Dallas and that she spoke at Angelo State University's graduation in San Angelo in 1994. It is not known whether Thatcher, who served as prime minister of Great Britain in the 1980s, will be able to accept.
"The committee feels confident that one of the candidates will be able to come, but we're not really that confident about Margaret Thatcher," Hopp explained.
"Last year, Toni Morrison said she couldn't make it to Commencement '96, but to keep her in mind for the years to come," Hopp said.
Now that the committee has forwarded their suggestions on Gillis, the responsibility falls to Gillis to make contact with the people on the list, in the order that the committee suggested.
Last year, none of the suggested candidates agreed to speak, so Gillis suggested Newsweek writer Meg Greenfield.
Hopp said that if none of this year's five candidates could speak, he would prefer to throw the issue back to the students for more input.
Some students vocalized their frustration with the process.
"I think the graduating class of '97 should have the final say," SRC junior Brian Maguire said.
SRC junior Chris Blache added, "Too many times the administration makes decisions for us. We're supposed to be adults going into the real world."
This item appeared in the News section of the March 29, 1996 issue.
Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights
Reserved.
This document may be distributed
electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety
and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted
without the express written permission of:
The Rice
Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.
The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@rice.edu