Student Commencement Speaker

[reinko]

I was one of two finalists for senior speaker, albeit the December graduation back in 2002, and was "asked" to withdraw my name from consideration because of an incident involving beer and underage students in my Campus Town apartment.  I know...shocking, underagers drinking beer.  Oh the horror!


       AnotherMU84    
              |
              V

[Hards Alumni]

This is all a moot point anyway since the Administration ends up picking the speaker and OKing the speech.  Students nominated whoever they wanted to speak, and then the senior class as a whole voted online about a month ago.  From what I understand, the top 3 vote-getters then met with a couple of administrators who then made a final decision based on what each potential speaker was going to talk about.

If you think for one second that Fr. Wild or anyone else would allow talk of getting tanked or going to bars in a graduation speech heard by thousands of people, you're kidding yourself.

In my opinion, there's no point to even having a senior speaker.  Everyone ends up saying pretty much the same thing, with a bunch of quotes from famous scholars mixed around Faith, Leadership, Service, and Excellence.  I don't think most people even end remembering who their senior speaker was.  I graduated last year and I have not a clue who spoke.

you are confused... we aren't talking about the Bradley Center speech... that is usually class president (IIRC).

we are talking about the speech you hear from a fellow student where you actually get your diploma.

[OneMadWarrior]

I could read this as you are allergic to hard work and excellence.  Do you really want the speaker to be a screw up to show it's OK to screw up?  What kind of message is that?

If a kid dedicates and discipline himself to get good grades, what shouldn't they be speaker?  They are the future leader, not the fumbling moron on Wells Street on Saturday night that managed to get a few Bs that everyone likes.

The speaker is suppose to be the best the school has to offer.

Or let me turn it around, you guys are so damn demanding of the basketball team to win and win on a high stage.  Why don't you expect the same out of everyone else?

What don't you expect graduates to be heads of corporations, community leaders or positions of power and influence.  Why aren't you expecting that of yourself?  If not, transfer to UWM.  Why sanction mediocrity with a class clown as a speaker?

I'm hate to invoke my advacned age (47) but this is exactly the kind of thinking that is wrong with America.  Strive to do better and have a speaker that embodies this qualities.

I feel the need to defend myself as well. You are saying that I was allergic to hard work. You couldn't be farther from the truth and I won't go off and list my accomplishments since graduation, as I am above that. But as I have started the process of looking for graduate schools and talking to many people who are successful leaders in the business world. Good grades are not the only thing that shows a persons ability to lead, work, and be successful. Because there is so much social pressure for a person to attend college directly after high school, many do who were not ready. I was one of those people. Combined with other issues, that many of us go through as a young adult you can't necessarily judge me based on a few lines of me as a "class clown." Some people go to college not knowing what they want to do and many of us graduate without having figured that our. Personally I'd rather hear from a person who may have faced real adversity rather then holing themselves up in a room for four years. What ultimately happens to plenty of these people is the become burned out and eventually have to take a long look at their own lives.

Al said it best when he stated the world is run by C students. You should keep that in mind next time you talk out against someone you barely know.

[Tugg Speedman]

Wow, I kicked up a bunch of dust here ... that is good.

Do not try and highjack this thread into what makes a good candidate for a job.  That is a different subject.  This is about the student speaker at graduation. 

I want the student to show qualities that made them the obvious choice to speak.  In other words, they should be an obviously better candidate that me.  Correct use of the word "dude" is not a qualification.  Guzzling beer when the drinking age is 21 is not a qualification.

Now regarding kids that get too high a GPA.  Here was my class speaker in 1984 http://www.napier.com/attorneys.html (this is not me)

4.0 student that now runs his own law firm, one of the top lawyers in the country.  Advises the upper echelons of the military on legal matters.

Another 4.0 student from 1984 was Marc Marotta.  nuff said. (also not me)

What most of you describe are good people that live in New Berlin and make their mortgage payments on time.  That is a great life, and I'm not knocking it (as I just described my sister who I love and adore very much).  But, they are not speaker material and they know it.

What the 4.0 students that become speakers have in common is something much more than that.  They have qualities that lead them to direct companies with thousands of employees.  They will be responsible to make billion dollar decisions.  Their actions are commented on in the press/TV.  Their counsel is sought by Governors and Presidents.  They are opinion makers, visionaries and posses extraordinary talent.  They are more than average. 

The school administration is right to find just these kind of students as speakers.  I'm sorry if they cannot use the word dude properly.  They are busy getting ready to change the world, not their shirt after they puked all over it outisde of Haggertys.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

These speakers are ultimately double-edged swords.

On one hand, universities say they want to find someone that can speak to the students and relate to them.   On the other hand, they also want to find someone they can show off as a model student to the parents and alums in attendance. 

Thus you get the two extremes, like the girl in Madison this past December who got in trouble for all her drinking references in her speech.  The one that can relate to the experience of the vast majority of the student body.   

Or you get someone like I heard at my dad's Notre Dame MBA ceremony in 2006, basically bragging about the incredible research about X she spent many Saturday nights in a lab doing, the hunger strike she did for cause Y, or all her spring break trips to Africa to fight Malaria, New Orleans to build houses, etc.  Someone so self-righteous and insufferable that your mother and you are reduced to looking to each other and asking why we're such awful human beings. 

Unfortunately for the students, universities like self-righetous ND girl type more than drunk Madison girl because to give these speeches because it's all about image.

Perfect case:  my 2005 graduation.  I had both extremes at the all-University cermony and later that day at the College of Business Graduation. 

The guy that spoke at the all-University ceremony was a philosophy/English major heading to UCLA to work on his PhD.  He was an RA, in the Honors Program, involved in a couple of clubs, so a decent amount of people knew him.  But the speech was filled with anecdotes and quotes that were not relevant to their Marquette experiences, judging by the amount of people I saw chatting amongst their friends or texting on their phones during his speech.  I never saw the guy at a bar, rarely at a basketball game, or in a non-academic setting, nor did the vast majority of the people I talked to afterwards about the speech. 

Now at the College of Business ceremony, we had the honor of MU gimp ONE.  Maybe because it was a much smaller ceremony, but EVERYONE knew him from somewhere, whether it'd be class, the dorms, sitting in the front row of section 225 at BBall games, the many nights he closed the campus bars down, etc.  At the same time, though, he did a pretty solid job in the classroom from what I recall too (we were both marketing majors, so our paths crossed quite a bit).  But he was able to draw in enough experience about life both inside and outside the classroom, weave in enough humor, yet keep it straight-edged enough to please the administrators and the parents that he got a nice ovation from us at the end.

In an ideal world, more schools should give more of the MU gimp ONE-types the opportunity to speak.  Unfortunately, most university bureaucrats are incapable of finding the balance between two extremes like drunk Madison girl and self-righteous ND girl. 

 

[Tugg Speedman]

On one hand, universities say they want to find someone that can speak to the students and relate to them.   On the other hand, they also want to find someone they can show off as a model student to the parents and alums in attendance. 

Regarding the students getting bored and texting during the speech.  They are going to do that anyway.  Short of the university hiring a stand up a comedian, the students are simply not going to pay attention.  That is why their wishes are usually ignored. 

So, school administrations (all of them) pick the speaker that impresses the person that pays the tuition, not the graduate.  Students don't count until they start making money.

Now I agree that some of them can be boring speakers.  That is not because their GPA is too high.  It is because they are not good public speakers.  The university should strive to get the best 4.0 public speaker they can find.

The speaker that has been  described in this thread would embarrass your parents.  The administration wants to assure them they made the right choice and their money was not wasted.  They want to put someone speaking that shows your parents the potential of the school, what their kid COULD have been if they spent less time in campustown bars.  This way they don't feel their tuition was wasted, just that their kid could have done more.

[Hards Alumni]

I don't know what kind of household you grew up in '84, or what kind of household you run, but my parents were completely fine with my speaker... and as I have stated, he wasn't the 4.0 type that you seem to think exemplifies success.  They were happy to be entertained and were happy they didn't have to sit through the same 'work hard, strive for the best' preachy rhetoric that EVERY one of those speeches has become.  Additionally, I think you may have an extremely jaded view of what success really is... but that discussion would be for another time.

school admin's do NOT pick the student speaker for each college... the students (rightly so!) do.

What the 4.0 students that become speakers have in common is something much more than that.  They have qualities that lead them to direct companies with thousands of employees.  They will be responsible to make billion dollar decisions.  Their actions are commented on in the press/TV.  Their counsel is sought by Governors and Presidents.  They are opinion makers, visionaries and posses extraordinary talent.  They are more than average. 

what a pile of crap.  I know plenty of 4.0 students who couldn't lead a horse to water.  Additionally, billion dollar decisions are not left to the 4.0 students just because you say they are.  If every CEO out there is a 4.0 student I will eat my shoe, and the shoes of everyone who has ever browsed this forum.  What a completely asinine claim.

Actually rereading your last paragraph made me laugh... what sort of world of extremes do you live in?... I suppose all Muslims are terrorists to you!

[OneMadWarrior]

Wow, I kicked up a bunch of dust here ... that is good.

Do not try and highjack this thread into what makes a good candidate for a job.  That is a different subject.  This is about the student speaker at graduation. 

I want the student to show qualities that made them the obvious choice to speak.  In other words, they should be an obviously better candidate that me.  Correct use of the word "dude" is not a qualification.  Guzzling beer when the drinking age is 21 is not a qualification.

Now regarding kids that get too high a GPA.  Here was my class speaker in 1984 http://www.napier.com/attorneys.html (this is not me)

4.0 student that now runs his own law firm, one of the top lawyers in the country.  Advises the upper echelons of the military on legal matters.

Another 4.0 student from 1984 was Marc Marotta.  nuff said. (also not me)

What most of you describe are good people that live in New Berlin and make their mortgage payments on time.  That is a great life, and I'm not knocking it (as I just described my sister who I love and adore very much).  But, they are not speaker material and they know it.

What the 4.0 students that become speakers have in common is something much more than that.  They have qualities that lead them to direct companies with thousands of employees.  They will be responsible to make billion dollar decisions.  Their actions are commented on in the press/TV.  Their counsel is sought by Governors and Presidents.  They are opinion makers, visionaries and posses extraordinary talent.  They are more than average. 

The school administration is right to find just these kind of students as speakers.  I'm sorry if they cannot use the word dude properly.  They are busy getting ready to change the world, not their shirt after they puked all over it outisde of Haggertys.

FYI, you just mentioned two lawyers, one of which was said to have some questionable character issues while working for the governor. Law is specifically a place for those "lock yourself in a room and study" type people. Visionaries would have a lot more troubel fitting into the "boxes" that are created by grading scales and the like.  For those with a true entrepreneurial spirit, they cannot sit down and jstu study, its impossible for many of them. they get resless, and becasue of this sitting aroudn doign school work doesn't do much for them. That is the case with men liek Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell. The point is many of those who become successful are those who can think of something besides that "Goal" That in many ways is what makes them successful and ultimately an interesting speaker.

[mu-rara]

Wow, I kicked up a bunch of dust here ... that is good.

Another 4.0 student from 1984 was Marc Marotta.  nuff said. (also not me)

What most of you describe are good people that live in New Berlin and make their mortgage payments on time.  That is a great life, and I'm not knocking it (as I just described my sister who I love and adore very much).  But, they are not speaker material and they know it.

The school administration is right to find just these kind of students as speakers.  I'm sorry if they cannot use the word dude properly.  They are busy getting ready to change the world, not their shirt after they puked all over it outisde of Haggertys.

Mr. Marotta is not exactly the Jesuit ideal in terms of ethics.

Your example only includes drunks and nerds....The true Marquette experience is neither of these extremes. 

Jeff Joerres was a classmate.  Not a great student, certainly a good student.  (3.0 Ish)  RA, well rounded, good guy.  I think he's done OK.  Probably closer to the Marquette ideal, at least 25 years later.

Another MU84:  Would he have made a good graduation speaker?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Let's put it this way:

Everybody would love a speaker that they identified with, right?

To pretend that there is a perfect candidate out there for everybody is probably misguided.

The beauty of the college experience is that it's exactly what you make of it.

You may spend a lot of your free time hanging around the student government office, or MU newspaper, or MU television, or be a R.A., and you may think that it was the perfect college experience. Great.

You may spend the majority of your free time off-campus (bars, house parties, jobs, different places throughout the city) and think that was the perfect college experience. Great.

Which is the best? Both/neither because it's a different personal growth experience for everybody.

MU is going to chose the student that they think represents the best of the student body. Is that personal the most popular kid on campus? Probably not. Is that person a future CEO or major entrepreneur? Who the hell knows. But, he/she will probably have a 4.0, a good amount of community service, and some student actives.

Does he/she go to Murph's? I don't know. But, the last time I checked, Murph's was not part of the MU curriculum, so I doubt MU cares if he/she enjoyed a few beers with other students.

Like I said before, we'd all like somebody that WE can identify with, but realistically, there probably isn't a candidate that covers all of the bases.

[chapman]

Perhaps the alumni should choose the speaker.  You guys definitely care more than current students (who don't care at all), or their parents (who won't be paying attention to the speaker either).

[Ari Gold]

ok MU84 we get it. You think the world is run by insufferable pretentious self-righteous a-holes. which leads me to you believe that you are (or want to be) an insufferable pretentious self righetous ahole, you married one, your boss is one because his boss is one (I'm sure you love middle management cubicle with parade magazine cartoons hanging up) and your one goal in life is to see your kids grow up to be the same way (just because the violin is more cultured than T-ball, but t-ball is that first step to the pros). And just because you go to cocktail socials (god forbid its a 'party' or happy hour) where you sit around and enjoy your own farts from campaign glasses while talking about how your honda insight is single-handedly saving the planet each time you go to whole foods, doesnt mean thats how the rest of the world (or even the above average MU student/almum) lives. Second of all. It's not what we want to hear about in a graduation speech.  

You're out of touch MU84. You may be under this perception that 4.0 students run the world, which is blasphemy against AL, but I've sat in class with enough of em to realize that you can regurgitate anything they read in a book for a class, doesn't make them capable leaders. And many of them have less personality then the vomit on the shirt of the guy at Hags. What is the ferris bueller quote? These people are wound so tight that if you shove a lump of coal up their a-s-s, in a week you'd have a diamond. These types of people aren't the ones I want to lead, govern or run a business above a lemonade stand. I could give examples of quality non- 4.0 students, but I don't want to brag.

[MU B2002]

(I'm sure you love middle management cubicle with parade magazine cartoons hanging up)

Didn't know Parade magazine had comics.

I prefer Dilbert.

And if we are going to make blind accusations against people, you sound like someone that was passed over in favor of someone with a 4.0 and not invited out to last week's cocktail social. (Which is unfortunate because Chauncey was telling some great jokes at the Polo Grounds.)  I understand I have zero proof of this, but I didn't think proof was needed.

[MU gimp ONE]

thanks Tom Crean's Tanning Bed... i really appreciate the shout out and kind words.  I infact did give the student commencement speech for the College of Business.  The reason i applied for the position was that i felt like we deserved better than some book worm telling us about how much college has meant to them.  I felt that those speeches were appropriate for the science or engineering schools, but business kids were a combo of fun and study throughout the 4 years.  we needed something better.  i wouldn't say i gave an award winning speech, but i kept it as light hearted and down to earth as possible.  this was in the end supposed to be a celebration of finishing college.   

i can honestly say that when i was introduced and walking up to the podium, i have never been more nervous.  i remember starting the speech making light of the "gold" debacle, the next thing i know, i am finishing my speech and everyone is applauding.  it was a complete frank the tank moment... "what happened, i blacked out."

the speech had to be approved and reviewed by the dean and assistant dean of the college and they gave me a lot of slack.  i think they were glad to get something different.  i did add my intro and closing after they approved it, but it was nothing that made anyone ashamed.  once completed my parents were more proud of me than ever.  they were nervous going into it since i wouldn't show the speech to anyone.  after speaking in front of 4500 people, i can say i was more proud of myself than ever.

the reason we get all the boring, unrelating, cold speeches is that no one else steps up.  they posted the opportunity a couple weeks before graduation and i applied, just as anyone could have.  i should be proof that they will give anyone a chance.  maybe i wowed them in the interview that they decided to give me a shot, but who knows.  i wasn't dean's list material, nor was i complete slacker student.  i was joe average, but i was willing to apply.  i wish more kids would apply for it, at least that way its up to the dean to determine how they want the speech to go. 

[Hards Alumni]

never even knew you had to apply.

Though I probably wouldn't have done it back then... I wasn't the typical Health Science's student.

[Mayor McCheese]

Wow, I kicked up a bunch of dust here ... that is good.

Do not try and highjack this thread into what makes a good candidate for a job.  That is a different subject.  This is about the student speaker at graduation. 

I want the student to show qualities that made them the obvious choice to speak.  In other words, they should be an obviously better candidate that me.  Correct use of the word "dude" is not a qualification.  Guzzling beer when the drinking age is 21 is not a qualification.

Now regarding kids that get too high a GPA.  Here was my class speaker in 1984 http://www.napier.com/attorneys.html (this is not me)

4.0 student that now runs his own law firm, one of the top lawyers in the country.  Advises the upper echelons of the military on legal matters.

Another 4.0 student from 1984 was Marc Marotta.  nuff said. (also not me)

What most of you describe are good people that live in New Berlin and make their mortgage payments on time.  That is a great life, and I'm not knocking it (as I just described my sister who I love and adore very much).  But, they are not speaker material and they know it.

What the 4.0 students that become speakers have in common is something much more than that.  They have qualities that lead them to direct companies with thousands of employees.  They will be responsible to make billion dollar decisions.  Their actions are commented on in the press/TV.  Their counsel is sought by Governors and Presidents.  They are opinion makers, visionaries and posses extraordinary talent.  They are more than average. 

The school administration is right to find just these kind of students as speakers.  I'm sorry if they cannot use the word dude properly.  They are busy getting ready to change the world, not their shirt after they puked all over it outisde of Haggertys.

Thats fantastic, these people are making great decisions that affect a lot of people. 

However what I was stating as the start of this thread, before you HIJACKED it, and called everyone who apparently doesn't get a 4.0 a beer chugging moron, is that I would rather have a speaker who speaks for us as a class, not for themselves as a student.  We are graduating as a class, why do I want to hear an annoying woman who I have never seen before in my life on campus (this wasn't at Marquette, at a campus of under 6k, you think if they were important enough to give the speech for OUR class, I should have seen her before)... and the way she starts her speech is "Well, when I sat down and thought about to write, I thought I would say the same thing I did in my high school speech, but then I thought no, this is different".... yup... get ready, this one is a doozy.

Lets face it, a few of the 4.0 study my ass off students are capable of getting in front of a big audience and making a fantastic speech.  However, usually their speeches are awkward, long-winded, very dry topic, and not entertaining.  As a teacher that is use to giving speeches in front of groups of students who some don't care what you are talking about (very similar to a graduation speech), Ive learned something, be creative, be entertaining, allow them to have fun.

Does this mean give a speech that includes "dude, this one time me and a bro got tanked off of SoCo and Coke's... then took these two girls home and lets just say, they were screaming".... no.

But what I do mean, and what this topic was about was the idea of having fun, stop talking about your professors, stop telling us "to go out and be the best and proudest graduate"... be entertaining.

I have no doubt in my mind that I could have given a more well-thought out, entertaining, overall better speech than the girl who gave my speech.  Even if ten years from now, when shes the millionaire, and I am still the school teacher/basketball coach, I can walk up to her, and to her face say "your speech really sucked, and I had to sit through it, thanks."

[RawdogDX]

Ok, i think that these are all things people can agree on:

1) the speaker should have to prove that they are a competent public speaker, with at least a tiny bit of charisma, before being considered.  
2) they should have good grades, but requiring them to be perfect may be a bit much.  A person with a 3.9 wasn't a slacker.
3) If they want their speech to be about getting plowed they shouldn't be picked.
4) Although the speech might be boring, it's more about the parents than the students.  In most cases they were the ones who paid for the education.
5) It is ridiculous to disqualify someone for getting caught drinking once.  If they spent every Saturday in the drunk tank, fine.  But a twenty year old who attended a party that got busted isn't a bad person.
6) some non-mathlete type extracurriculars would be a good thing. (not that there is anything wrong with mathletes)

But anyway, we all just spent more time reading boring stuff by dumb ass internet posters than we did listening to some nerd with a 4 point.  It seems like this time could be better spent developing 'friendships that will last a life time.'  

[MU gimp ONE]

Ok, i think that these are all things people can agree on:

1) the speaker should have to prove that they are a competent public speaker, with at least a tiny bit of charisma, before being considered.  
2) they should have good grades, but requiring them to be perfect may be a bit much.  A person with a 3.9 wasn't a slacker.
3) If they want their speech to be about getting plowed they shouldn't be picked.
4) Although the speech might be boring, it's more about the parents than the students.  In most cases they were the ones who paid for the education.
5) It is ridiculous to disqualify someone for getting caught drinking once.  If they spent every Saturday in the drunk tank, fine.  But a twenty year old who attended a party that got busted isn't a bad person.
6) some non-mathlete type extracurriculars would be a good thing. (not that there is anything wrong with mathletes)

But anyway, we all just spent more time reading boring stuff by dumb ass internet posters than we did listening to some nerd with a 4 point.  It seems like this time could be better spent developing 'friendships that will last a life time.'  

speaking as someone that was a graduation speaker... let me address the criteria posted:

1) i completely agree.  charisma is a must as well as proving you can speak well.  entertaining the crowd is a factor that gets lost often.

2) i can tell you i was no where near a 4.0 or 3.9 or 3.2 for that matter.  i believe i finished with a cumulative around 3.0.  i slacked off in non-major classes big time.  maybe they gave me some credit for coming in with a 3.8 business GPA, who knows.  all i can say is my grades did not show that i should represent the students.

3) i made 1 if not 2 references about "celebrating good times with friends after school hours"... and the administration approved it.  so they too aren't always looking for squeaky clean speeches

4) disagree... this speech is for everyone.  i addressed the parents, the families, the friends, but my speech was to tell everyone about the students and to speak for them.  my speech was to show how much this day meant to the kids in cap and gowns.

5)  i was lucky enough to only get busted drinking in the dorms once... so i guess i agree with you on not being discredited

6)  i was involved in enough outside of the class that i felt rounded me out... it is great when kids be involved in groups that aren't only academic or MUSG related.  there are exceptions to every rule in all clubs... nerds on the football team, or outgoing smartasses that are RA's... there is an interview process for a reason with the speaker. 

[mu-rara]

speaking as someone that was a graduation speaker... let me address the criteria posted:

1) i completely agree.  charisma is a must as well as proving you can speak well.  entertaining the crowd is a factor that gets lost often.

2) i can tell you i was no where near a 4.0 or 3.9 or 3.2 for that matter.  i believe i finished with a cumulative around 3.0.  i slacked off in non-major classes big time.  maybe they gave me some credit for coming in with a 3.8 business GPA, who knows.  all i can say is my grades did not show that i should represent the students.

3) i made 1 if not 2 references about "celebrating good times with friends after school hours"... and the administration approved it.  so they too aren't always looking for squeaky clean speeches

4) disagree... this speech is for everyone.  i addressed the parents, the families, the friends, but my speech was to tell everyone about the students and to speak for them.  my speech was to show how much this day meant to the kids in cap and gowns.

5)  i was lucky enough to only get busted drinking in the dorms once... so i guess i agree with you on not being discredited

6)  i was involved in enough outside of the class that i felt rounded me out... it is great when kids be involved in groups that aren't only academic or MUSG related.  there are exceptions to every rule in all clubs... nerds on the football team, or outgoing smartasses that are RA's... there is an interview process for a reason with the speaker. 

I will take the 3.0 student, with extracurriculars and work experience every time.  (except if they are actuaries...can never be too smart as an actuary)

[GGGG]

Thats fantastic, these people are making great decisions that affect a lot of people. 

However what I was stating as the start of this thread, before you HIJACKED it, and called everyone who apparently doesn't get a 4.0 a beer chugging moron, is that I would rather have a speaker who speaks for us as a class, not for themselves as a student.  We are graduating as a class, why do I want to hear an annoying woman who I have never seen before in my life on campus (this wasn't at Marquette, at a campus of under 6k, you think if they were important enough to give the speech for OUR class, I should have seen her before)... and the way she starts her speech is "Well, when I sat down and thought about to write, I thought I would say the same thing I did in my high school speech, but then I thought no, this is different".... yup... get ready, this one is a doozy.

Lets face it, a few of the 4.0 study my ass off students are capable of getting in front of a big audience and making a fantastic speech.  However, usually their speeches are awkward, long-winded, very dry topic, and not entertaining.  As a teacher that is use to giving speeches in front of groups of students who some don't care what you are talking about (very similar to a graduation speech), Ive learned something, be creative, be entertaining, allow them to have fun.

Does this mean give a speech that includes "dude, this one time me and a bro got tanked off of SoCo and Coke's... then took these two girls home and lets just say, they were screaming".... no.

But what I do mean, and what this topic was about was the idea of having fun, stop talking about your professors, stop telling us "to go out and be the best and proudest graduate"... be entertaining.

I have no doubt in my mind that I could have given a more well-thought out, entertaining, overall better speech than the girl who gave my speech.  Even if ten years from now, when shes the millionaire, and I am still the school teacher/basketball coach, I can walk up to her, and to her face say "your speech really sucked, and I had to sit through it, thanks."

...and you'd be a dick for doing so.

But nevertheless, this thread raises a few assumptions that I think are false:

First, I don't necessarily agree that a student with a 4.0 is the best than an institution has to offer.  College is about many things...academics primarily, but also the emergence into adulthood, making friendships, giving back to the community, etc.  A student that embodies a good balance of all of those things seem like the best any institution has to offer.

Second, the 4.0 student isn't always going to be the one who is "most successful."  Some students that excel in the classroom aren't necessarily well suited for life after graduation.  As I mentioned before, I work in the fundraising area of a public university in Indiana.  I spent my lunch-hour going through yearbooks to figure out the valedictorians of each class and wondering what they are doing now.  A couple are dead...a couple are "lost."  A handful (out of about 40+) have been "successful" in that they seem to have become pretty well off and living nice.  Most are just like everyone else - middle to upper middle class...marriage...kids...mortgages in New Berlinesque homes...pretty common folk.

Third, I wish people wouldn't define "success" as simply their net worth.  Three of the above mentioned valedictorians went on to get PhDs in their chosen fields and are now tenured professors - one at a big research institution, one is a Dean at a place very much like the one I work, and another at a liberal arts college out east.  I am sure that these people consider themselves successful - especially the researcher who is making large breakthroughs in his field.  Just not in the wealth area.

[RawdogDX]

After rereading this i just realized that this got started by some guy who is mad about a non-mu graduation speaker... GO TELL THAT COLLEGE ABOUT IT.  Did you right a nice letter to your university about it or are you just bitching on a board that has 0 to do with anything you are talking about?  MU does a good job of picking speakers as I'm sure Gimp one is an example of.

Does anyone think MU needs to change how they pick speakers?  I don't even understand the point of this discussion anymore.

[Mayor McCheese]

After rereading this i just realized that this got started by some guy who is mad about a non-mu graduation speaker... GO TELL THAT COLLEGE ABOUT IT.  Did you right a nice letter to your university about it or are you just bitching on a board that has 0 to do with anything you are talking about?  MU does a good job of picking speakers as I'm sure Gimp one is an example of.

Does anyone think MU needs to change how they pick speakers?  I don't even understand the point of this discussion anymore.

Not really bitching... just bringing something up for a slow Spring.

Didn't know everything on these boards had to do with MU... especially in the non-MU board.  Sorry.

[tower912]

When I spoke all those years ago, they did not check my speech.  It would have been tough since I put about 8 points on a 3x5 card, practiced it a couple of times, then let it rip.   One of the great honors of my life.   I wish I could remember exactly what I said.  I know I got some laughs.  My GPA was 3.0. I had many drinking stories, none of which  made the speech, many college life stories, a couple of which did, some classroom anecdotes and some comparitive analysis of the MU experience compared to that of high school friends at other colleges. 9 minutes and out.     

[Ari Gold]

allow me to dust this topic off b/c a few dissenters are hiding but on Sunday I want this to be my grad speech
http://deadspin.com/5251547/a-special-balls-deep-message-to-the-class-of-2009

There's no BS in it. At least I'd be aware of what I was getting in to. -And if I did I would never graduate... Man I love(d) college-

[Mayor McCheese]

allow me to dust this topic off b/c a few dissenters are hiding but on Sunday I want this to be my grad speech
http://deadspin.com/5251547/a-special-balls-deep-message-to-the-class-of-2009

There's no BS in it. At least I'd be aware of what I was getting in to. -And if I did I would never graduate... Man I love(d) college-

agree... puts it in perspective... I got my first letter of owing back some student loans... yup, its the real world.