Letter to the Editor
Matthews poor choice for Commencement Speaker
To The Class of 2008:
It would be in everybody’s best interest if Chancellor Wrighton were informed that the vice presidential debate is not, in fact, the same day as our Commencement and that we can reschedule Chris Matthews for the vice presidential debates in the fall.
Sadly, this appointment is no accident. Matthews, like Russert before him, is destined to be the next famous person to give an uninspiring Commencement speech. Chancellor Wrighton commented in The Record that “[Matthews] is familiar with both Washington University and the pressing challenges that face our society today-challenges that our new graduates will be working to overcome and address.”
While I agree that Matthews is familiar with the obstacles we will face, I would argue that he is actually an embodiment of one of the most significant challenges that our country faces today: a media that sensationalizes and distorts the news, thereby limiting the possibility for informed, democratic discourse and opting for higher ratings instead.
Matthews’ speech will come full circle for the Class of 2008, which saw his show during the 2004 presidential debate held on campus. It will be a reminder of the political catastrophe and international devastation that has occurred during our four-year tenure at Wash. U. But, instead of giving us hope and illuminating our path forward, I fear that Matthews will be unable to escape his role as a talking head, resolving to sell us snake-oil instead.
Where are all the poet laureates and Kurt Vonneguts? Don’t we deserve a Commencement to remember?
-Oliver Hulland
Class of 2008
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