Mayor Richard Daley may be a political powerhouse in Chicago, but just over the city line in Evanston, some seniors at Northwestern University think he’s too, well, parochial to be their commencement speaker.
Students say they feel let down because the choice, announced this week, doesn’t carry the cachet of recent speakers, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, or even last year’s speaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Seinfeld.”
Some were hoping for the Dalai Lama.
“If your goal in the speaker selection process was to make graduating seniors happy about leaving this university, then mission accomplished,” Matthew Braslow of Vernon Hills wrote on Tuesday to Northwestern President Henry Bienen. Braslow also said he will not attend.
“Matthew, grow up,” Bienen wrote back Wednesday morning. Bienen’s e-mail added: “You also sound like a very unhappy person. I am sorry for that. Hopefully things will improve for you over the years.”
But other seniors also seem to be taking the choice as a personal slight, calling the decision to honor Daley everything from “lame” to “a letdown” in interviews with the Tribune and in some of nearly 200 messages posted on The Daily Northwestern student newspaper’s Web site.
“The people who are vocal are disappointed. If it’s a majority of people who are happy, it’s a silent majority,” said senior Abe Rakov, who was editor of The Daily Northwestern until March. “Almost everyone who has spoken out has been against it.”
While Rakov said he thinks Daley will be a “great speaker,” he says students are upset because they had been pumped about the prospects after Bienen told the student newspaper this month that the speaker is an “extremely well-known person” and somebody who “doesn’t make a habit” of giving graduation speeches.
Bienen’s vagueness led students to speculate that the choice could be former British Prime Minister Tony Blair or the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, Rakov said.
“I thought we’d have someone with a much higher profile, especially after President Bienen hyped it so much,” said senior Simon Lu. “I thought it would be someone with a national or international profile … I was hoping someone more famous would show up.”
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It’s true that Daley rarely delivers college graduation speeches, said Daley spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard. He has turned down numerous university requests, she said, instead opting to speak at a couple of Chicago high school and elementary school graduations each spring.
The students “are right he is not nationally known,” Heard said. “He is an internationally known civic leader who is widely recognized for transforming this city into a culturally rich, economically diverse global center that draws business, visitors and residents from all over the world.”
Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage said he had seen “a couple” of e-mails from students upset about the choice of Daley to speak and receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the commencement ceremony June 20.
In a statement, Bienen cited Daley’s national reputation as a leader who has addressed “the challenges facing Chicago and other American cities.” He also said the honor was appropriate because Northwestern’s founders met in Chicago when making plans for the university. Six other people, including Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton, will receive honorary degrees.
NU’s other commencement ceremony choices have come under fire this year as well. Some Law School students were upset by the decision to have controversial talk show host Jerry Springer speak this month. And the university rescinded an offer to bestow an honorary degree on Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Jennifer Cota, a junior and president of the Northwestern Class Alliance, the student government branch of the school’s alumni association, said the choice of Daley was a hot topic among the 35 students in her Chicago Way literature class Wednesday.
“I think it’s a great choice compared to Jerry Springer,” said Cota, 21. “I think people were hoping it would be a famous Northwestern alum. I think people just really wanted someone huge”
Social policy major Alexandra Broin had another take.
“I know that there are some different questionable ethical things going on as long as one or both of the Daleys have been in office,” said Broin, 22. “He is a questionable source for giving graduating seniors advice on how they go about taking that next important step in life.”
Senior David Lassiter, 22, said he was satisfied with the choice — sort of.
“Obviously he’s part of a Chicago legacy,” he said. “It’s not a disappointment, but I wanted Barack.”
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