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A Tale of Two Commencement Speakers

Friday, April 10, 2009 11:11 AM - By Elie Mystal

columbia law school logo.jpgWe are entering that most excellent time of the year when universities announce their choices for commencement and class day speakers. Who gets chosen to go where is always a fun indication of who is hot on the speaker circuit, and which schools have the most pull.

We’re getting some early reports on some law school speakers, and so far two really stand out: Columbia is inviting Gray Davis, Boston College Law scored Ben Bernanke.

The reaction from CLS students to former (failed) Governor Davis is nothing short of hilarious. You’d think they invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at … oh, sorry.

Here’s an excerpt of a (fictitious) letter that has been going around, heralding the coming of Gray Davis:

Columbia fake Gray David announcement.jpg

Or look at what the Graduation Committee is saying:

Dear Class of 2009,

It is our distinct pleasure to announce yet again our Commencement speaker, a man with a particularly poignant history. At some point in our lives, we will all fail. Some of our failures will be small, others more painful. We will endure failures beyond our control, like many employees in the current economy. Hopefully, we will continue to learn from these failures.

Former California Governor Gray Davis is a man who has had his own failures, despite a proud record of public service and personal success. His recall gripped the nation, and the story of his subsequent rehabilitation approaches that of Presidents Clinton, Carter, and Nixon in its scope and influence. He is also an alumnus of Columbia Law School, and speaker at our graduation ceremony. We hope that you will join us in welcoming him and take this opportunity to learn from his journey just as you begin your own personal and professional path post-law school. His story is all the more on point given the uncertainty that we ourselves face in the coming months and years.

Is this like a law school version of the scared straight program?

Moving north, the students at BC Law have a very different reaction to their commencement speaker.

Boston College Law School logo.jpgBoston College Law School seems to have had the same thought at Columbia Law School. The economy is terrible, and both schools wanted to get somebody who could speak intelligently about terrible economies.

But the devil is in the details. BC Law decided to go with somebody who is trying to fix the economy, instead of somebody who knows a lot about being screwed by the economy:

“The timeliness for Chairman Bernanke is uncanny,” said Boston College Law School alumnus Dan Roth ‘04, echoing the positive sentiments of much of the greater Boston College Law School community of students, faculty and alumni.

Last year, BC Law went with Mike Mukasey. The Bernanke choice is making the BC community much happier:

While many students and faculty expressed reservations last year about the selection of then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey as speaker, Chairman Bernanke seems highly defensible, at worst.Chairman Bernanke “does not appear to represent a position that violates international and domestic criminal law and moral norms, and he certainly will have some timely perceptions to share,” said Professor Zygmunt Plater.

Who’s who on the law school speaker circuit this spring? Send us your information to tips@abovethelaw.com, subject heading “commencement.”

Bernanke to be 2009 BC Law Commencement Speaker [EagleOnline]
Gray Davis to Speak at CLS.pdf

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Posted in: Boston College Law School, Columbia Law School

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