Notre Dame students and alumni, as well as the Catholic church do not want President Obama to speak at graduation this year. They seem to believe that someone who is pro-abortion and pro-stem cell research should not be getting an honorary degree from a Catholic institution.
Well—forget the Fighting Irish, Mr. President. How about coming to OUR graduation at William Paterson? Would that not be a coup for us and Northern Jersey?
Just imagine it.
The grand entrance would begin with the classic line, "Ladies and Gentleman, the President of the United States," followed by rousing applause (and possible boos) and sea of flashing light bulbs that would provide us with memories not soon forgotten.
As May 19 quickly approaches and we are currently without a speaker for commencement, we should shoot for the stars and, at the very least, extend the invite to our nation’s leader.
Why did our university not think of inviting the president? Or for that matter, inviting anyone who would bring the national press to William Paterson?
President Obama is currently booked for two commencements, the Naval Academy on May 22 and Arizona State University on May 15. That leaves plenty of time for him to get here and deliver a speech for the ages.
Our university’s location in the heart of a predominantly blue state will be more considerate of his liberal views, such as pro-abortion and pro-stem cell research, and not get in the way of this tremendous opportunity to have him grace us with his presence. We can offer him a chance to speak to a diverse, solidly middle-class audience with graduates worried about entering the fiercely competitive metropolitan job market. This could be a chance to offer up a speech that could provide comfort during these hard times not only to those in attendance, but also those who will see it on the various news networks.
Of course, there would be some drawbacks for the graduates and their families. The media crush may make it tough for us to get to and from this glorious occasion. The metal detectors at the numerous checkpoints, several forms of identification, overabundance of armed police officers and federal agents, and even less parking than normal will be almost unbearable, but these memories could last us a lifetime.
The record of commencement speakers here is not exactly been A-list. Kerry Kennedy Cuomo spoke about the vision of her dad, Sen. Robert Kennedy. Then she disgraced herself by having an affair and divorcing Andrew Cuomo, the new attorney general of New York. TV host Steve Adubato came to speak--right after he lost his job at Channel 9. A poet from Princeton was the speaker one year and he said the students probably did not want to hear from him ,so he sat after muttering a few sentences--and everyone cheered!
Well, if Obama is not willing to make the trek from Washington, what about Vice President Biden? He would bring the national press corps to Wayne. The same goes for Secretary of State Clinton.
Who knows who will be delivering our commencement speech? What do you say William Paterson, let's do something big and give us a story for our graduates and future generations of underclassmen that would instill a tremendous sense of pride in our accomplishments and our university.
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