SU looks to students for 2009 commencement speaker ideas, nominations

By: David Lewis

Posted: 9/18/08

Suggestions for the 2009 commencement speaker are due Friday.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor will select the speaker from a list given to her by student representatives, including members of the Student Association and the Graduate Student Organization.

Josie Torrillo, special events coordinator for Syracuse University, said the department chose to move up the deadline for suggestions by a month.

This was so that the university has more time to secure a speaker, she said.

They decided again this year that student input was the best way to find a person that fits the criteria for a speaker and would interest students, Torrillo added.

"We can never promise that we're going to satisfy 100 percent of the population," Torrillo said. "We try our best to make sure that it's someone that's pleasing to all, but you're never going to please everyone."

The commencement speaker for the class of 2008 was ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff. Woodruff suffered extreme head and body trauma when a bomb hit his vehicle in January 2006 while in Iraq.

While Woodruff fit the criteria for the commencement speaker, many felt he appealed to mainly communications majors rather than the whole graduating class.

"I think it's important students have a say in who is chosen because you don't want to go to a graduation for a huge school and listen to a boring speaker," said Theresa Hubbard, a senior vocal performance major. "I think it needs to be someone who can communicate to everyone about general life experiences."

dalewi02@syr.edu