Graduation Groupthink

At the end of the school year, I sometimes reflect back on my graduation from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.  In 1971, our graduation speaker was U. S. Secretary of State William P.  Rogers.  I do not remember one scintilla of his speech, nor do I remember any controversy about his selection as our speaker.  This is significant given the time period during which I graduated.  Guest lecturers during my four years at Colgate, including a semester as part of the “exchange program” at Skidmore College, included those who were supportive as well as critical of the establishment; such as Abbie Hoffman, Dick Gregory, as well as those in positions of power in the government and big business.  Trying to make sense of all of these different perspectives was one of the most valuable aspects of my liberal arts education.  And yet research shows that diverse perspectives are becoming harder to find.  For instance, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (2010) found that less than half of students surveyed reported that their classroom experiences included diverse perspectives, such as those reflecting different races, religions, and political ideologies.

During the last month or so, speakers such as former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice,  International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, women’s rights advocate Hirsi Ali, and Robert Birgineau, former Chancellor of the University of California Berkeley have been invited to give commencement addresses at major colleges and universities throughout the country.  All of these speakers have engaged in behavior or taken a position which rankled some members of the college communities at which they were invited to speak.  Many of them were seen as too conservative or too supportive of the status quo.  Consequently, some of these invitations were rescinded, given the protest among students and faculty, who used social media to make their point.   In other cases, speakers simply decided to rise above the fray and decline the invite, since their presence might take attention away from the graduates.

As I understand it, a university education exposes students to new ideas.  Ideally, higher education creates an environment where all members of the college community are free to express themselves, without fear of sanctions.  However, as a college student in the 60s and 70s and as a faculty member at the present, I know that there is a difference between ideal culture and real culture on college campuses.

The degree to which a commencement speech is palatable to a college community is relative.  Consider Attorney General Eric Holder, who gave a commencement speech on the subject of racism at Morgan State University, a Historically Black College.  In this speech, Holder addressed the pervasiveness of racism in American society, and focused on racism that is more subtle and institutional.  Giving this speech at Morgan State was a form of groupthink.  Holder was simply reinforcing what MSU students already know.   Perhaps next year, Morgan might want to invite Condoleeza Rice, U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, or House Speaker John Boehner.  Now that would speak to the value of exposing students to diverse thoughts and perspectives.

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One Response to Graduation Groupthink

  1. Lea Masiello says:

    I share this opinion on the importance of a liberal education in order to expose people to diverse views and learn to think critically about them.

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