Steve Poskanzer publishes op-ed for Inside Higher Ed about commencement season
Poskanzer is professor of political science and president emeritus at Carleton.
Steve Poskanzer, professor of political science and president emeritus, published an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed titled, “Lessons for the Silly Season: Why do colleges get commencement speakers wrong every year?”
There are reliable rhythms to the academic year: New and returning students energize the campus each fall, the winter (at least in Minnesota!) finds everyone hunkered down in a slog, and, as the trees bloom and the days lengthen, we rush to a conclusion full of senior banquets and no-longer-extendable paper deadlines. It’s predictable and even comforting.
Of course, there’s another annual spring ritual to be observed: largely avoidable controversies over invitations to commencement speakers and the granting of honorary degrees, often spiced with self-righteous remarks and performative gestures by individuals who were given a few minutes at the speaker’s podium for quite different purposes.
As the expected litany of outrage once again unrolls, one has to ask: Why do we make the same mistakes year after year and open ourselves to the same political crossfire? Are there no lessons to be drawn to avoid stepping into this obvious manure pile? In fact, such lessons exist and ought to be followed.