Hats off at Commencement 2009

In the past, it has been customary for the Senior Class President to give a speech at Commencement.  Although awaiting final approval from President Gann, a change in this policy for the 2010-2011 academic year (and beyond) has already been approved by several members of the Dean of Students and Dean of Faculty offices, including Dean Mary Spellman and Dean Greg Hess.

Many people may be indifferent to the student chosen to speak on their behalf at their graduation, but I believe changing this process to a student-nominated speaker is more democratic and will ultimately produce a much more quality speech.  As the incoming Senior Class President, I am the first to say that I think there are people in my class who will be able to draft and deliver a much better speech than I ever could.  On top of that, it is not even specified in the ASCMC Constitution that the Senior Class President must give the speech.  The document merely states the Senior Class President “shall work with the CMC administration to plan the annual graduation ceremonies.”

I do not think that when students vote for their Senior Class President in March of their Junior year they judge the candidates based on their ability to give a great graduation speech.  The Senior Class President serves an important role for students in their final year here at CMC, but this should not necessarily include speaking at graduation.  It has also been my understanding that it is the general consensus of the student body that this will be a positive change.  Members of the ASCMC Executive Board, alumni, current seniors, current juniors, and even underclassmen have expressed their support for this new tradition.

The proposed plan is as follows:

• Applicants first encouraged to apply via The Forum around Thanksgiving
• Committee formed consisting of the ASCMC President, Senior Class President, a member of the Dean of Students, a Faculty representative, and two more student representatives to choose finalists
• Application will be open until deadline at the beginning of second semester (giving seniors time to write speeches over winter break)
• Speaker selection committee reviews applications after deadline at the beginning of second semester
• Committee decides on 3-5 finalists by March 1st
• Seniors choose the speaker from the finalists by a direct vote

This plan is tentative and definitely flexible.  I encourage all input from current students and alumni if you have alterations or suggestions to make for the current plan.

“Journalism is the heart of democracy,” said McChesney, who went on to declare that a well-informed public is imperative to the success of a free society. Journalists have a significant role to play in educating and informing the populous on relevant social concerns. He referenced founding fathers James Madison and Benjamin Franklin’s zeal for complete freedom of the press, as they considered it a cornerstone ideal on which the success of the United States would rest. Unfortunately, the press industry is failing to deliver on its constitutional responsibility of enlightening the public sphere on the problems pertinent to society.

One particular trend in the journalism industry is that important social issues are losing ground to trivial entertainment, such as the personal lives of celebrities. McChesney stated that mass media outlets have been feeding viewers with “a steady diet of crap” rather than effectively informing them. It is regrettable because it diverts people from what actually matters.

Citing an example in Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003, McChesney noted the failure of the media to challenge the administration’s intentions and ‘intelligence findings,’ and went on to suggest that a misinformed public was the prime catalyst that gave the president a free ticket to carry out one of the greatest foreign policy disasters in the history of the United States. Rather than contesting the shaky grounds on which the decision was made and evaluating its potential consequences, the media simply reproduced and dispersed the voices of the deciders. Accepting – if not embracing – the agendas of people in power has become the norm as of late. This is not what journalism should be about.

Increased commercialization of the media has largely contributed to an ineffective press. It is becoming more and more difficult to establish a career in the journalism industry if one has a habit of challenging the status quo. Advertisers and promoters ought to be distinct from writers, said McChesney, so that the quality of issues journalists raise is unobstructed by commercial interests. It’s not that there is a shortage of individuals fit for the job. It’s that due to growing commercial pressures, publications have begun to hire writers and anchors based on their bottom line and not on the relevance of issues he or she brings to the table. “Writers only seem to be allowed to raise a question if someone in power is talking about it,” lamented McChesney, “or else the perception is that they’re not being objective, they’re simply pushing an agenda.” Journalists must be allowed to raise questions and spark new debates. Just because an issue is not currently being talked about, doesn’t make it unimportant.

While the internet has revolutionized the manner in which people all over the world receive their information, McChesney believed that this change is neither a cause of nor a solution to the current dilemma. He remarked that large phone companies are pushing for the privatization of the internet, which would allow them to exert a greater stranglehold over the flow of information and other intricacies such as the speed at which websites load. If they succeed, it would be a disaster for the concept of free speech. He urged us to reverse these efforts by supporting the House Internet Freedom Preservation Act (HR-5353), which has been endorsed by Representatives Chip Pickering (R-Miss) and Ed Markey (D-Mass). As a part of his efforts, he co-founded freepress.net, an organization dedicated to the freedom of press and media reform.