In response to the announcement of Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III as the University’s spring commencement speaker, several students have begun circulating a petition to contest the process by which Wilkinson was selected.
The petition, which as of press time had gained 336 signatures on ipetitions.com, reads, “We the undersigned encourage the UVA administration to create a better, more transparent and more accountable commencement speaker selection committee to better reflect and respect the diverse opinions of the student body.”
The petition states that the student body deserves a unifying speaker as well as a “fair, open and respectful” process through which a speaker can be selected.
College fourth-year Quynh Khanh Vu, who also serves as a Cavalier Daily senior advertising representative, said she drafted the petition for several reasons. She said her greatest concern with the announcement was the transparency of the process. Vu said after learning of Wilkinson’s appointment, she voiced her concerns directly to Special Occasions Committee chair Sandy Gilliam.
Vu said, though, that Gilliam said her concerns were unfounded.
“It is about undergraduates learning about how it works, whether or not that is something [students are] comfortable with,” Vu said.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said Wilkinson was selected by University President John T. Casteen, III because Wilkinson had much to offer and share with this year’s graduating class.
Vu noted, however, that after she further investigated the commencement speaker selection process, she had difficulty finding out precisely how the University and its president makes its final decision.
Wood said a speaker selection committee met in October. Before the meeting, Wood said, Gilliam asked all committee members to poll friends, students and colleagues in the University, asking them who they would like to deliver the commencement address.
“There is usually a lively discussion around nominations,” Wood stated in an e-mail.
Around early October, some students began to circulate a petition to adopt comedian Stephen Colbert as the speaker, but by Winter Break the suggestion had been rejected, said Will Eden, a fourth-year College Student and advocate for the Colbert Commences Commencement group.
Eden said although the petition obtained 2000 student signatures, the “group that selected [Wilkinson] was the most resistant to Colbert” and gave the petitioners negative feedback. Wood stated that at this stage, the Special Occasions Committee, which is half composed of students and half composed of faculty and administrative leaders, sent a final list of 10 recommended speakers to Casteen, who made the final decision.
“Students have the final say on the Valediction speaker, but the University president has always had the final call on the finals speaker,” Wood said.
Even when provided with that explanation, however, some students interviewed still said the process is not transparent enough. Others said the chosen speaker is disappointing.
Katelyn Mendoza, a fourth-year College student and Entertainment Chair of the 2009 Trustees, said she was pleased about the selection of Saturday Valediction speaker Dawn Staley, but noted that she felt that University administrators did not listen to students’ concerns and did not take students’ opinions into account for the Sunday speaker.
Fourth-year College student Christian West, meanwhile, said though he does not object to Wilkinson as a person or as the commencement speaker, he remains a bit uncertain about how Wilkinson was selected.
West said he believes the Committee should more actively encourage recommendations from students and should create an online poll through which students can select their favorite speaker.
“It would be very easy for the committee to do some student outreach,” West noted.
Vu added that “an application process for students who are interested on being on the selection committee” could lead to greater student variety than the currently mandated four student members and five additional students picked by the Student Council president. Vu also said she thinks students of the graduating class should be informed about who serves on the committee and have a means through which to deliver suggestions to committee members.
In previous interviews with The Cavalier Daily, Gilliam has noted that in many cases bringing more popular speakers to Grounds is made difficult because the University has a policy of not offering honorary degrees or monetary bonuses for commencement speakers.
Khalifa Sultan Lee, a fourth-year College student and vice chair of the Minority Rights Coalition, however, said the University could have done more to select a more appropriate speaker for the occasion.
“I was definitely surprised that the University would come to the point at which they would accept a speaker such as this judge,” Lee said, adding that he believes the announcement was a “slap to the community” and that “when it came down to final selection, no one had a clue as to how they came to choose him.”
Wood, though, defended this year’s selection and said it was based on Wilkinson’s extensive qualifications.
“I believe that President Casteen saw in J. Harvie what the Jefferson Medal committee saw — a great legal mind and dedicated public servant who has made important contributions to legal scholarship as well as to the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Wood said. “The president — as well as committee members — consider a number of things when recommending and inviting speakers. Does the person have something important and interesting to say? Has the person had life experiences that have prepared him to communicate important life lessons or a particular valuable message?”
As the online student petition continues to gather signatures, Vu said she hopes to meet with University administrators to discuss possible ways to change the selection process in the future.
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