The Class of 2015 recently announced the selection of Ed Helms as this year’s Valediction speaker, emulating a recent trend among universities to call upon comedians as their keynote speakers. This selection could not have been a better choice. Comedians not only supply a relaxing contrast to political or military graduation speakers but also create the kind of atmosphere of celebration and euphoria graduation should foster. With an overarching need for students to relax and not stress out about their post-graduation fate, comedians play a crucial role in final exercises.
Of the past 25 final exercises at the University, a sizable number have included a president, governor, senator, ambassador, judge or secretary of some sort. Although these speakers have plenty of significant wisdom to share, they may not always garner the attention of graduating students, who are often more concerned with more relatable figures like celebrities. Moreover, speeches from political figures may take on a serious tone, focusing on how to live “life in the real world” or how to do “what you love.”
In 2013, the University first implemented the tactic of pairing up a comedian with a politician, selecting former U.S. Senator Jim Webb and comedian Stephen Colbert as the final exercise speakers. Choosing a comedian was a huge success, as it was the first time the University had welcomed a comedian in at least the past 25 years. Additionally, Colbert’s speech was, thanks to YouTube, the most watched in the University’s history, garnering almost half a million views on YouTube. Although Ed Helms is a different person with different skills and talents, he will no doubt attract similar attention with his humor and personality.
The lessons learned from this success in 2013 are twofold. First, comedians are arguably the most popular and entertaining choices for speakers. In contrast with Colbert’s address, fellow speaker Jim Webb’s speech only drew around 2,000 views on YouTube. This does not discredit Jim Webb or other politicians’ accomplishments; rather, it proves they simply cannot compete with big-name celebrities.
Second, a balance between comedy and seriousness is key. Perhaps the university that most commonly pairs comedians with politicians is Harvard. In the past 15 years, Harvard has brought in the likes of Conan O’Brien, Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth MacFarlane, Andy Samberg and Amy Poehler to speak at its Class Day ceremonies. These comedian celebrities are then contrasted with commencement day speakers like Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, or Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico. The effect is that students receive serious and inspirational speeches from political figures as well as hilarious and entertaining speeches from comedic figures.
This trend could potentially be traced back to Conan O’Brien’s Harvard class day speech in 2000. One of The Harvard Crimson’s editorials explained at the time: “considering the solemnity of the Commencement ceremony and the mixed feelings of seniors on leaving the College, his lighthearted speech will offer a welcome respite from the highly emotional week.” Although Conan seemed to be an untraditional choice at the time, The Crimson’s primary justification for bringing in a comedian was not only that students needed to relax and destress from overworking themselves; rather, it focused on how O’Brien could offer a fresh perspective and change of pace from the usual “stump speech” politicians tend to give.
It is not clear what triggered this need for the “fresh perspective” of a comedian, since students are likely just as disenchanted with academia and “the real world” as they were 25 years ago. One hypothetical explanation is that the attention span of the modern-day University student has been steadily decreasing, perhaps due to the introduction of the Internet as well as smartphones and their distracting features. These technological developments present the ever-increasing challenge of producing graduation weekend speeches that capture students’ attention and keep them captivated. In doing what they do best, comedians are the most successful at achieving this feat, as they use humor as a bridge to connect with college students and give advice about their future in an engaging way.
Ed Helms is ultimately an excellent choice because he is more dynamic than just a comedian; he is a also member of a bluegrass band and a talented musician. People identify with him as a hilarious actor in television shows like “The Office” or “The Daily Show” as well as in film such as “The Hangover,” and graduating students will further relate with Helms as a comedian, whose speech will be as hysterical as it will be memorable.
Jared Fogel is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.fogel@cavalierdaily.com.
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