Students, Faculty Defend Speaker Choice

Several students, faculty members and Scott himself have countered this opinion, saying these concerns are misguided and should have been raised before the selection.

Scott, a 1987 UNC graduate, will deliver the Commencement address May 20. The decision to have Scott speak is a change from previous years, when the Commencement speakers were prominent figures in government or the liberal arts community.

Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff, who was unavailable for comment, was quoted in The Chapel Hill Herald as expressing concern over the change in speakers from previous years.

Estroff told the newspaper this weekend that she and other faculty members felt this school year has focused too much on athletics. Estroff and other faculty expressed concern last fall when UNC offered Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer a $1 million annual contract. "I'm disappointed," she said of the selection. "This is nothing personal about the individual. It has to do with my views about the nature of the (Commencement) ceremony. It's especially disappointing in a year where the relationship of the academy to athletics has been under a lot of discussion. It's ironic that this year, at this ultimately academic conferral of degrees, we have a sports anchor."

Senior Class President Jason Cowley said he is upset with Estroff's concerns because she was a member of the committee that decided on the speaker.

"She had a chance to put her input in at the meeting," he said. "It's just plain impolite to voice this ill will once the decision has been made."

Cowley said he feels that those who were criticizing Scott were not considering the positive attributes that he brings to the podium. "She's forgetting the things that makes this speaker so dynamic," Cowley said. "He's a UNC graduate, and it has made people excited. Tons of people have e-mailed me and said they are going to come when they were not going to come before."

Scott said Tuesday that he is ecstatic to get the chance to speak at the ceremony. "When they first called me and asked if I would be interested, I was so excited," said Scott, who often refers to UNC during his sportscasts. "My second thought was, 'Me?' But it just doesn't get any better than this, especially when it's a school I loved. To say I'm honored would be an understatement."

Cowley made it clear that he holds Estroff in high esteem but said she should have taken a different approach with her concerns. "I respect Dr. Estroff as a member of the University community" he said. "I just disagree with what she did in going to the press with this."

Douglas Long, Department of Philosophy chairman, said the members of the speaker selection committee were looking for a departure from speakers who have been chosen in years past. "I guess you have different speakers for different groups in different years," he said.

Long said it is the students' ceremony and that they are the ones who need to be pleased. "It may not be a speaker I would want to listen to, but I think it's appropriate for the group to listen to who they want," Long said. "I may not have chosen a sportscaster for this ceremony, but they did and that's fine."

Warren Wogen, Department of Mathematics chairman, said it is inappropriate for objections to be made after the invitation was sent. "This discussion needed to be prior to asking him to speak," Wogen said. "It belittles the speaker to have the decision made to invite him and then have nasty things said about him."

Long said the decision was made by a diverse group of people and that he trusts its ability to select a good speaker.

"I assume there was some student input, and I assume they weren't the only voice speaking in support of this particular person," he said. "I don't know what particular speech he may give, but I'm sure it'll be motivating."

Scott said he plans on enlightening the graduates and talking about what the University did for him. "I don't want to preach, and I guarantee that I won't be reading from a paper," he said. "I will be speaking from the heart, and I hope people will gain something from it."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.