Student commencement speakers not representative

In a few weeks, current Duke Student Government President Mike Lefevre will continue a long legacy of white male student speakers at Duke’s commencement ceremonies. A student speaker should be both engaging and speak on topics that resonate with and reflect upon the thousands of graduates in attendance. Given these basic qualifications, one would think over the course of a decade these speakers—selected by a committee of students, faculty and administrators—would at least somewhat mirror the demographics of Duke’s student body. However, in the past 10 years all student speakers were men, and only one was non-white. The most recent female student speaker was in 2000 during Nan Keohane’s presidency, and at the time she was the fourth consecutive woman selected for this honor.

The number of white men who have been selected as student commencement speakers inaccurately portrays Duke graduates. It is problematic that a university supposedly committed to diversity has indicated over and over again that a white man is a better representative of Duke’s graduating students than a woman or a person of color. Although we know that Lefevre is an articulate speaker and a prominent campus leader, we feel that his voice has been heard enough and, more importantly, that his selection continues the trend of an unsettling bias. By choosing yet another white male as the student commencement speaker, this year’s selection committee missed an important opportunity to select a student that better recognizes Duke’s diverse graduates.

Becki Feinglos

Trinity ’11

Anne Moriarity

Trinity ’11