EDITORIAL: Speaking up

Here are a dozen suggestionsHere are a dozen suggestionsfor the 1997 UniversityHere are a dozen suggestionsfor the 1997 UniversityCommencement speaker,Here are a dozen suggestionsfor the 1997 UniversityCommencement speaker,since the selection committeeHere are a dozen suggestionsfor the 1997 UniversityCommencement speaker,since the selection committeeis already hard at work.Here are a dozen suggestionsfor the 1997 UniversityCommencement speaker,since the selection committeeis already hard at work._______________________________ Graduates and their families were sweating buckets, but all of that didn't seem to matter. Brokaw delivered focused, genuine and useful remarks in his typical gentlemanly style, and the assembled crowd loved it. (To be fair, anything probably would have been well received so long as it differed substantially from National Endowment for the Arts Chairperson Jane Alexander's self- and agency-promoting shtick the year before. But we digress.) The person who speaks to the Class of '97 next spring will have a tough act to follow, but these 12 could handle it: President Clinton. He spoke at Dartmouth and Michigan State last year, and the First Lady spoke at Penn in 1993. Regardless of the outcome of November's election, Clinton's perspective on world and domestic affairs that have and will continue to shape our generation is unmatched. Colin Powell. The man who many said would have been president if only he had run, Powell's experience represents the triumph of hard work and determination in an often-unjust world. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Only the second female justice to grace the Supreme Court, Ginsburg's already shown her legal muscle. She wrote the majority opinion ordering Virginia Military Institute to go co-ed if it wants to continue receiving federal funding. Tom Hanks. A perennial request, because he's just so good at what he does. Saturday Night Live will have him as guest host again this weekend; we'd settle for one Monday morning in May. Maybe Forrest Gump producer Wendy Finerman, Wharton '82, could pull some strings. Bill Bradley. The Democratic Senator from New Jersey with a consistently progressive agenda has announced his retirement from the nation's most exclusive club. But that doesn't mean he's out of politics for good. He could give us a hint or two about his future plans. Jim Brown. A former Cleveland Brown and Hall of Famer described as the greatest football player of all time, Brown is now an outspoken advocate of reform in the nation's inner cities. Vaclav Havel. Harvard got this Czech playwright and statesman last year. If we can't have Clinton, someone influential in the end of Communism in Eastern Europe would be almost as good. Maya Angelou. On the Pulse of the Morning, Clinton's inaugural poem. Need we say more? Gary Trudeau, Matt Groening or Gary Larson. Commencement addresses don't have to be long-winded and boring. Any of these cartoonists could entertain us, and they wouldn't even have to prepare material, seeing as we'll look incredibly silly in those caps and gowns anyway. Joyce Carol Oates. A widely respected short fiction writer who teaches at Princeton, Oates's work focuses on the family and the female experience, though she's also written suspense novels. Bill Gates. He'll probably own the world by the time most members of the Class of '97 are changing careers for the first time. Why not find out what his plans are before he puts them into action? James Earl Jones. Who cares what the theme of his speech would be? It would just be pretty darn cool to hear him say, "This? is Penn." What do you think of our list? Whatever your year, tell us who you would like to see on the Franklin Field stage in May, either by fax (898-2050) or e-mail (letters@dp.upenn.edu). We'll publish as many responses as we can.