The search for a Commencement speaker for the class of 2005 has prompted increased concern about a lack of student representation in Penn's highest governing body.
Although the five students on the speaker advisory group are involved in recommending candidates, the selection is ultimately decided by the University Board of Trustees -- which is devoid of voting student members.
College junior and Undergraduate Assembly executive board member Rachel Fersh believes that student interests are well represented to the University Trustees, but she said that "it's always great if students could have more say."
As a member of the group that suggested possible speakers for the 2006 and 2007 commencements, even Fersh said that they "pretty much have no say."
"But it was nice to be able to list as many [names] as we could think of," she added.
This year, after the announcement of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan as the 2005 Commencement speaker, senior class president and College senior Matt Klapper expressed discontent with the current role students play in the decision-making process.
Leslie Kruhly, the secretary of the University, said that she is "sorry" that students were upset by their perceived lack of representation, but in the years in which Kofi Annan's name was on the list of possible candidates, he was a very popular figure among those in the advisory group.
"The student representatives were behind that selection, but obviously no one candidate is going to appeal to everyone," she said.
-- Megan Madden
