The selection of Academy Award-winning actress Jodie Foster to address seniors at Penn's 250th Commencement has not been well received by members of the Class of 2006.
Senior class president Pierre Gooding said that the class board would be sending a letter to the University's Board of Trustees "voicing [their] frustration with the process" and the choice of speaker.
"Considering past speakers, we were under the impression it would be someone with a recognizable social commitment," Gooding said. "While Jodie Foster has been in many movies about social issues, we would not have seen her as" a social activist.
University Secretary Leslie Kruhly, who was in charge of the process of choosing the speaker, said that the committee that selected Foster was "looking for really strong, interesting, out of the box people," and in particular a woman.
"I think that the audience ought to understand what her life and goals are about, and we always hope that the speaker will challenge in some way the graduating classes to achieve their potential," Kruhly said.
According to Gooding, Foster was not on a list of potential speakers was compiled by an advisory committee that included class board members.
"When we submitted the list, we were under the impression that it would get considerable consideration," Gooding said.
Television personality Oprah Winfrey, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, comedian Jon Stewart and Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs were some of the people on the list.
College senior B.J. Stein, who is on the class board and who sat in on the committee that made the list, was disappointed less with the selection of Foster than with the process of choosing her.
"We wish more student input had been considered," Stein said.
University President Amy Gutmann said she hopes Foster will be able to inspire students with her speech.
"She's an Ivy League graduate who has really taken on very courageous roles since she was very young," Gutmann said. "I think she is a great role model."
Foster is a graduate of Yale University.
Despite his disappointment, Gooding said that there are currently no plans to create a petition against Foster. Last year over 60 students signed a petition expressing their dissatisfaction with the selection of Kofi Annan as the speaker for the Class of 2005.
Still, members of this year's senior class expressed disappointment at Foster's selection.
College senior Sarah Bealer called Foster "an interesting choice" but added that she "would have preferred someone more political or cultural."
"She's really not doing anything right now outside entertainment," Bealer said.
College senior Steph Bodnar expressed stronger sentiments about the choice.
"I personally think it sucks," Bodnar said. "I feel like she's pretty insignificant. She's not from Penn."
