If there’s one thing that the midterm elections have taught us, it’s that grassroots movements are not to be ignored. And what’s more grassroots than a good old-fashioned Facebook group made of the people, by the people, for the people?
Nearly 300 students (and counting) have banded together as members of a Facebook group titled “Petition: Make Tina Fey Penn Class of 2011 Commencement Speaker.” Regardless of whom students choose to back, what is most noteworthy about this effort is that it has attracted such interest and excitement from the student body.
Past speakers — like last year’s pick, Ambassador to China Jon M. Huntsman Jr. — didn’t garner much enthusiasm from the student body because most students were not intimately involved in the selection process. In making future commencement speaker choices, the University Council Committee on Honorary Degrees should pay attention to the pulse of the campus and take note of students’ grassroots efforts.
The Facebook group shows that the choice of speaker is a matter of significance for students. While the committee shouldn’t be obligated to pick Fey just because of the petition, it’s important to recognize students’ voices when they care enough to give their opinions on a subject.
