Frida Garza | Showing and not telling

H e re’s a couple of things we know about John Legend: He’s a talented musician with nine Grammys who has made at least that many men and women cry with his beautiful voice. He’s a notable Penn alum with experience in studio recording, television and philanthropic endeavors. At 35, he looks great. And he’s an inspirational public speaker, which makes him a great choice for the 2014 Commencement Ceremony.

Here’s another thing we know about John Legend: He’s a repeat speaker at Penn. Don’t get me wrong - John Legend is qualified to speak on a number of topics and dish out life advice to aspiring career men and women. I also love that he’s a Penn alum; I imagine that he remembers the range of emotions that we will feel when we’re sitting in lawnchairs on Franklin Field waiting for our names to be called.

But in the context of a greater tradition of unpopular speakers, the announcement of John Legend as our commencement speaker comes as disappointing. The day the news broke, my phone blew up with texts from friends lamenting the choice and asking for more. This feels like another big organizational letdown - sort of like when SPEC seemed to promise a big-name headliner for Spring Fling last year and couldn’t deliver last minute. The artist wasn’t the issue - it was that students didn’t know why. We didn’t have insight into SPEC’s process, and we couldn’t sympathize with them.

With regard to Commencement, last year we had Joe Biden - whose granddaughter is a student at Penn. Two years before, we had Denzel Washington - whose son was also a student at Penn. And John Legend has spoken at Penn before. Many times. Just last spring, he performed at the biggest event of the year - the outdoor festival and concert celebrating Penn’s latest multibillion dollar fundraising success. Penn loves him! He loves Penn!

But I can’t help feeling like Penn is coming up short, sort of like I did when I was in first grade and forgot that Thursday was show and tell, and I walked up to the front of the class with my left shoe in my hand. Ta-da!

Maybe we’re being spoiled. Penn attracts world-class athletes, activists, politicians, career creatives and so on as speakers every year. We’re used to seeing them speak on campus, or chaperone their offspring down Locust on Penn Preview days, or just see and be seen at the Starbucks on 34th.

But if you think about it, there’s something else that’s wrong with the picture of John Legend as our commencement speaker. In the past 22 years, the time most of us graduating seniors have been alive, only three women have served as commencement speakers. Jane Alexander and Hillary Clinton spoke within two years of each other in the ’90s, and then there was no one else until Jodie Foster in 2006.

I know this isn’t a new argument. Last year, students spoke out about the lack of female musicians at Spring Fling. This isn’t a problem that’s unique to Penn, or unique to Commencement, or unique at all. But that doesn’t mean it’s not problematic. We’ve had eight years of men speak at graduation - let’s have eight years of women next. What’s so wrong with that picture?

Our student government and its affiliated committees should try to include more women at these seminal calendar events. And they should disclose their selection process, so that we can better inform our opinions on these speakers. Last year, SPEC’s Spring Fling committee didn’t announce what happened when its first headliner backed out - and I think a lot of students resented them for it. Not everything in this life is PR. If John Legend is really the right guy for the job, I challenge the selection committee to share why they have picked him.

Transparency and accessibility aren’t the craziest things we could ask of you. Step up and show us what you got.

Frida Garza  is a College senior from El Paso, Texas, studying English. Email her at frida.garza@gmail.com or follow her @fffffrida.

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