Ceremony should carry the memory, legacy of Sept. 11
I am writing in response to the article printed on Monday, Feb. 18, and Nathan Arrington's opinion piece that followed on Tuesday, Feb. 19, regarding the selection of Meg Whitman '77 as Baccalaureate speaker.
In my view, the problem here is that good people have made a bad choice. As Nathan Arrington noted on this page, the call for nominations emphasized "the historically religious nature of the event and the ability of the speaker to address human values." I have no doubt that Whitman will do her best to inspire us consistent with these guidelines, but I am not sure that she was the best candidate available for selection. (In an email, the class officers indicated that confidentiality requirements prohibited the discussion of final candidates with the public.)
In the weeks following 9.11, a friend and I nominated United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to be our speaker. Among other things we felt that Sec. Annan's life work speaks well to the mission of teaching and promulgating exciting ideas. Throughout his life, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to issues of human rights and a more equitable world order. The broader themes of national service, defending freedom, and striving for peace could have also been captured by Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld, James Baker (a graduate of the class of '52, our grandparent class), or Robert Mueller. But because discussion of these candidates is prohibited — By whom? For what reasons? I do not know — I have no idea whether our nominees were considered as viable candidates.
The President and her senior advisers on this matter have failed to adequately consider a unique historical moment. I remember the moving memorial ceremony on Cannon Green in the fall. However, the legacy of 9.11 should not be frozen in time. It is something that our class can and must carry with it as we assume leadership positions in society. The Baccalaureate ceremony would have been a most apt forum to deliver a message that would leave an indelible imprint on every senior's last memories here at Princeton. It could remind us all that we share something in common with the classes of our parents and grandfathers who fought in great wars of the past.
Woodrow Wilson was adamant that Princetonians should act "in the nation's service." I would have preferred to have a Baccalaureate speaker whose credentials reflected this theme in the here and now, as opposed to the "constructive" metaphor of "building" the future of Princeton that has been offered.
Yet there is still hope. Maybe Meg Whitman will surprise us. The credibility of the administration depends on it. Jeremy G. Sturchio '02
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