Loyola’s commencement speaker choice, Gov. Bobby Jindal, has stirred controversy among some graduating seniors, prompting more than 80 seniors to sign a petition asking them to reconsider their choice.
While some consider Jindal speaking at commencement to be biased because of his political affiliations, The Maroon believes the Loyola community should view Jindal’s address in a broader context than just that of the political realm.
It’s important to realize that Jindal’s address is not a soapbox for his political beliefs, but an opportunity for an accomplished leader in post-Katrina Louisiana to talk about his experiences working against adversity in a community where affecting change is no easy task. In addition, he will be able to give insight to a graduating class that began college following a national disaster, one that is graduating in the most trying financial times since the Great Depression.
It’s also important to compare Jindal to other possible speakers. A real travesty would be Loyola choosing politicians such as Ray Nagin and William Jefferson, whose shady legal and political dealings would tarnish any advice they have to offer.
Although Ashley Johnson, author of the petition, claims that Jindal is not representative of New Orleans, The Maroon contends that Jindal is in fact representative of what New Orleans should be looking for in its leaders, and what Loyola should be looking for in its commencement speakers. Jindal has proven that he is willing to take on responsibility and follow through both in situations of emergency and the long-term well-being of our state. Many credit Jindal with the successful evacuation and management of New Orleans and surrounding areas during Hurricane Gustav.
Additionally, Jindal champions anti-corruption policies and reform of state public services in a state which has long suffered from corruption and the earmarking of taxpayer funds. These causes align with Loyola’s values of critical thinking and acting justly, which above all should be the overlying themes of any of our commencement speakers.
While we always have a right to object to speakers, as we should, this is a situation in which an intelligent speaker with a clean track record has something to offer us, and we should be glad for the opportunity to hear from one of the likely 2012 presidential candidates.
While Jindal does come with some controversy regarding his stance on inherently controversial subjects such as abortion rights, stem cell research and gay civil rights, our speaker should be controversial enough to be thought-provoking. We expect Loyola’s students to be respectful enough to at least be open-minded to Jindal’s speech. At the same time The Maroon hopes that the Loyola community will think critically enough that they would never automatically take what a speaker says at face value.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that if we object to speakers whose views cause controversy, soon we’ll have no one but Harry Connick Jr., whose dignified-sounding voice might be pleasant to hear, but whose message may not be as memorable.
