The editor would like to thank all involved for their time and effort on this edition of The Voice.

The opinions expressed in any Sweet Briar College publication or other forms of media are not necessarily those of the students, faculty, staff or administration. Therefore, Sweet Briar College is not responsible for its content.

Editorials represent the opinion(s) of the editor(s) and/or staff/guest writer(s).

This site was designed and is maintained by Caroline Baxley. Please email any questions or comments concerning the web site to her.

Proper etiquette for graduation speaker selection
By Kelly D. Crist ’06
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It’s official, the graduation speaker for 2006 will be Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners. Although I realize that she has been an extremely successful woman, there is something in me that still balks at the idea that Sweet Briar, a college still struggling against a finishing school reputation, would ask the foremost authority on etiquette to speak for graduation. Maybe it is the fact that Miss Manners' success, although immense, has stemmed from knowledge of a traditionally feminine subject (manners and etiquette). Whereas Eilleen Collins, another name on the list of possible candidates for graduation speakers, was successful despite choosing a male dominated field. I guess it all depends on how you answer this question: Is success relative?

Unfortunately, the senior class was never given the opportunity to answer this question. Rather, the decsion of who to invite to speak at graduation was made for us. And to be honest this is what bothers me the most. The only input most seniors were allowed was the simple submission of name.

In the spring of their junior year, seniors are asked to submit the names of those they would want to speak at graduation to their class officers. The class officers then select 5-10 names from these submissions, to send as a ranked list to the President’s Office. The President then selects from this list which candidate to invite to speak at graduation. Given this, would it be wrong to think that the senior class as a whole should be given more input in this decision making process?

No, I do not believe it is. But how to best accomplish this? I suggest that we turn the submission process into a true nomination process. Allow the seniors to submit names of possible speakers, compile a list, then let them vote on whom they would most like to appear at their graduation. The vote does not even have to determine who is asked to speak at graduation; it could simply determine the ranking of the candidates on the list to be submitted to the president. Either way, a vote would give seniors greater control over the say in who is issued an invitation to speak at their graduation.