As word spreads across campus that this year's Commencement speaker is Paavo T. Lipponen, the prime minister of Finland, many students will no doubt scratch their heads and say: "Paavo T. who?"
With recent campus rumors claiming the speaker would be a notable such as Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher or Salman Rushdie, the announcement of Lipponen -- much more obscure than any of the above -- may come as a big surprise to the Dartmouth community.
But the students, and especially the graduating Class of 1997, should not let this surprise turn into anger and indignation.
Just because Lipponen is not a household name does not mean he will not make a good Commencement speaker. Obscurity does not imply inferiority.
And while the Dartmouth community may not know as much about Lipponen as they do about Commencement speakers at other schools -- including Bill Cosby, Kathy Lee Gifford, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey -- Lipponen is still an accomplished statesman and a major player in the European community.
College President James Freedman has said in the past that he has attempted to stay out of bidding wars for high-profile speakers, and instead prefers to recruit thoughtful men and women who have led lives of public service. Freedman and the Council on Honorary Degrees should be commended for not stooping to the level of countless other colleges that have put more value in a speaker's name recognition than in his or her contributions to humanity.
Before rallying against this year's speaker in front of Parkhurst, students should consider this: Last year, the announcement of journalist and author David Halberstam as the Commencement speaker was met with a very lukewarm response, and many saw him as a big step down from the 1995 speaker, U.S. President Bill Clinton. But Halberstam's keynote address received rave reviews and many thought his performance exceeded the President's.
This is Dartmouth, not the Tonight Show, and a Commencement speaker should provide insight, not just entertainment.
Students who are tempted to criticize the choice of Lipponen should reconsider what they want in a Commencement speaker and re-examine what they have learned in their time at Dartmouth.
