To the Editor:
It was a sad comment on the selection process for the 2004 commencement speaker in The Dartmouth on May 5 ("Immelt '78 tapped for commencement"). Is it an unflattering reflection on the decision process for commencement speakers by the Administration or an aberration that it omitted to mention salient facts? I found it astonishing that graduating seniors were not informed that a commencement speaker is only picked from the list of honorary degree nominations. How would any person know that? Surely this graduating class, and the parents and friends who, like my family, will travel across the country to attend deserve an inspiring national figure, especially in these troubling times involving lack of accountability, outsourcing, layoffs, deregulation and crackdown on civil liberties and freedom of speech by large corporations.