NYU announced today that David Boies will be speaking at the commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium on May 22. Although Boies is incredibly successful in his field, there are conflicting opinions about the university’s decision to have him deliver this year’s commencement speech.
The first thing most NYU students are probably saying is, “Who is that?” Past commencement speakers have included high-profile leaders such as former president Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and cultural icons such as Alec Baldwin. However, it seems that unless you are well-versed in legal history and current events, it is unlikely that you know much about Boies. Perhaps someone more conspicuously famous could have been chosen.
However, we don’t simply invite people to speak because they are well-known — if that were true, the administration could have invited Ke$ha.
The fact is, Boies is more than qualified to speak at our commencement. He has a formidable legal record, having led the counsel in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the historic same-sex marriage civil rights case currently before the Supreme Court. The famous case contests Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Moreover, Boies is one of our own, coming from none other than than the School of Law, currently ranked sixth in the nation. And despite the fact that college students in their early 20s may not be acutely aware of who Boies is, he is very influential — in 2000, Boies was named Time Magazine’s runner-up for person of the year, second only to former president George W. Bush.
Thus, although we have become accustomed to expecting big names, the content of the speech should be the most important aspect of the selection process. A commencement speaker should provide words of encouragement and advice to the world’s next active citizens and community leaders. The Editorial Board believes Boies is a fitting choice for the commencement address, and we hope that the senior class will benefit from his wisdom.
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, April 24 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].