Author: Hillary Holmes
When I heard that New York Times columnist David Brooks was going to be the 2010 commencement speaker, I was a bit confused and shocked as to why Oxy would invite him to send off this year’s graduating class. Oxy’s decision to invite Brooks, a “former liberal” who now claims to be a “strict moderate,” to speak has sparked a prominent debate and conversation amongst the student body. Although his viewpoint does differ from those of many Oxy students, I believe that his differing stance can benefit Occidental’s liberal campus. As the commencement speaker, Brooks’ words will alert seniors to alternative political perspectives that exist outside of their immediate college community.
After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1983, Brooks worked for the Wall Street Journal, first as a book reviewer then as the editor of the Op-Ed section. After his time at the Journal, he moved to The Weekly Standard where he eventually became a senior editor.
Since then, he has written two cultural commentary books, “Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There” and “On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense.” He is also a frequent guest on NPR and various television news programs. Most notably, he now writes a weekly column for The New York Times.
His position as a public figure places him in an equal position with Oxy’s esteemed collection of past commencement speakers, from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, to former Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing, to civil rights leader Angela Oh. At first glance, Brooks may not stand out particularly from this list of successful and inspiring people, but upon closer examination, his accomplishments fit right in.
What stands out, though, is his conservatism and blatantly differing views from the majority of Oxy students. David Brooks is a sharp social critic. His writing alone assures that he will bring interesting insight to his commencement speech. So then why the hot debate?
It’s not going out on a limb to say that Occidental is, for the most part, a liberal campus. We pride ourselves in Barack Obama’s legacy and the fact that we are socially and politically active students. Moreover, we can’t seem to generate or sustain one club or organization with a Republican or conservative label. It is obvious that, collectively, our political bias swings decisively to the left.
As a result, it seems that the discontent the student body is expressing over the selection of Brooks as commencement speaker is that he is a bit more conservative than we would like. It is almost assumed that, though Brooks is qualified and successful, his conservatism puts him on a more under-appreciated level than a liberal counterpart. This is, frankly, disappointing.
Oxy regards “diversity” as its main foundation, but diversity is more than ethnicity or religion. Diversity lies in political perspectives as well. To choose Brooks might seem unusual because of his conservative reputation but I predict his speech will be as refined as his writing and it will challenge the views of many seniors as they go off into the real world.
We live in a happy bubble here on campus where our political views are rarely challenged. Commencement speakers are meant to offer new perspectives and challenge the graduating seniors – not just have someone restate their own beliefs. Ultimately, Oxy students will benefit from a more conservative commencement speaker because it will awaken us from our “liberal utopia” campus and bring us into the real world.
Hillary Holmes is an undeclared first-year. She can be reached at hholmes@oxy.edu.
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