The commencement speaker from my winter graduation at the University of Delaware didn't show up. I don't remember his name, but he was a journalist who won a pulitzer prize, and he was unavoidably detained. His non appearance didn't leave much of an impression. This year's commencement speaker (another pulitzer prize winner) might have left more of an impression, if she hadn't been uninvited.
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin was to give the commencement address in May. Over the past few months, it was uncovered that some text made it into her writings that she hadn't authored, or credited to the proper author. I wonder if this year's graduates will remember her name in a few years. The request that she not speak came after the University's student newspaper, the Review, criticised her appearance, and the $ 20,000 speaker fees her presence demanded.
