Affirmative Reaction

My sister's commencement ceremony at San Francisco State University took place this past Saturday. As far as graduations go, it was a nice ceremony, and was capped off with an appearance by local television personality Belva Davis. Davis, who was the first African-American woman to become a TV news journalist on the West Coast, and is a champion of various causes for race and gender equality, received a voluminous introduction prior to taking the stage. After her extensive personal history was exhausted, Davis stepped up, took the mike-and took over.

What was supposed to be a celebration of the accomplishments of the students, along with some encouraging words for their futures, instead became a narcissistic diatribe in service to Davis's own personal political agenda. While I can respect what Davis has done professionally, she unflinchingly planted her flag in the ground with little regard for the SF State graduates. It was clear that, in her mind, Saturday was about her, and that she was going to take advantage of her captive audience in order to suit her own needs.

While not especially offensive, I also found the subject matter of her speech inappropriate, regardless of if it was intended to bolster herself. It's not to say that a commencement speech should be limited to the stale jargon that has become more than trite at these events ("We did it!"), but conversely, the material should be thought provoking without being polarizing. The audience is there for the grads, not to hear some stranger wax poetically about Affirmative Action.

The speech given at the ceremony held on Thursday for the SF State honors graduates was a much more successful effort. It struck an excellent balance between being political, yet also illuminating, and was respectful and inclusive in a way Davis's wasn't. There's a time and place for soap box pontification, and graduation ceremonies are not it. While it was a nice gesture for Davis to appear, I think the ceremony would have better off without her that day.