Turning Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III into some sort of pariah on the pages of The Cavalier Daily and on the various listservs University students use to communicate with each other is nothing short of disgraceful. Wilkinson is a warm, congenial, and funny speaker. He loves the University and will doubtlessly have some enjoyable stories and inspiring words for the students walking the Lawn this spring. I’ve not seen an instance of a beat reporter or columnist contacting any students at the University who have heard Wilkinson speak (there are 370 of us in the 2011 Law School Class), and castigating the choice of a speaker because of so called conservative judicial opinions is ridiculous — and I speak as a strong Democrat. Should there be a political litmus test for commencement speakers weeding out any with viewpoints that some might find objectionable we’ll be sure to have boring, irrelevant speakers for decades to come. Additionally, making the claim that the University should make celebrity status paramount in its decision is laughable. That students haven’t heard of Wilkinson or immediately assume a federal judge will be a bore only shows closed mindedness. Some of the best, most inspiring, and memorable speakers you’ll find don’t have television shows, record deals, or best seller status. Wilkinson is a dedicated public servant, connected to the University, and I for one trust and applaud President John T. Casteen III’s choice and suggest that students not poison commencement trying to discredit the speaker.
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