Posted on 06/03/2005 1:59:58 PM PDT by jmaroneps37
CSI graduation: Pomp and circumstance, boos and hisses Friday, June 03, 2005 By MICHELLE MASKALY
Author Erica Jong alienates some with the tone, length of her commencement speech
Best-selling author Erica Jong was booed and told to "Shut up!" and "Go Home!" during her 40-minute speech yesterday at the College of Staten Island's commencement exercises.
As Ms. Jong, best known for her 1973 novel "Fear of Flying," talked about everything from truth in advertising to truth in politics and the shallowness of public relations -- but said precious little about graduation -- some of the thousands in attendance on the great lawn at the college's Willowbrook campus stood up and began to object loudly.
A little less than halfway through her speech, some graduates began tossing around an inflatable beach volleyball. Some even got up from their chairs, just yards from her podium, to go chat with friends and family who were seated behind them.
Ms. Jong, however, was unfazed.
She continued to speak as though everyone were listening attentively.
"I'm a writer," said the author of eight novels. "I spend days and nights playing with words, trying to make sense of them. Telling the truth has never been easy. It's gotten harder."
She complained that getting to the truth is tougher than ever because "words have been corrupted."
"Advertisers, politicians, celebrities, they all think they have a good reason to tell us the opposite of what they mean," Ms. Jong said. "They advertise products like Viagra that could blind you or hormone pills that could cause breast cancer.
"Politicians speak the opposite of what they mean. They say clear skies when they mean pollution. They say collateral damage when they mean killing civilians."
The public, said Ms. Jong, "writes off many lies as PR (public relations)" and has stopped expecting the truth.
"Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pledging their love to Oprah when they really mean PR," Ms. Jong said. "Do we really need wellness when we have health? News is what they don't issue in press releases."
Ms. Jong's remarks were met with some vehement disapproval.
"She gave a political speech when she was supposed to be doing a pep talk," said the father of a CSI graduate who declined to give his name. "Some graduates wanted to throw stuff at her. Whoever heard of a commencement speaker talking about body bags?"
Dorothy, a 48-year-old mother of a CSI graduate, categorized Ms. Jong's speech as "all-around bashing.
"It was disgusting, despicable," said the Fort Wadsworth woman, who would not give her surname. "She called politicians liars, called us all liars. She trashed America. Mostly, she just wanted to talk. It was personal spewing. There was nothing about graduation."
In a statement issued through a spokesman yesterday afternoon, Dr. Marlene Springer, president of CSI, said: "We are delighted to have had such a noted author at our commencement. Her message, that we need to look closely at words and (that) their power is important, I'm sure our audience understands."
Ms. Jong taught literature and freshman English as a professor at the City University of New York in the 1960s. Her son-in-law, Matthew Greenfield, is a tenured English professor at CSI.
In a press advisory about graduation issued by the college May 31, Ms. Springer lauded Ms. Jong for caring "deeply about her commitments."
"Her presence is sure to be compelling, provocative and motivational," she said in the advisory.
Ms. Jong encouraged the graduates to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it to the world around them, and not to take words at face value.
"Whoever controls the words is framing the debate," Ms. Jong said. "You will be able to be framers of the debate rather than the people sitting there and listening to the conversation. Listen to what is said and question authority. I want you graduates to get mad when you're deliberately lied to."
Michelle Maskaly is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at maskaly@siadvance.com.
Jong at heart
Erica Jong's 40-minute speech at the College of Staten Island commencement yesterday did not sit well with some of the graduates, their families and others. Here are excerpts of her remarks on the power of words: * "Politicians speak the opposite of what they mean. They say clear skies when they mean pollution. They say collateral damage when they mean killing civilians." * "Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pledging their love to Oprah when they really mean PR." * "Do we really need wellness when we have health?" * "News is what they don't issue in press releases." * "Listen to what is said and question authority." * "I want you graduates to get mad when you're deliberately lied to."
From the title of this thread, I thought it'd be about tracking those boos and hisses with a recording somebody made at the graduation, pinpointing the perpatrator using some advanced filtering mechanism, and then dusting for fingerprints. And of course some pithy remarks and semi-hot babes.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
What the heck did they expect? Sheesh.
That's what I thought.
Another loser living off the legacy of ONE thing from thirty years ago. Much like Woodward and Bernstein are still doing now.
I get the feeling that Ms. Jong may be a better writer than speaker. I don't disagree with much of what she said esp. concerning advertisers and politicians. Billy Jeff, master of PR (and other unseemly things), would have wow'd them and had panties being thrown to the stage.
Who would invite Erica Jong to Goombah island anyway?
These quotes are somewhat innocuous. Apparently the writer neglected to report her more egregious comments (for example, about body bags, to which one parent in the story alludes).
As I recall, Miss Jong's writing of her best selling screed was financed by a National Institute of Humanities grant. Why wouldn't you expect her to bite the hand that fed her?
Does it count if I use the library catalog? I would not be using the internet? :)
Well said.
That's crazy. Audience membership is not slavery, nor does it mean abdication of the right or duty to object.
I don't know if anything Jong said would have been bad enough for me to object, but I certainly disagree with your bootlicking notion that I must sit quietly NO MATTER WHAT is being said.
What if it's racist? What if it calls for genocide or wifebeating?
Huh? That is like saying do we need chairs when we have a dinette set?
Health is part of wellness but is not the whole package in and of it's self.
"What a bunch of rude spoiled little brats. I don't care who is speaking. You should sit quietly until the speaker is finished; even if you don't like what is being said."
I simply don't agree. Years back when my son graduated from a prep school ( he attended on a basketball scholarship) his graduation speaker was some jackass that tried to say that AIDS was being spread in the Black communities by white doctors, I got up and left. To my surprise at least a handful of level headed other parents left with me. My son gave me a big thumbs up from the stage and we walked off the campus with our heads high. Don't dare tell me that what I did was wrong.
Perhaps you meant your remark for judgemc?
You got up and left. You did not bounce around a beechball or turn to talk with your friends. If people objected they were free to leave. Otherwise sit down and shut up so other who are trying to listen can.
obviously your examples are extream. The article does not say that she was being extream only irrelavant to the forum. Those who objected could leave. Those who stayed should not have been catcalling, bounceing a beachball(which I fail to see how that is protesting but whatever), or turning around and talking to thier neighbors.
Courtesy is not bootlicking. The general rudeness of the audience should not be excused because they disagree with the speaker. Disagreeing with what is being said is not the same as being forced to listen to highly offensive material. Also, the three examples you give are promoting illegal activities. Ms. Jong was doing no such thing.
I suffered though a long boring commencement speaker practicing his monotone. It would not have occurred to me to throw a beachball around though. I pretty much just dealt with the problem by zoning out and daydreaming till I noticed people were politely applauding. Rude and exhibitionistic brattish behavior by the students shouldn't be applauded here.
I'm unclear though why people here are angry at Jong. She could have stuck to the traditional platitudes but politicians DO lie. Slick Willy anyone, is that a news bulletin ? Tom Cruise and Katie on Oprah WERE a sad freakshow. People SHOULD listen to what they are told and be angry when lied to.
The wellness remark though I admit goes over my head. I have no clue what that meant :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.