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This is the season of college Commencement speeches -- an art form that has seldom been memorable, but has increasingly become toxic in recent times. Two themes seem to dominate Commencement speeches. One is shameless self-advertising by people in government, or in related organizations supported by the taxpayers or donors, saying how nobler it is to be in "public service" than working in business or other "selfish" activities. In other words, the message is that it is morally superior to be in organizations consuming output produced by others than to be in organizations which produce that output. Moreover, being morally...

resident Obama wants you to know you aren’t responsible for your actions, and your choices in life aren’t nearly as important as luck. If that sounds stupid, it’s only because it is. Yet that was the message the president told graduating students at Howard University last Saturday, and few things could be more damaging. The president’s commencement address, widely praised by liberals, was riddled with typically divisive progressive messages and an unfortunate amount of absolution of personal responsibility. “We can't walk by a homeless man without asking why a society as wealthy as ours allows that state of affairs to...

The Young America’s Foundation has once again compiled an invaluable compendium of this season’s commencement speakers and found, once again, that they overwhelmingly represent one point of view. Moreover, in our review of 127 of the arguably representative speakers they highlight, we note that one-third—41—have discernible political views. By the most expansive definition, one-third of these—10—can be called anything from apolitical to definitively conservative: • Gen. Philip M. Breedlove at the Georgia Institute of Technology, • Former President George W. Bush at Southern Methodist University • Former Secretary of labor , Elaine Chao, retired Admiral Thad Allen, at Georgetown •...

From TV Newser. Not too many conservatives on the list. FBN’s Maria Bartiromo: New York University – Graduate School of Arts and Science (NY), May 19 CBS’s Margaret Brennan: Niagara University – College of Arts and Sciences and Education (NY), May 16 PBS’s David Brooks: Westmont College (CA), May 8… Dartmouth College (NH), June 14 NBC’s Tom Brokaw: High Point University (NC), May 8 Yahoo’s Katie Couric: University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI), May 16 NBC’s Josh Elliott: University of California, Santa Barbara – Humanities and Arts (CA), June 15 NBC’s Richard Engel: Stanford University (CA), June 14 CNBC’s Sharon Epperson: Carlow...

For years, Sharon High School parents had help finding their sons and daughters among the sea of gowns on graduation day: boys all sported deep maroon, while girls wore pristine white. But last year, students approached principal Jose Libano with a proposal: end the tradition, which alienated some students. Now, all graduates wear maroon. Around the region, longstanding customs of assigning graduation colors by sex are giving way to new realities, driven by transgender student activists and supportive educators and classmates of all stripes. The change reflects a growing awareness that simple categories of male and female do not fit...

Comedian Ed Helms delivered the commencement address at the University of Virginia yesterday, and took a moment to really tear into Rolling Stone for how much its discredited UVA rape report hurt the community. Helms, whom you’ll recognize as Andy from The Office or Stu from the Hangover movies, mostly kept things light and joke-y, and even gave a shoutout to the UVA a capella group that made an appearance with him one time on The Office. Helms talked about his own experience being “defined by outsiders,” and acknowledge that’s happened to the UVA community as well, before squaring in...

Denzel Washington told graduating students to "put God first in everything" in his commencement address at Dillard University in New Orleans on Saturday. His address covered everything from motivation and discipline, to how to think about money and success, but the underlying theme was dependency on God and gratitude for what God has given you. The two-time Academy Award-winning actor said: "Everything that you think you see in me, everything that I've accomplished, everything that you think I have – and I have a few things – everything I have is by the grace of God... It's a gift." Washington,...

First lady Michelle Obama may know the names of the world’s most famous clothes designers, and she may even know how to dance the Uptown Funk, but judging from her commencement speech to the graduates of a historically black university in Alabama, America’s race-baiting FLOTUS knows nothing about great American civil rights leader, accomplished scholar, and founder of Tuskegee University, the late Booker T. Washington. Michelle Obama’s remarks at the commencement sounded more like she was paying homage to W.E.B. DuBois, who believed in civil rights via agitation and political activism, than DuBois’ adversary, ex-slave Booker Taliaferro Washington, who wrote...

DENTON (CBS 11 NEWS) – The announcement that Governor Greg Abbott will be the keynote speaker at the University of North Texas’ commencement ceremony has been met with an online backlash from students. Nearly 2,000 people, as of Monday evening, have signed an online petition asking the university’s president to replace Abbott as the commencement speaker. Hundreds have also joined Facebook group called “Abbott Free UNT.” “Abbott doesn’t represent the campus on many levels,” said senior UNT student A.J. Aguinaga, who now plans to skip the ceremony. Aguinaga is among several students who organized the petition. “I do not think...

It is starting to feel like Groundhog Day in this country. In the past couple of years, some of the best and brightest students in America have boldly shared their stories of personal faith from the stage at their high school graduation. But instead of standing ovations, these young men and women have been met with shut off microphones, black markers, and threats of jail time. Why? Because decades of threats and attacks have left schools cringing at the thought of student religious liberty. SORRY, GRADUATE, YOU CAN’T TALK ABOUT GOD Rebekah Izzo presents the newest case of schools’ attempts...

Academia is doubling down on diversity and on anyone who comes near it offering diverse thoughts. condoleezza rice A special supplement of The Chronicle of Higher Education features articles entitled: “First-Generation at Georgetown—A broad support system helps students succeed among wealthier—and worldlier—classmates;” “Undocumented at Berkeley—A special program at Berkeley gives young immigrants a pathway;” “Navigating the Fafsa Wilderness—A U. of Buffalo professor’s project to help students fill out the complicated aid forms has helped more go to college;” and “Helping Hispanic Students Beat the Odds.” Worthy goals to be sure, at least those that don’t skirt U.S. immigration law. Nevertheless,...

The Worst That Can Happen Is You, Sec. Kerry by Daniel Clark Rather than try to inspire the graduates at Boston College, Secretary of State John Kerry used the occasion of his commencement address to proselytize on behalf of the “climate change” doomsday cult. As reported by The Weekly Standard, the former senator and presidential nominee charged global warming skeptics with “risking nothing less than the future of the entire planet.” If, on the other hand, he and his fellow alarmists prove to be wrong, he asked “What’s the worst that can happen?” For starters, we might needlessly retard our...

The University of Texas slogan is "What starts here changes the world." I have to admit—I kinda like it. "What starts here changes the world." Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT. That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com, says that the average American will meet 10,000 people in their lifetime. That's a lot of folks. But if every one of you changed the lives of just 10 people, and each one of those folks changed the lives of another 10 people—just 10—then in five generations, 125 years, the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of...

This story has a very troubling start, but a pretty satisfying conclusion -- if it really is the conclusion. Among the contemptible episodes of student/faculty heckler's vetoes at commencement ceremonies this year (Condoleezza Rice, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Christine Lagarde and others have been disinvited from leading universities following ignorant and aggressively intolerant protests), one of the most disturbing concerned the treatment of Robert Birgeneau by Haverford College. Birgeneau is the recently retired chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. You don't get to be chancellor of Berkeley if you've got the political opinions of, say, Mitch McConnell, and Birgeneau is...

In his lone commencement address of the year, former Florida governor Jeb Bush urged students at a Christian liberal arts college Saturday to reaffirm their socially conservative values, a sign that he is underscoring his own as he considers running in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. “Remain true to your convictions and your faith,” Bush said, speaking at Grove City College in northwestern Pennsylvania. “This may seem a little challenging today, where we have a federal government that is willingly violating the religious freedom of its citizens. But we don’t have to accept it.” Dropping a possible hint about his...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)NEW HOPE, AL (WAFF) - Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin visited Huntsville on Wednesday to speak at a graduation ceremony. Palin was asked to be the keynote speaker for New Hope High School's commencement ceremony. Tickets to her speech were available to the general public, but these tickets were soon no longer available. In a statement, the school system said New Hope High School would provide adequate tickets to graduates and their family and friends, as well as to the community. Despite there being no tickets available through official channels, it has not stopped some folks from trying to...

Haverford College on Tuesday joined a growing list of schools to lose commencement speakers to protests from the left, when Robert J. Birgeneau, a former chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, withdrew from this weekend’s event. Some students and faculty members at Haverford, a liberal arts college near Philadelphia, objected to the invitation to Mr. Birgeneau to speak and receive an honorary degree because, under him, the University of California police used batons to break up an Occupy protest in 2011. He first stated his support for the police, and then a few days later, saying that he was...

Ted Cruz gives an inspirational Commencement address at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Col. Allen West addresses The King's College 2013 graduating class. Through stories of his own life in military service and governement, and historical recounts of the Cold War, and other challenging eras in America's history, Col. West urges the graduates to be great leaders with courage and conviction to help lead America into a bright future. CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO...

Former Alaska governor and Republican firebrand Sarah Palin brought a gift and a surprise for residents of this town of 1,100 who crowded the high school gym to celebrate its graduation Saturday afternoon. Grads found the gift taped under their chairs onstage: a dollar bill. The currency taught a life lesson, Palin said. “You gotta get off your butt to make a buck,” Palin said, to cheers from the crowd of 700 or so who had nabbed tickets to the event. The surprise came later, as Palin revealed the motivation for her acceptance of the invitation from senior class President...