To President Kerwin,
I, like many of many colleagues who have spent some fabulous years at AU, am alarmed by the administration's selection of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for keynote speaker at this year's School of Public Affairs commencement ceremony.
There are some who would say that Frank is a valid choice for this honor, pointing to his record of public service. He has held a seat in the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing the fourth district of Massachusetts. Currently, he chairs the powerful House Financial Services Committee and has held this position since 2007.
However, it is Frank's recent actions that lead many of my classmates and I to believe Frank is not worthy of such an honor. Since sitting on the House Financial Services Committee, the two enormous mortgage lenders under his control, Fannie and Freddie Mac, have gone bankrupt, resulting in a federal bailout worth tens of billions of dollars. To this day, he denies any responsibility for what has occurred during his tenure. Additionally, he has leveled personal, disingenuous attacks towards Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia based on an extreme interpretation of one of his opinions. Finally, during the recent American International Group Inc. executive compensation controversy, his bullying of AIG CEO Edward Liddy to "name names" emboldened angry citizens to protest and threaten the homes and families of workers innocent of any wrongdoing.
Frank may be a visible figure of Congressional politics, but he is visible for all the wrong reasons. Like each successive class of students at AU, the students who will walk on May 9 have helped make this school better than it was before. A keynote commencement speaker should be someone of stature and integrity, not of insults and ranting. I feel I speak for many of my colleagues when I say I am disappointed and saddened by the administration's lack of judgment in the matter.
Travis Wolf Senior, School of Public Affairs
