but speaking at a forum and being a keynote commencement speaker are vastly different.
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Howard U Students Upset at Diddy Speaking at Commencement
- Thread starter CodeBlaMeVi
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but speaking at a forum and being a keynote commencement speaker are vastly different.
That's not his alma mater though. He didn't graduate.
Da Rhythm Rebel
All Star
Not true. At Howard as long as someone has completed one semester, and were in good standing when they left, they are considered alma mater
I'm a 3rd generation Bison
Da Rhythm Rebel
All Star
This whole 'controversy' has been fascinating to watch unfold.
IMO its been slightly blown out of proportion. There was never campus wide outrage that Puff was named the commencement speaker. The media took a few random tweets from folks who appeared to be outraged, and made that seem as if it was a campus wide sentiment. That is largely false.
I have seen other alumni, however express concern about him being named for this honor, and one of the first arguments brought up is that he did not graduate. Well Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Maya Angelou did not complete college either, and they have all given commencement speeches (Gates at Harvard / Jobs at Stanford / Angelou a number of places including Howard University)
Ted Turner flunked out of college and has given the commencement address at HU (back in the 90's)
*this is where I have seen the discussion get interesting (and sad)
"He doesn't compare to Gates or Jobs. They both changed the way the world operates in terms of how we communicate. Puff/Diddy has exploited or taken advantage of so many people to get to where he's gotten"
or
"How dare you compare him to Maya Angelou. She's a poet and done more for the struggle than he would ever hope to accomplish"
okay so you just don't like him.
IMO quantifying success and impact is irrelevant for the criteria on how someone should be named a commencement speaker. Love him or hate him Puff has a story to tell these graduates that can hopefully inspire them to go to the next level
I'm sure Jobs and Gates never exploited anyone on their way to 'success'
And to those who say that he's exploited folks, and destroyed black peoples lives on his way to the top - I would like to point out that just a few weeks ago at their Charter Day, HU had the CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon as the Charter Day speaker. No resistance or outrage at all from the students over this.
because we all know these big banks have been friends of black folks all these years right?
for good measure here's footage of Mark Zucerkberg (another one who did not finish college as has been pointed out) giving a commencement speech to some 8th graders
IMO its been slightly blown out of proportion. There was never campus wide outrage that Puff was named the commencement speaker. The media took a few random tweets from folks who appeared to be outraged, and made that seem as if it was a campus wide sentiment. That is largely false.
I have seen other alumni, however express concern about him being named for this honor, and one of the first arguments brought up is that he did not graduate. Well Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Maya Angelou did not complete college either, and they have all given commencement speeches (Gates at Harvard / Jobs at Stanford / Angelou a number of places including Howard University)
Ted Turner flunked out of college and has given the commencement address at HU (back in the 90's)
*this is where I have seen the discussion get interesting (and sad)
"He doesn't compare to Gates or Jobs. They both changed the way the world operates in terms of how we communicate. Puff/Diddy has exploited or taken advantage of so many people to get to where he's gotten"
or
"How dare you compare him to Maya Angelou. She's a poet and done more for the struggle than he would ever hope to accomplish"
okay so you just don't like him.
IMO quantifying success and impact is irrelevant for the criteria on how someone should be named a commencement speaker. Love him or hate him Puff has a story to tell these graduates that can hopefully inspire them to go to the next level
I'm sure Jobs and Gates never exploited anyone on their way to 'success'
And to those who say that he's exploited folks, and destroyed black peoples lives on his way to the top - I would like to point out that just a few weeks ago at their Charter Day, HU had the CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon as the Charter Day speaker. No resistance or outrage at all from the students over this.
because we all know these big banks have been friends of black folks all these years right?
for good measure here's footage of Mark Zucerkberg (another one who did not finish college as has been pointed out) giving a commencement speech to some 8th graders
"You can hate me now, but I won't stop now"
Al Haymon should be speaking at Harvard since he graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Doesn't that applies to athletes too?