Commencement addresses need a dose of reality

Lucy Kellaway:

It is that time of year when famous people put on baggy black capes and peculiar hats in order to hold forth on university lawns to thousands of students and their parents.
But this time something strange has happened. Each of the big-name speakers seems to have hit on the identical homily for their commencement addresses: they are all telling graduates to make the world a better place.

So there was Arianna Huffington at Smith College saying "what I urge you to do is not just take your place at the top of the world, but to change the world".

The actress Kerry Washington told students at her alma mater George Washington University (after telling them she loved them, twice): "The world needs your voice. Every single one of you."

And then this, from Jeff Immelt, head of General Electric, at the University of Connecticut: "Graduates should be optimistic; believe in better. The world awaits your leadership."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 28, 2013 12:48 AM
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