This year, the President’s Office selected Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg to address the Class of 2023 for the 159th Commencement. However, members of the Vassar Student Association (VSA), as well as other seniors, have voiced concerns about the choice of Hamburg as speaker.
Commencement—the moment when Vassar students cross the threshold between the shelter of the “Vassar Bubble” and the real world—can be filled with excitement, dread, anticipation, nostalgia or a jumbled mixture of all four. Each year, the Commencement speaker has the crucial role of harnessing these emotions and funneling them into feelings of inspiration, empowerment and hope.
When asked how the President’s Office chooses the Commencement speaker each year, President Bradley commented, “We look for speakers we think can inspire students—who can be inspiring based on their accomplishments and have insights to offer.”
Bradley explained why Hamburg was chosen: “[She] has had an exceptionally impactful career after decades of leadership in public health, most notably as the Commissioner of the FDA; she also has a special place in her heart at Vassar as her mother is a graduate, and in fact the first person who was accepted as an African American applicant to Vassar.”
Rose Sosnowski ’23 and Sammy Solomon ’23 were concerned that just a quick Google search reveals Hamburg’s involvement in a 2016 lawsuit in which it is alleged that, during her time as FDA commissioner, she concealed safety information related to the drug Levaquin. Though the case was dismissed in 2017, Sosnowski remarked, “Having a Commencement speaker with a ‘legal issues’ section on their Wikipedia page doesn’t reflect Vassar in the best light.”
In addition, these seniors were concerned that Hamburg, who has dedicated her life to a career in public health, may largely focus her speech on how the Senior Class has persevered through the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They felt that this might bring seniors back to a particularly dark period in their lives on a day that is supposed to be filled with hope and joy.
Sosnowski commented, “Myself, and the other students I’ve talked to, are concerned that Dr. Hamburg is going to focus on COVID, and how our class was impacted by the pandemic. It’s something my class knows too well, and it’s definitely something we don’t need to be reminded of. The way the college handled COVID regulations during our sophomore year negatively impacted many people’s mental health.” They added, “Ending our time at Vassar being forced to think about those years will be really painful for some people.”
Furthermore, though Hamburg clearly has a special connection to Vassar because of her mother’s legacy as the first Black woman to attend and graduate from the school, students have expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Hamburg herself is not an alumna. Sosnowski commented, “It would mean so much more to hear from someone who has actually walked across the stage at Sunset Lake and been exactly where my class will be in May.” However, only one Commencement speaker from the last five years has been a Vassar graduate.
Although Bradley consulted VSA President Julián Aguilar when choosing Hamburg, Sosnowski and Solomon hope for more student involvement in the Commencement speaker selection process in the future. One possibility that Sosnowski suggested is to have Bradley consult a committee of seniors in order to gauge their enthusiasm for various candidates. They commented, “I know when departments hire professors and such they have students on a committee and have them contribute to the decision-making process… I feel like there would definitely be students interested in helping her select a speaker.”
The VSA stated that it is presently taking steps towards achieving greater student involvement in the selection process. VSA Vice President Joe Mangan ’23 noted, “We are currently working on a statement and intend to reintroduce proposals to establish a joint committee designed to review prospective Commencement speakers.” He added, “We hope that the College will take into consideration the feedback voiced by many students in the past weeks and look forward to working with the College to solidify permanent, institutional solutions going forward—solutions designed to offer a direct and proactive student voice in the determination of Commencement speakers.”
This year’s concerns follow last year’s controversy with Jeh Charles Johnson as Commencement speaker for the Class of 2022. The VSA and other students are amplifying these efforts to ensure that Vassar’s Commencement speakers always reflect the values of the Vassar student community at large, according to Mangan.
CORRECTION: Although President Bradley consulted VSA President Julián Aguilar about a variety of potential Commencement speakers, she did not consult or notify him on the final decision to select Hamburg.
Oh, come on. Enough. Is there a living person pure enough to “reflect the values of the Vassar student community at large”?
Robert Renaud, ’76
Why does this article exist? Two ignorant students raising an objection based on a specious and cursory glance through a Wikipedia page does not mean their objection merits attention from the Misc, nor a response from the administration. If the students had dug a little deeper into Wikipedia, or paid attention to political news during their high school years, they’d discover that suit was filed by a right-wing crank who was looking for any and every opportunity to damage Obama-administration appointees. The fact that the case was dismissed should also indicate to everyone here that it lacked merit. The Misc does everyone a disservice by raising poorly informed student grumbling to give it legitimacy it doesn’t deserve.
Quite honestly, fifty years out, I have only a vague memory of the identity of the speaker at my commencement. It doesn’t matter to me now, and you’ll likely find it eventually doesn’t matter to you, either. And if this public health expert chooses to laud you and your classmates for carrying on with your studies through a pandemic, well, accept it. Vassar alumnae/i everywhere have been proud of the way the college community survived and thrived.
I gotta say – it’d be one thing if they had a real understanding of the lawsuit, but if the most you know is “well the wikipedia article says this” you should probably just shut up
These students question the selection of an internationally acclaimed scientist based on a frivolous lawsuit and speculation about her speech topic? Maybe they should have researched her beyond Wikipedia.
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/our-people/margaret-hamburg/
Cherri Branson
Class of 1981
YES! exactly.
Art Buchwald, commencement speaker for the class of 1975, wished us good luck finding work during the recession that was impacting our country at that time. Welcome to the real world, true news, and a kick in the butt to get out and do something about world challenges. You can’t make that kind of impact in the world in a Vassar bubble, but you can be influenced by those have made an impact that will indirectly or directly influence the journey you take once you break out of the bubble and make your main gate exit.
Well said!! The pandemic was a reality for every college student- not just Vassar students. I had 2 kids and 2 nieces who graduated college and grad school during quarantine and were not able to walk across a stage to fully celebrate their accomplishments. A message of perseverance isn’t bad. A message to work to improve healthcare, the environment, or our democratic processes isn’t a bad thing! Maybe it will touch a few and the rest will likely forget the speech (like I did). At my graduation it poured down rain on us and all I wanted to do was to get dry. Lol. Graduates, you are lucky to have this expert and I wish you all luck as you go into the real world with her message, but please remember the research skills you gained at Vassar and dig deeper.
Wikipedia is not it – do some additional research. And there are MANY non-Vassar alum commencement speakers that have given the address. This is a frustrating article.
I can’t believe we were as unaware of what goes on in the real world as the writers of this story are when we were at Vassar . Wait until they graduate and really have to deal with the real world!
Though I love the energy of questioning things, the process, and the impact—vassar Hines the art of challenging—I am dismayed by this article. Too little research done to question the reputation of this woman of color. For shame Vassar students! And also how many speakers at how many commencements only reflected back to a portion of the student body? Is this witch hunt about what she might say? Or about the fact that she might not be talking to you? I do think there should be a level of student involvement with the selection, but this article shows more deficiencies with the writer and the paper than with the subject targeted.
I am a member of the community. I have three degrees from various institutions and am now retired. Listen, the Commencement speaker will not be the most influential person in your life. You will not make future life decisions based on what she says. You will probably be thinking about many other things, such as your friends, family, and where and what you will be doing after the ceremony. I am sure President Bradley knows the speaker well and feels she will say some things that will be relevant to you in your future lives. So relax, enjoy the speech, and maybe be pleasantly surprised.
For the love of God, Vassar students: get a grip. You could only hope for a career like Hamburg’s. You are living in a dream world.