Class Day

From WikiCU

Class Day is like graduation, but not really (University Commencement, at which students are formally conferred their degrees, is held on a separate day). These celebrations, held for each of Columbia's undergraduate schools, feature keynote speakers (usually alumni), and an occasion for students to have their names called out, walk across the stage, and shake hands with the Dean. Their existence forces students' parents to spend an extra day or two dealing with their children's commencement. The upshot is that the ceremonies are more intimate and personal. Columbia College's ceremony includes a Parade of Classes.

Instead getting a diploma, undergraduate students receive a Class Pin from members of the 50th reunion class of that year.

[edit] Speaker Complaints

Speakers at recent Columbia College class days have stirred howls of complaint. In 2006, Senator John McCain (whose daughter is CC '07) spoke, and some students expressed disapproval arguing that he did not represent the political beliefs of most CC students. Matthew Fox, a star of TV's Lost, was the speaker for 2007, and was seen as an underwhelming or inappropriate choice for such a serious occasion, although his speech turned out well-received. These controversies generally involve petulant members of the senior class, who desire a meaningful close to their four year stint at the university, i.e. a charismatic intellectual celebrity.

[edit] Class Day speakers

[edit] Undergraduate School Speakers

[edit] Trivia

There have been some notable addresses by valedictorians, and, later, salutatorians on CC's Class Day. To wit:

• In 1961, when Harvard switched its diplomas from Latin to English, the valedictorian, a Classics major, delivered his address in Latin. He began "O miseros Harvardianos..."
• Part of James Russell's valedictory speech was delivered in ancient Armenian