We are writing to express our profound disagreement with the selection of Jamie Dimon as the 2010 commencement speaker.

Dimon, as chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., was directly involved in causing and profiting from the worst financial crisis since the Depression. The decision to invite Dimon shows a complete insensitivity to the suffering of people all across the country caused by the excesses of the banking industry.

Why honor such a man in these times? A man who took $25 billion in taxpayer money in 2008 and used it to scoop up securities firms and failed banking operations at bargain prices. A man who organized an aggressive and very expensive lobbying effort on behalf of JPMorgan to fight new regulations that would curb the bank’s profits. Is this the man to inspire the Class of 2010? What example can he offer other than the example of personal enrichment and greed? Surely, the Class of 2010, the graduating class that faces the worst economic climate in decades, deserves better than a representative of the failed banking industry.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor, in her response to the widespread outrage over her choice of speaker, said that Dimon falls into the same category as other past speakers including Joe Biden, Bob Woodruff, Frank McCourt, Billy Joel and Jane Goodall. We profoundly disagree. Jamie Dimon’s name does not belong anywhere near this distinguished list.

Dimon is part and parcel of a banking industry that robbed students of this generation of their hope of having a life as good or better than their parents. There are no heroes in the financial meltdown, just participants with varying degrees of culpability. If the choice of commencement speaker comes down to who made the most money in these hard times, then by all means, Jamie Dimon’s name should be near the top of the list (No. 2 in 2009).
But this is an unworthy standard upon which to choose the commencement speaker. It ultimately cheapens the reputation of Syracuse University by giving the impression that the university is available to the highest bidder.

Cantor states that Dimon and past speakers ‘were all stars with an inclusive reach into both the fears and the hopes of our next generation.’ How can a man who made $17.6 million in 2009, a year marked by high unemployment, record foreclosures and the fallout of the financial sector, really understand the fears of the Class of 2010?

Students from this year’s graduating class will be saddled with record school loans, debt and limited job opportunities. Parents of these graduates have endured many sacrifices to ensure their children finish college. Many families and friends sitting in the audience at commencement will have lost their life’s savings and retirement funds. To make these students and families come and listen to a representative from the banking industry, in this of all years, shows a callousness and lack of compassion on the part of the university toward those who are suffering.

For all these reasons, we support the Syracuse students in their efforts to have Jamie Dimon removed as commencement speaker and replaced by a speaker who represents the best hopes and aspirations of the Class of 2010.

Parents in Support of ‘Take Back Commencement 2010’
takebackcomencement2010@gmail.com

 

Published on April 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm