A Lusterless Dimon

Syracuse University has caught the attention of national media not for its basketball team or academics, but for students' discontent over this year's commencement speaker, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase.

Personally, I do not see anything wrong with the choice of commencement speaker but I am not overly ecstatic to hear him speak. Dimon certainly has a long list of accomplishments. In fact, he is the badass of Wall Street. During the financial crisis, JP Morgan reluctantly accepted TARP funding from the government, but paid it back. As CEO, Dimon oversaw the acquisition of Bank One and Washington Mutual and made JP Morgan into one of the leading banks in domestic assets. His personality can be defined by him accepting $1 as his yearly salary but a $16 million bonus, something he is not ashamed of. His bank has constantly been lobbying against government reforms and Dimon himself, has wrote a few op-ed articles on this issue. I am neither a supporter nor opponent of JP Morgan, but I am pretty impressed with what he has accomplished.

So why are SU students so worked up about this? Dimon may be the hero of Wall Street but a villain to humanity (or at least as regarded by students). Students overlook Dimon's achievements and become upset over what he represents. Because of our current state of economy, people do not want to see a figure of Corporate America, someone with so much, to be lecturing them. Also, JP Morgan Chase has a strong presence on campus. From its name plastered on the first floor of Lyman Hall to the creation of the GET program, it seems like Dimon "bought" his title to be this year's commencement speaker. As a result, students believe that they did not have a say in the choice in their speaker because it looked too easy. As a student liaison to the Board of Trustees, I can attest that it is not true. Syracuse University is one of the few schools that allows students to decide on their commencement speaker. A list of speaker is created by a student committee, which includes class marshals and Trustees representatives. Although I did not play a part in this process last year, I am fairly certain that Jamie Dimon was on their short list.

Commencement speakers are chosen based on the premises of innovation, humanitarianism, and honor and connection to the university. Jamie Dimon does embody those qualities but I wish that a less controversial speaker was selected, perhaps someone who isn't such a strong political figure for our state in time. I respect my fellow students' right to free speech and protest so those who don't want to hear him speak shouldn't have to. However, as a change agent of our time, I think his speech will be worthwhile.