It’s almost graduation time for colleges around the D.C. area, but many George Washington students aren’t that thrilled about it. Why? The keynote speaker at their commencement is none other than… their outgoing university president. We guess that’s what the highest tuition in the country gets you these days.

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who has been president of the Foggy Bottom university for 19 years, always speaks at graduation, but he usually does so alongside folks like George H.W. Bush, Andy Rooney and former Virginia governor (and GW alum) Mark Warner. But this time, just the man himself.

The student newspaper, The Hatchet, reports that many students are, understandably, not pleased by the selection. The article quotes senior Salar Samii as saying “I’ve heard (Trachtenberg) speak enough. I don’t want to hear him speak again.” Even students’ parents and faculty got into the act, with philosophy chair William Griffith saying “I think it represents an unwarranted presumption that the students want to hear him.”

The paper also notes that students have turned to the usual vox alumni, Facebook, creating a number of groups with names like “Our Commencement Speaker is WHO???” The groups have about 1200 members between them and are growing.

When I graduated from GW in 2002, our speaker was the president of Brown University. I thought it would be hard to find somebody students could be less enthused about, but I guess I was wrong.

The rest of the speakers are GW-affiliated as well — former D.C. Council Chair and mayoral candidate Linda Cropp is an alum and Charles Manatt is chairman of GW’s board of trustees.

DCist Abby has an idea about the choice: “they have to pinch pennies so they decided not to outsource their graduation speech. It’s not like they have the highest tuition in the country or anything.” Sorry GW seniors. Better luck in grad school?

Photo of JBKO Hall by christaki