No surprises here. It has been this way for years. There is no political balance in higher education.
The College Fix reports:
Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 1 as graduation speakersDemocrats will outnumber Republicans as commencement speakers at the nation’s top 100 universities, according to a College Fix analysis.The College Fix looked for the main undergraduate ceremony speaker for the top 100 schools as determined by U.S. News & World Report.In total, there were only eight Republican or Republican-leaning commencement speakers. There were, however, 47 Democrat or Democrat-leaning speakers. The other announced speakers have not publicly indicated a political leaning. Other universities have not announced their keynote speakers as of May 13.The Fix found similar results for both 2023 and 2024, after reviewing public statements, news articles, and political donations to determine party affiliation for a smaller set of colleges.Princeton University is hosting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is a registered Republican. Meanwhile, conservative actor Gary Sinise will speak at Vanderbilt University.Former New York Yankees’ star Derek Jeter will be speaking at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor’s ceremony. Although he doesn’t have a public political affiliation, there was talk about him being Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick.Republican Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin will be the speaker at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise graduation ceremony.Michigan State University has a speaker that appears to lean right. Mat Ishbia donates to both Republican and Democrat politicians but more to Democrats, according to data from Open Secrets. He does, however, speak well of Donald Trump.Southern Methodist University’s president R. Gerald Turner will speak at its graduation ceremony. He advocated for opening the George W. Bush presidential center on campus.Other Republican speakers at commencement ceremonies include former Senator Kevin O’Toole at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Diane Foley at Marquette University, and Mitchell Morgan at Temple University.Notable Democratic speakers include actress Sandra Oh at Dartmouth College, who campaigned for Kamala Harris on Instagram; singer and actress Sara Bareilles at the University of California at Los Angeles, who has been vocal about her liberal views, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles (pictured) at the Washington University in St. Louis, who openly supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
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