Liberals to outnumber conservative graduation speakers 4-to-1
Once again, America’s colleges will showcase an excess of liberals and radical progressives during their commencement ceremonies to speak to the nation’s top grads one last time before they enter the real world.
Campus Reform took stock of this year’s line up (according to US News’ top 100 schools) and assessed each speaker based on his political views, rating each one as either liberal, conservative, or apolitical. Any speaker who has, at one point or another, openly expressed support for a political party or platform was then placed in a corresponding category.
Matt Damon, for example, who has wired thousands of dollars into the Clinton Campaign, was appropriately classified as a liberal. Yet James Franco, the artsy stoner who has made millions off of films like “Pineapple Express,” was deemed apolitical because he seems to hate the idea of politics in general.
Others, though few, were categorized as conservative, such as Larry Ellison, who donated to Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) presidential campaign and hosted a fundraising event for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
Overall, Campus Reform found that 40 of this year’s commencement speakers espouse liberal philosophies. Only ten, however, champion conservative ideologies, meaning this year’s liberal speakers will outnumber conservatives at a rate of 4 to 1. A majority of America’s top schools, though, have either not announced a speaker or are hosting a speaker whose public political views do not strongly correlate with one political party.
[RELATED: Over 100 colleges to host ‘lavender graduations’]
Notably, not a single active conservative politician was invited to speak at one of the nation’s top schools. However, seven active members of President Obama’s administration will deliver commencement addresses this year, including Obama himself, who will speak to three graduating classes.
See Campus Reform’s full list here, or check it out below.