Wendell Phillips finalist Hersh to speak at Commencement

Eitan Hersh was selected from six finalists to be the only student speaker during this year's Commencement exercises.

The finalists for the Wendell Phillips Award spoke in the Coolidge Room of Ballou Hall last night. They were judged by the University's Committee on Student Life, a group of students and faculty.

Hersh was surprised he was selected. "I did not expect to win. I'm obviously happy about it. I'm nervous about speaking at graduation."

Hersh, a philosophy major, spoke about the importance of taking an interst in politics.

He also praised the other finalists. "The six people in the final round were exceptional individuals." Hersh said. "I honestly would have been happy with any one of them getting it."

The finalists were asked to respond to the question, "How do you balance the goals of speaking your mind on a divisive issue while also seeking widespread support for your cause?"

The first three students to speak were seniors Chike Aguh, Zachariah Baker and Hersh.

Aguh focused his time on building bridges and consensus while Baker discussed how "advocates run the risk of alienating people outside their campaign" and how they "must be able to relate to the opposition."

"On a divisive issue we care about, it's hard to compromise on values," Hersh said.

The last three finalists, junior Annette Farrington Kramer, senior Matthew Pohl, and senior Zeleka Yeraswork, declined to address the question and focused instead on other issues.

Kramer discussed a number of issues she believed in, and compared them to the abolition of slavery, which Wendell Phillips championed.

Pohl's speech concerned his documentary film "Mission to Marriage." He discussed interviewing former U.S. Representative Bob Barr (R-GA.), as well as his experiences talking to people regarding same-sex marriage in the United States. Yeraswork spoke about how "our attention has been perversely captured by terrorists" and voiced concern over little media attention given to African civil wars because "we are selective about who we care about."

Each finalist was allotted three to five minutes to speak.