When I graduated from Rutgers University in 2002, I had the pleasure of listening to the benign and utterly vanilla former Senator and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine give a commencement speech. Governor Corzine has never been known for his prolific speech or eloquent communication skills, but he managed to hold the attention of the audience for approximately twenty minutes or so and do no harm. This year, Seton Hall University, a Catholic University located in West Orange New Jersey invited Governor Christie to speak to the graduates on this day that they will remember for the rest of their lives. For future deans and university presidents, I figured that I would highlight the reasons not to invite Chris Christie to speak at your commencement:
1. Chris Christie does not see your education as a fiscal priority. Short-term thinking, impulse, revenge, and partisanship are at the heart of the governor’s education policy. In developing his FY 2011 budget, this governor cut $820 million from our state’s public schools, which resulted in cuts to valuable programs for students, changes in school’s free and reduced lunch programs, and the decimation of thousands of families due to layoffs of school professionals across the state. Governor Christie also cut $175 million dollars from higher education across the state, accelerating the rate of tuition increases at New Jersey’s finest institutes of higher learning. These cuts resulted in mass senior faculty retirements, hiring of part-time lecturers, and cuts to ancillary programs such as school counseling services, health services, and learning centers.
2. Chris Christie priority is to “chub up” the rich and shrink the middle class. College graduates, listen up. Most of you will find yourself being a proud member of the shrinking American middle class. In 2010, Governor Christie promised to veto any renewal or extension of the so-called “millionaire’s tax,” stating it would lead to a mass exodus of New Jersey’s approximately 15,000 millionaires. A recent study conducted by experts at Princeton and Stanford found a “negligible” rise in millionaire flight. Concurrently, Governor Christie ramped up his “big government” attack on collective bargaining, immediately eliminating bargaining for health benefits from any negotiating process. He also put his big government fist on municipalities by placing a two percent property tax increase cap into place. For someone who believes in local control and small government, he sure likes to stick his fork into somebody else’s dinner.
3. Governor Christie doesn’t buy into the whole science thing. As an institute of higher learning, colleges and universities have a responsibility to increase knowledge and share information based on science and fact. Recently, when asked if creationism should be taught in New Jersey’s fourth ranked public schools, Christie initially balked, stating, “it was none of your business.” At a political rally held in the guise of a town hall meeting, Christie later stated that no one in Trenton should make a decision about what a school district should teach. This statement makes no sense as each state creates its own standards for education.
4. Governor Christie’s behavior is antithetical to New Jersey new anti-bullying legislation that he signed with his own hand. This law was created to protect the vulnerable and allow students to learn in a safe environment free from harassment and intimidation. Following the Tyler Clementi tragedy at Rutgers University, there was a bipartisan impetus to address the bullying epidemic in New Jersey and across the country. Unfortunately, Governor Christie does not practice what he preaches. The Youtube superstar has made a habit of verbally abusing and physically intimidating his constituents in public venues. He has belittled New Jersey high school students by labeling “pawns of the teachers’ union.” He is the poster for Freudian projection, labeling the NJEA “thugs and bullies.” It is no wonder that an April Quinnipiac Poll found that the word respondents most often used to describe the governor was “bully.” Governor Christie, whether I like it or not, you are a leader. You should carry yourself with the knowledge that people look to you as such. Name calling, harassment, isolation, physical intimidation are all forms of bullying and do not lead to a good place. You should be mindful of such things.
Though this is by far not an exhaustive account of the reasons that Governor Christie should not speak at your commencement, he has become a darling of the 24-hour news cycle, and there is a good chance that he will be speaking at a university commencement near you. If he does, I recommend you do what these students did, and turn your back on him.