Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ laughs during a commercial break. He is set to speak at OSU’s commencement May 4. Credit: Courtesy of MCT
Letter to the editor:
During my four years at Ohio State, I have come to fully appreciate open dialogue for understanding many different points of views, whether this is politics, religion, culture, ideas, etc. There is no question in my mind that this is good and we all grow through open dialogue. Open dialogue has become a value I will cherish for the rest of my life and I thank OSU for instilling this value in me.
However, I am deeply disappointed in OSU for selecting Chris Matthews as the commencement speaker for my graduation. It is not because he is a hard line liberal, but rather because he is directly against open dialogue. News organizations like MSNBC and Fox News, while expressing their freedom of speech, do not promote open dialogue in any way. Chris Matthews has only his agenda in mind, whether he is interviewing a Democrat or Republican. He will distort any interview or news story for the benefit of his agenda and belittle those he does not agree with. The same can be said for Bill O’Reilly with Fox News. This is not what higher education stands for, it is not what OSU stands for, and it is not what I stand for.
Commencement will be one of the most exciting days of my life. I will be one of thousands of soon-to-be graduates in attendance celebrating our great accomplishments here. Selecting Chris Matthews as our speaker has not changed that for me, and it should not change that for you. However, I am disappointed OSU has turned against its values of open dialogue to promote biased media trying to manipulate the general public.
Jake Bradley
Fourth-year in public affairs and geography
[email protected]
