US rep to speak at commencement

U.S. Representative Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.), who represents Massachusetts Eight District, will be representing Boston University as its 2009 Commencement speaker, President Robert Brown announced Friday morning at the Senior Breakfast.

Capuano is in his sixth term representing Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea and most of Boston. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston College School of Law, Capuano will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from BU, where he has previously studied tax law, according to BU’s commencement site.

Many students who attended the breakfast said they were disappointed with the choice.

‘Honestly, I hadn’t heard of him when he was announced,’ College of Arts and Sciences senior Farva Bilgrami said. ‘I think they could have done a better job choosing someone.’

Bilgrami said she does not see his relation to the BU community, especially given his degree from BC.

BU spokesman Phil Gladderman said Capuano’s involvement with Darfur is indicative of BU’s global perspective and the sorts of issues students are concerned about. Capuano, a major Darfur activist, has traveled to Sudan and met with the United Nations Secretary General and the U.S. Ambassador to the UN to discuss sending additional peacekeepers in the region, according to BU’s site.

‘He’s a terrific representative and he’ll have a terrific speech for the graduates,’ Gladderman said.

University of Professors Program senior Shwetika Baijal said she would rather director Steven Spielberg, who is also receiving an honorary degree from BU at the ceremony, speak at the ceremony.

‘I’m sure he’s well-accomplished but it seems like Spielberg would have made more sense,’ she said.

Microsoft Corporation chief experience officer and chief technology officer J Allard, former Celtics legend Larry Bird, BU’s former Board of Trustees chairman Alan Leventhal and Zhang Yimou, the filmmaker who directed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, will also be receiving honorary degrees.

Domestically, Capuano played a significant role in organizing the Congressional transition to a Democratic majority and has garnered funding for various projects in Boston, including the Fenway Community Health Center’s HIV prevention, mental health care and substance abuse programs, according to BU’s site.

CAS senior Qasim Salimi said he thinks Capuano would be a good speaker due to his vast experience speaking to large crowds. However, he also said he had not heard of him prior to the commencement announcement.

‘I personally would have gone for someone a little more famous,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a downgrade from last year’s speaker, Larry Lucchino.’