I tangentially participated in St. Thomas commencement activities this weekend, so I heard the buzz about Tommie of the Year Ben Kessler’s speech at the undergraduate ceremony.

“The speech started out pretty normal,” [Darin Aus, a graduating senior] said. Then, he said, Kessler began talking about his disappointment at fellow students after a spring dance when a food fight became intense enough that security was summoned.

“His disappointment kind of snowballed,” Aus said.

Kessler also alluded to the unmarried professors caught up in the travel policy battles, calling them selfish. And he then called women who use birth control selfish.

He also called himself selfish and said he needed to be a better person, said university spokesman Doug Hennes.

Some defended his remarks, while others said he had no business raising hot topics on a day dedicated to students and families celebrating years of hard academic work.

My girlfriend partook in the graduate student ceremonies that morning. She was completely unenthused because she felt the whole thing was less about the graduates and more about making St. Thomas look good. Apparently, from her description of the grad student ceremonies, they didn’t even do that. So if you’re all about having a pretty-looking graduation day, I can see how folks were upset.

My first inclination was to reserve judgment as to whether I considered his remarks appropriate until I found out what he said and whether or not I agreed with him. I still don’t know exactly what he said. The fact that he was named Tommie of the Year is completely unimpressive to me. In fact, given what I know of St. Thomas, the Tommie of the Year title is actually a detractor. So I’m immediately skeptical. I could sort of see where he was going with the food fight and the travel policy (even though I disagree on that one). But the bit about birth control just seems random.

I went to the University of Michigan, and it would have been not at all surprising for someone to do this during commencement. But then, Michigan would take pride in fostering that sort of atmosphere, even if the actual remarks were disparaging to the University. In fact, I wish someone had, because my commencement was boring as fuck. I don’t get that same celebratory feeling about St. Thomas.

Aus and other students were upset that St. Thomas officials didn’t stop the speech.

“If someone were to start talking about their beliefs on gay rights, I guarantee you someone from the administration would have put an end to it right away,” Aus said.

Sho nuff. So I’m on his side for wanting to make a point at a moment when you have a rare opportunity in front of a microphone. But it sounds like he mostly just made a jackass out of himself.

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