We just posted about nominating your favorite political figures, writers, scientists and members of Vampire Weekend for this year's Columbia College Class Day speaker.

If you're unsure of whom to pick, Bwog's put together a quick list of people we'd think would be good choices. Feel free to argue with us or suggest your own nominees in the comments.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, empress of jurisprudence, Supreme Court resident, and Law grad

Dean of Yale School of Architecture/designer of fanciest apartment building in the city Robert A.M. Stern

Multilingual intellectual and literary critic Jacques Barzun

The Class Council of the Columbia College graduating class of 2009 is urging that all seniors submit nominations for this year's Class Day Speaker. Using your nominations, the council members will present a "wish list" to Quigley, who will then invite those 5-8 possible speakers.

This is all of course assuming that there are more than 5 names submitted for a list that Bwog predicts will be 99% "Barack Obama" and maybe a "Matthew Fox encore!" thrown in semi-ironically.

With the pomp and circumstance of Class Day and graduation weeks behind us, Bwog was surprised and delighted when we were contacted last night by Maxim Pinkovskiy, the Columbia College valedictorian.

Wrote Pinkovskiy: "As the valedictorian of Columbia College does not give a speech on Class Day, I did not get to make a speech. However, some students asked me to write one on my own, so I am sending you what I composed a few weeks after graduation." Read on, nostalgic recent alums hoping to relive Class Day.

As we leave Columbia today, we are likely to ask ourselves: what has been the meaning of the past four years? Does our diploma indicate that we "have satisfied the onerous and nearly insuperable requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts," or does it mean something more, even if just to ourselves? What do these medieval maces and baroque berets mean in the age of I-Pods and internships? As Plato might have said, what is the form of a university education, and might it have changed irrevocably from the days of yore? Like a good Columbian, when faced with these questions, I turn to the classics. More than two thousand years ago, in a China in the flux of social and economic transformation, Confucius, like us today, was asking himself: what are the fundamentals of a proper education in this world? His response was, as usual, an aphorism:

"To study and in due season to practice what one has learned, is this not a pleasure?"

"To have friends coming from afar, is this not a delight?"

"To remain unembittered even though one is unrecognized, is that not to be noble?"

Confucius, Analects 1:1

Tipster Sumeet Shah sends word that PrezBo had a rollicking good time at SEAS's class day yesterday. Shah sends a photo of PrezBo laughing—real human laughs—at speaker Armen Avanessians' speech. Says one SEASer of the speech: "Hilarious but uninspiring. The whole speech was nerd jokes... he got a laugh with the phrase '1.5-micron CMOS', as did the random engineer in the crowd who yelled out 'size doesn't matter' right afterward. There was a lot of yelling at the SEAS ceremony, actually."

CC Class day, though never a particularly riveting experience, was cold, blustery and, well, boring this year.

The afternoon began with clear skies and salutatorian Julia Kalow, a double major in chemistry and creative writing, whose speech tended toward the latter. She told the story of a writer who informs her friends that she's written a story with no ending. They balk, as does a snobbish boy in the corner reading the Iliad, who then notices, "Troy hasn't fallen, the war isn't over—perhaps the stories didn't need endings." Kalow reminded seniors that though they may be graduating, their "illustrious Columbia experience" doesn't "end when our IDs expire," or "when the University stops asking us for money." Rather, it never ends, which was ambiguously comforting.

Following Kalow was Joel Klein, who in 2002 became Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, and whose speech sounded remarkably like his resume, with assorted quotes from Alan Alda and Theodore Roosevelt thrown in.

Grumbly reactions to Class Day speakers are traditional at Columbia (John McCain, too conservative! Matthew Fox, too pedestrian!). Joel Klein has received only a smattering of disapproval in the comments, on account of his low name recognition. To stoke your envy (or pride--at least we didn't end up with Bianca Jagger), Bwog has collected a list of class speakers at other schools--including some schools we've never heard of. Kudos to Harvard on an amazing combination--prestige and entertainment. Full list after the jump.

Edit, 6:15 pm: More class day speakers at the end of the jump.

For SEAS Class Day speaker engineering is the new liberal arts.

FaCU, SGB funding meetings should be open to all.

The New Harlem, its a happening place.

The mayor of Brigadoon bids farewell.

Gandhi scholar to hang it up after 40 years of teaching the same course.

Jeffrey Sachs goes back to the future.

This year Barnard's Class Day speakers will include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Yorker editor David Remnick, famed tennis player Billie Jean King, and organizer of Harlem Head Start programs Thelma C. Davidson Adair.

Bwog just ran into outgoing BC President Laura Stoffel who could hardly contain her excitement. Expect a more official announcement from Barnard in the next few days.

Worry not jealous Columbians: Luckily, there are going to be unlimited BC class day tickets this year.

Just seconds ago at the 'Stend—amidst a crowd that at 10:30 PM consisted of a dozen people awkwardly milling about, but soon increased to several dozen—2008's Columbia College Class Day speaker was announced.

Joel Klein, CC '67, is the Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education and by the looks of it, quite obviously the love child of Wallace Shawn and Rudy Giuliani.

Discuss.

Astute tipster Helam Gebremariam, C '07, said Yale's class day speaker, Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek, was a "total Matt Fox knock off." She writes:

"He made all of the same jokes that Fox did about how Harvard got Gates and Yale got him. He ALSO called someone out (a la Julia Kite) for writing something in the school paper about how he is a nobody in the world of class day speakers. Say what you will about Matt Fox, but 1) hes hot 2) he's funny and 3) he's original."

And he's not even a writer...!

It's official! SEAS Dean Galil brings good tidings of the engineering school's class day speaker in the latest Zvi-mail, as follows:

Hi All,

It is with great enthusiasm that I share with you the following news. This year's Class Day speaker will be the world famous architect/civil-engineer/artist Santiago Calatrava. He has designed the Transportation Hub that is being built in lower Manahattan, the Athens Olympic Stadium and dozens of marvelous bridges and buildings all over the world. Last year the Met had an exhibition of his works of art (paintings/sculptures/pottery/design).

If you want to learn more, Google him.

Dean Galil

While we're still anticipating who will be speaking at Columbia's commencement this year, Bwog tipster Julia Kite notifies us that the crimsonites in Cambridge have invited none other than Harvard drop-out/Microsoft mogul Bill Gates to speak on June 7th. On top of that, Billy's finally getting his diploma too -- Harvard is presenting Gates with an honorary degree at the commencement, 32 years after leaving the school. The Harvard Crimson states that it still awaits the College Class Day speaker announcement, meanwhile. Perhaps another primetime television actor?

At other institutions, UPenn's got former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Wellesley has invited alumna Madeleine Albright (also speaking at UNC-Chapel Hill). Yale undergrads do not have a commencement speaker, but Newsweek International editor and Yale alum Fareed Zakaria will be speaking for Yale College's class day. Meanwhile, Barack Obama turned us down for class day, but he'll be speaking for commencement at Southern New Hampshire University.

As for Columbia, we expect to hear the news sometime within the next month (and in case you were wondering, SEAS dean Galil has complete control over who speaks for engineers, and usually announces his choice his choice in mid-April.)

- MIP

We couldn't quite believe it when we got an e-mail from Robert Maschio, CC '88, who plays Todd on Scrubs. But we e-mailed back, and he seems to really actually honest-to-god want to speak on Class Day. In his own words:

"Hey Gang,

This is Robert Maschio, the actor who plays High-Five Todd on the TV show SCRUBS. As I am also a graduate of Columbia University (88) and I just want to say, if it doesn't work out with Matthew Fox, I would be more than willing to fly in, show up and give a great commencement speech...well, it wouldn't be a speech so much as a series of hi-fives to all graduates and a series of sexual inappropriate comments (aimed mostly at the administration). Of course I'd be wearing my trademark "Banana Hammock" the whole time...for the ladies, so...just something to consider and enjoy...good luck and let me know,

robert maschio

class of 1988

roar lion roar"

Hey, it's just a suggestion.