When Student Convocation speaker Robin Sloan heard Vice President Dick Cheney might be the keynote speaker at the May ceremony, he said he became suddenly nervous.
“I’m afraid if I cough or something, the Secret Service will just take me down,” the economics senior said. “I think it will be interesting.”
Cheney spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise said Wednesday the vice president had received an invitation to speak at MSU, but for security reasons, did not confirm whether the vice president had accepted.
MSU officials also declined to comment on the invitation, but have instructed graduates and guests to arrive at Breslin Center four hours before the ceremony and to prepare to undergo security screening.
But despite the possibility of sharing the spotlight with Cheney, Sloan plans on keeping his speech just the way it is.
“I don’t know what he’s going to talk about,” he said. “Mine is just about graduation and I think that’s the way it should be.”
Commencement coordinator Betsy White said more prominent speakers generally draw larger crowds. Tickets for graduating seniors will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis from April 23-30. Each graduate is allowed three tickets to the ceremony, including one for his or her admittance to Breslin Center.
If the supply of tickets has not run out by the end of the month, graduates may pick up two extra tickets until May 2.
“(People) are interested in having firsthand experience and they may think this person has a message pertinent to them personally,” White said. “Everybody has a different interest. It’s hard to anticipate what the draw is for different speakers.”
In 1995, President Clinton delivered the commencement address, the first time a sitting president has done so at MSU since Theodore Roosevelt in 1907.
Former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Truman have spoken at commencement, although none held the office when they visited campus.
But Cheney’s possible visit doesn’t impress elementary education senior Erik Timko, whose plans to not attend the convocation haven’t changed.
“The fact that Dick Cheney’s coming isn’t going to affect my life one way or the other, to be honest,” he said.
But for students like advertising senior Trina Gardner, the opportunity to hear a sitting vice president speak is enough to endure the four-hour wait.
“It makes us feel pretty prestigious if the vice president of the United States might come here for our commencement,” she said.
Gardner said she knew several people who weren’t planning on attending the ceremony, but now may be reconsidering their plans.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Well, it depends on who’s speaking,’” she said. “I think a lot of people would be interested in what he has to say.”
Staff writer Camille Spencer contributed to this report.
Ed Ronco can be reached at roncoedw@msu.edu.
