12 CommentsJon Edelman reports from GS Class Day this morning.
In true GS style, guests were greeted by Howard Fishman and the Biting Fish Brass Band, who marched the graduates in to “Down By the Riverside,” rather than your typical 10-minute rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
The ceremony continued with a rendition of the national anthem by Lena Park (GS ’10), who earned her bachelor’s degree from Columbia after achieving R&B stardom in Korea.
Another, marginally more famous GSer, Jacques Pépin (GS ’70), took the podium after Park to deliver the Class Day Address. Pépin came to Columbia for language classes within a week of his immigration from France. His speech focused mainly on his bio and some follow-your-dream-type lines, it was generally well-received, even “inspirational” according to several graduates.
GS students are crazy!
Valedictorian Brian Corman’s speech was also widely praised. Corman focused on GS students’ non-traditional and often more difficult paths. He illustrated with student examples, including that of Timothy Goebel, who became the first person to land three quadruple-jumps in a figure skating program after falling on the first one that he attempted.
Bwog dubs the ceremony a delight: a beautiful morning, a brass band, a Korean pop star and a famous chef. Congratulations GS ’10!
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12 Comments
@Adam Wheeler Brian Corman and myself got together five years ago and planned an elaborate punk of America’s most prestigious universities. Now it’s May 2010. You’re welcome.
@Reece Hamm Patton Oswalt seems to believe that Mr. Corman plagiarized the ‘Physics for Poets’ bit in his speech.
http://trueslant.com/level/2010/05/25/columbia-valedictorian-apes-patton-oswalts-physics-for-poets-jokes/
@Anonymous Also, Brian bravely plagiarized his valedictorian speech in part from Patton Oswalt.
@For Shame Yeah, GREAT speech.
@JamesUrbaniak Columbia valedictorian steals @pattonoswalt’s “Physics for Poets” bit. http://bit.ly/bUFufW (http://bit.ly/92GPDm) Kid’s got a future!
@Anonymous Brian Corman’s speech was a fraud. He ripped off Patton Oswalt’s “physics for poets” speech word for word. Well done Colombia. Your ethics are beyond reproach. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LjfsFOxwfA
@Oh oh. Turns out Mr. Corbin’s cute little anecdote was actually stolen material from comedian Patton Oswalt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIsid1JKxK0#t=38m38s.
@Anonymous Of course, Brian didn’t warn Tim Goebel that he was going to use him as an example of perseverance — it would have been nice if he had! Before telling the entire student body about him falling on his ass, that is.
@That's OK Brian’s polishing his political skills – his ambition is high office – so expect him to use his acquaintance with others to his own benefit. Abusing his acquaintance with Tim was not terribly smart, but not terribly surprising: Brian worked for Chuck Rangel, whom many of us have long regarded as a crook – albeit only recently outed as one to the public – who recently lost his Committee leadership. Oops. But I’m sure in the fullness of time that Brian’s association with Rangel will fade, and his stepping-stone use of his friends will continue, and he will gain the high offices he seeks.
But we’ll have a detailed historical record of his efforts, which will follow him in all his campaigns.
@Thanks, but... It was a superb ceremony, and the omission of Elgar’s tired march – which always comes off to my own ears as nothing other than a funeral dirge – was a blessed relief.
Lena Park did a superb job on the National Anthem, but I do wish that modern female performers of the piece would drop the vamping. Sing the piece straight, do it with heart, and you’ll distinguish yourself on the singular merit of having flawlessly performed an extraordinarily difficult piece in its own right. Of course, she _is_ an R&B artist, so she was true to her own genre, if not to Key’s.
I object to the characterization of Jacques Pépin as “another, marginally more famous GSer,” when in fact the man is a modern historical treasure, the godfather of French cuisine – Julia Child’s collaborator for years, in fact – so making a comparison between the young vocal artist and this man is simply a bad idea, and speaks volumes about the provincial worldview of the writer of this post.
May I implore the kind author of this Bwog post to fix the spelling of “received” please? The spelling of this word should be a hard-wired skill of any adult writer of English.
@Eliza Spelling mistakes corrected, and the Pepin line was intended sarcastically– Pepin is a foodie hero of mine, and I wanted to emphasize rather than downplay his fame. Just wanted to clarify!
@remember when there was any GS senior wisdom this year? Like, at all? BwogFAIL.
@Quite literally the BEST graduation I’ve ever witnessed. Props to GS bringin a little ol’ New Orleans swing to the UWS.