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President Obama set to deliver OSU commencement speech in May

marotti.5@osu.edu

Published: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 23:02

obama

Andre Holleran / Photo editor

President Barack Obama smiles while speaking on the Oval at OSU Oct. 9.

President Barack Obama will return to Ohio State's campus in May to give the Spring Commencement speech.

“This is a historic occasion for the university, the city of Columbus, and our graduates and their families,” said OSU President E. Gordon Gee in a press release. “We are honored to have President Obama address our graduates at the university’s largest commencement ever. To be sure, this is a signal moment in the life of one of the most vibrant and vital universities in our nation.”

In an email statement to The Lantern, OSU College Republicans spokesman and member of the Commencement Speaker Selection Committee Niraj Antani said he welcomes the president to campus as the commencement speaker.

"While the decision was made to invite him before my service on the committee began, it is an honor to have the sitting President of the United States speak at my commencement," Antani said.

Spring Commencement is scheduled for noon on May 5 in Ohio Stadium. Obama will deliver the speech exactly one year after he kicked off his re-election campaign at the Schottenstein Center.

Since then, Obama has visited campus two other times: in August when he had lunch at Sloopy's Diner in the Ohio Union, and in October when he delivered a speech on the Oval.

Obama also visited campus in October 2010 and last March.

According to a press release, there will be extra security measures in place during commencement. All guests must have a ticket, and graduates can receive up to four tickets for their guests.

This will be the third time a sitting president has given OSU's commencement speech, according to the press release. George W. Bush spoke in 2002 and Gerald Ford spoke in 1974. 

Obama will also be giving the commencement speech at the all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta this spring.

University spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said the White House made the announcement Wednesday.

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49 comments

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Dan
Thu May 2 2013 23:06
Obama's commencement speech to all the Ohio State Graduates... I have done nothing to create jobs so you'll be looking for a job at a point in time where workforce participation in this great country is at it lowest point since when Jimmy Carter was in office. Good luck and thank you for your support.
Anonymous
Mon Feb 25 2013 13:55
What great news to hear President Obama is coming to OSU. As a admitted student beginning in the fall at the College of Law, it brings me great joy to know that I have chosen a place where there is so much opportunity to witness history.......... all those making ignorant comments do not truly understand the privilege it is to be a Buckeye!
Anonymous
Sat Feb 23 2013 13:05
No tickets were required last year when Susan Rice spoke. But open attendance is a security risk when the president speaks, construction notwithstanding. So the ticket policy this year is very much about exploiting the graduates as additional security screens. Plus limiting attendance and herding everyone into a smaller space makes it easier on the secret service. Spin it any way you want, but Obama has very much hijacked this commencement. Gordon Gee should have thought twice before inviting him.
Anonymous
Fri Feb 22 2013 17:06
I can't believe my daughter won't be able to have her 80 year old grandparents there to attend her graduation! Thanks, OSU! Four tickets, what a joke.
Anonymous
Thu Feb 21 2013 12:31
People need to stop slandering the President and start having some respect for the office. You may not agree with him ideologically but he is still the President. Try putting aside your partisan bickering for one day and realize that the leader of the free world is going to be talking to YOU. Maybe before you badmouth him and call him a "socialist" or "communist" (and if you understood the meaning of those words you wouldn't be using them), you can listen to what he has to say. Just a thought.
Joe
Thu Feb 21 2013 09:54
Proud Americans... that don't want the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to speak at their graduation?? Do you really not want to attend your own commencement because the President is speaking? lol sit down somewhere

Other points: OSU doesn't pay for commencement speakers. Also the whole "I'd rather have my family there than Obama" argument is ignorant because regardless of the speaker.. you'd still be getting four tickets so shut up and be glad that you're graduating. Also, if you don't want to attend PLEASE give me your contact information so I can get your tickets.

OSU Grad '69, '70
Thu Feb 21 2013 08:01
Why him?
Ohio State has had him on campus so many times in the past that this is a huge waste of time and money. He is an empty suit that has no idea how to lead. He has been a failure as the President. He has nothing encouraging or enlightening to say to the graduates who need jobs in a failing economy.
Anonymous
Thu Feb 21 2013 00:06
It's an honor for our university to have the POTUS speak at commencement, regardless of our individual political choices. He deserves our respect. I can't wait!
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 21:15
I hope it rains that day....
Not as dumb as ewes
Wed Feb 20 2013 20:07
Oblahblah still sucking arse for 2014 & 2016. He could care less about you sheep.
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 20:04
100k seats in the stadium?? Only 4 tickets per family??? the Stadium will be half empty. If is it due to construction it was awfully nice of the university to have that during the LARGEST GRADUATING CLASS EVER. That must have come as a surprise to everyone at the top. But no worries, I won't be able to watch my daughter graduate but the stadium will be ready for football season!!! In Spite of, not But For
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 18:40
The average number of tickets for Commencements at colleges in the US is 3-4 tickets/graduate. The stadium this year is being repaired and there will be entire sections closed. Get over it.
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 18:34
How many people is Obama allowed to bring?
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 18:11
This "invitation" is substantive evidence that President Obama has made his bones, and we can now
certify him as a Real Repuglicrite. After all, the Republican political machine owns The Ohio State University,
and honors those only supportive of, and sympathetic with, their regressive, ruinous agenda.
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 17:48
Graduate from a great University and have to listen to a Dick for two hours, thanks OSU
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 17:45
Shame on OSU, Sorry no Obama and his socialist speeches
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 17:41
obama spent more money in one day than Bush did in 7 years of the war
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 17:14
Have small families and the 4 ticket amount is a moot point.
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 16:58
I just want to thank OSU for undermining me as a graduate by limiting the number of guests I can bring to my commencement in order to look out for your own political interests. Trust me, I'd rather my family be there to celebrate my accomplishments than Obama. Just sayin....
Anonymous
Wed Feb 20 2013 16:53
Why does it matter that the decision was made before Antani was on the committee? Seems kind of selfish to make the issue about him when he's speaking on behalf of a student organization....
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