Matthew Fox
Matthew C. Fox, CC '89, was Columbia College's 2007 Class Day speaker. He plays Jack Shephard on ABC's TV show Lost, and was somehow involved in the 1988 football game in which Columbia broke its 44 game losing streak. He was also a member of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji).
Fox's selection as speaker angered many in the Class of 2007, some of whom called for him to be replaced. However, these students merely ended up creating several anti-Fox and ironic pro-Fox Facebook groups. The Bwog initially mirrored the anger of many seniors[1] (though it was noted by observers that bwog somewhat awkwardly assigned a freshman to express outrage on behalf of the senior class, making the vitriol a little hard to take), but gradually took a more detached tone, labelling the affair Speakergate '07.[2]
Professor Samuel Moyn expressed incredulousness at the hostility, noting "As someone who attended class day last year and found John McCain less than enthralling, and as an obsessive fan of both 'Party of Five' and 'Lost,' I have only one question for those angry about the invitation of Matthew Fox this year: what is the deal?"[3]
In a humorous twist, comedian and alum Robert Maschio offered to take Fox's spot while delivering a speech in-character as Dr. Todd "The Todd" Quinlan
The Speech
Despite the general disappointment in Fox's selection as speaker, many students who heard the speech said he was great, if not even better than McCain. Nevertheless, rumors persist that his speech was ghostwritten.
Among the highlights of Fox's speech were his listing of previous speakers, who appeared to far outstrip him in prestige, but, according to Fox, lacked the closeness with the graduating class he purported to share. He noted that unlike Harvard speaker Bill Gates, he was indeed a college graduate. He singled out senior Julia Kite for being quoted in the Spec as not knowing who Fox was, but followed by claiming he had always followed his passions, and that the Class of 2007 should do the same.
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External links
| Preceded by John McCain |
Columbia College Class Day Speaker 2007 |
Succeeded by Joel Klein |
