President Jesse Rogers defends selecting Carson as speaker

University President Jesse Rogers and members of his staff selected neurosurgeon Ben Carson to speak at this year’s May graduation ceremony at Kay Yager Coliseum.

Rogers chose Carson for his accomplishments as he made medical history in 1987 when he successfully separated conjoined twins who were attached at the back of the head—the first person to ever do so.

Rogers said Carson will be a real inspiration to the students because of the circumstances he had to overcome as a child.

“I looked at the background he came from and what he’s accomplished in his life and I listened to a couple of his commencement speeches and he is very good,” Rogers said. “His speech will be very appropriate to commencement.”

However, Carson drew heavy fire from critics in March when he vocalized his opposition to same-sex marriage on the Fox News show Hannity, saying: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.”

Carson is the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University where he also serves as a professor, but Carson withdrew himself as the commencement speaker at Hopkins after students there circulated a petition asking that he be replaced as speaker and a fellow faculty member said that Carson’s comments on same-sex marriage made him appear “nasty, petty and ill-informed.”

Rogers said Carson is entitled to his opinion despite the fact that various other universities have objected to his speaking because they found his comments to be politically incorrect.

“I think people have the right to make comments like that,” Rogers said. “They don’t have to reflect mine as long as they’re thought out and they are comfortable with it, and I think all of our students need to learn that.”

Carson was born in the slums of Detroit and was raised by his single mother, Sonya Carson. Ben struggled academically until his mother, who couldn’t read herself, required him and his brother to read two books a week and then write reports over each, causing his performance in school to increase dramatically.

After graduating from Southwestern High School with honors, Carson earned a degree in psychology from Yale University before attending the University of Michigan Medical school.

Rogers said it is customary for the President’s Office to ask someone to speak at commencement, although it varies by university.

“Sometimes we have to think and think and it’s difficult,” Rogers said, “but this year the speaker just sort of came to us.”

Rogers said he received a call from a friend of Carson asking if Rogers knew about the pediatric neurosurgeon and his accomplishments.

“I’ve read parts of his biography and know how famous he is,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he would be disappointed if MSU students rallied to replace Carson as commencement speaker.

“I would be very disappointed, not that people would disagree, but that they didn’t recognize his right to free speech and weren’t open to listen to people that have a different opinion than they do,” Rogers said. “We don’t want to be the kind of thinkers that only want to hear the opinion of those that already agree with us.”

Fortunately for Rogers, many students echoed his sentiments on free speech. Kayla Gilbert, graduate counseling student, said his achievements are what is important for speaking to MSU’s 706 expected graduates this May.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Gilbert said. “His comments are his own opinion and not everybody will agree with it.”

Senior of nursing and psychology Osagie Enodunmwenben said he does not see anything wrong with Carson’s comments because the views he expressed are his own opinion.

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion,” Enodunmwenben said. “That’s very important, that’s something everybody has to understand no matter what.”

Enodunmwenben said even members of the homosexual community need to respect Carson’s right to free speech even though they may be offended by his comments.

“He’s someone that’s highly educated and highly respected,” Enodunmwenben said. “I don’t feel like people should stop him from coming and speaking at graduation because of what he said.”

Students that take offense or disagree with Carson’s comments should not worry that their money is being used to bring him to MSU as Rogers pointed out that the speaker’s fee was being covered by an independent party.

“It’s being paid for by a friend, so the university is paying nothing,” Rogers said. “I’ll buy him dinner.”

Rogers said Carson does not even pocket the fee, regardless of where it came from.

“He puts it into a scholarship foundation that he started quite a few years ago,” Rogers said.

Rogers said Carson’s comments are out of concert with the younger generation’s tolerance of differences, but that shouldn’t stop him from speaking at our commencement ceremony.

“We should recognize his right to speak his opinion even though there’s going to be a big shift in tolerance in your generation,” Rogers said, “and I’m pleased about that.”

Rogers said Carson contacted the President’s Office to ensure that Rogers still wanted him to speak at MSU’s commencement ceremony because Carson was chosen before he made his comments on Hannity.

“To us it didn’t make a bit of difference in the world,” Rogers said. “He’s here to talk about his life and try to inspire the graduates to higher things, so he didn’t want that controversy to get in the way of that.”