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Cowen's Convocation Speech

 
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:37 pm    Post subject: Cowen's Convocation Speech Reply with quote

I went to the convocation speech in McAllister Auditorium and here are a few of my impressions:

* The parents were puzzle by the engineering cuts.

* It's so damned good to see Tulane students back. We really need to congratulating the freshmen on having faith. That's really what it comes down to, Faith. We really need to appreciate them for coming back. They could have easily stayed elsewhere.

* When they presented the Gondfalonds (spell?), there were lot of them missing (i.e.- Newcomb).

* There will be a heavy emphasis on community service, but there have been zero details. To be completely honest with you, the whole thing sounds a little fluffy. Tulane could do more for New Orleans by producing good engineers than painting public schools.

* I was interviewed by a news agency. I'm an idiot and I've already forgotten who it was with, but I have the guy my email address and I hope he'll email me and let me know when it's aired. One thing the reporter said was that they're actively looking for eloquent engineers to talk about the cuts, but they can't really find any. I'm sure the PR person at Tulane has done a wonderful job helping them find engineering students...

* Cowen is a very good public speaker, but, as a native, I'm uneasy watching him exploit the images of New Orleans' suffering the way he has. That suffering occurred because of poor engineering.

* Cowen briefly addressed the cuts, saying basically you shouldn't doubt their motives. I was wearing an engineering cap (the railroad type) and he looked right at me and he looked like he wanted to kill me. He didn't give a real reason and just covered it up with wordsmithing. Cowen, here's a message to you: you can't fill a levee breach with words. One comment of his was extremely offensive. He said something basically to the effect of "criticism of decisions comes with real leadership." Umm, I thought real leaders were supposed to build consensus?

* Next time there's a levee breach, let's fill it with Scott Cowen's ego. I'm serious. He's that full of himself.
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Clay Kirby
11th generation New Orleanian
4th generation Tulanian
Mechanical Engineering Class of '06
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

* One of Cowen's biggest points was that education happened both inside and outside the classroom. What better place to get an out of the classroom education than New Orleans? What better place?

Well, to use his own words against him, what better than engineering?
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Clay Kirby
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Mechanical Engineering Class of '06
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Kays



Joined: 13 Dec 2005
Posts: 7
Location: Louisiana

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also was interviewed by the the news crew. (ABC news) I didn't know they were specifically looking for people to talk about the engineering cuts, else I would have elaborated a bit more. Sad But yeah, with at least 100+ students in that auditorium that will not be able to graduate from TU, Scott didn't even mention the engineering program or any of the cuts for that matter. And as wckirby said, he tried to drill it in that the decisions made (what were they again?) were competent and very good decisions and that people who thought otherwise were not seeing things clearly and stupid for arguing with him. I had to fight back tears through the whole convocation. Also of note: most of the people in the auditorium today gave Scott a standing ovation every time he did anything (walked into the room, said something inspiring, etc.).

The part that really got me was when they asked Tulane class of 2009 to stand and be presented to Cowen, totally ignoring those of us who, as of now, won't be graduating from here.

They also handed out little booklets at the convocation explaining little things about Tulane's traditions. What do they care about traditions?
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mollyzogirl



Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Posts: 93
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:39 pm    Post subject: thinking back Reply with quote

I was on campus today and I almost went to the convocation, but I didn't think I could stomach it. I know every year he tells each class how they're the smartest class to ever attend Tulane. Will that be the case next year with no engineering students coming our way? I had stuck by Cowen through a lot of things, but kicking out half of my friends and giving my program an almost sure death sentence is unforgivable. I have a lot of friends who are OC's right now, and some of them are super pro-cowen. It's hard to listen to them talk about how great he is, what a great speaker his is, and on and on. It's sad, sometimes I wish I could be so naive.
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