I bet the reaction from my roommates Sunday night when they found out early who this spring’s commencement speaker is mimicked that of the rest of the student body when they discovered the news Monday morning.

“Andrea who?” they asked.

The majority of students don’t watch the evening news on a nightly basis, much less know the names of correspondents, so it’s not too big of a shock a lot of seniors are shaking their heads over the selection of NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell for the keynote speaker.

After nearly landing former President Jimmy Carter or U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, the announcement of Mitchell is a bit disappointing for this graduating senior. I partly buy into what Senior Council members Christine DeLargy and Maura Iezzi, the two in charge of finding a speaker, are trying to sell when they say she will give an interesting take on the news that made up the past four years.

However, it doesn’t keep me from daydreaming over other speakers who might have sparked more interest. I understand that because the university refuses to pay for a speaker, most of it comes down to the connection someone at the university has to the person.

No, I’m not going to waste your time whining about how cool it would be to have Jon Stewart, Bill Cosby or President Bush speak. Although I must say I was impressed with how hard DeLargy and Iezzi pined to get someone like Oprah or Bono come to the university. I mean, geez, those two don’t even need last names they are so big.

Without further ado let’s go down the list of a few of the people a 22-year-old male journalism major who loves sports and history would like to listen to at his commencement. Yeah, I guess that’s me in a nutshell, so if you disagree with my picks let me know on the online forum.

1. Larry David: Yes, I realize the university asked for him and I blame him for turning it down, but I’ve been talking up this pick for a while so I have to list him numero uno. I’m still impressed the creator of both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm graduated from the same place I will and think he’s one of the funniest people on earth. I must admit I think less of him now though that he reportedly responded to the university’s request so rudely and I know The Diamondback has been trying to get an interview with him for a while with much of the same result. Come on, Larry, I know deep down part of you loves the Terps.

2. Scott Van Pelt: While I bet all of the people who watch SportsCenter even less than the news are all asking “Scott who?” I bet if we did a poll of all the seniors the anchor of the ESPN show would get the nod over Mitchell. His passion for Maryland is evident by repetitive shout-outs to the College Park bar scene after big basketball wins with “Who’s going to Bentley’s?!” and I guarantee he would accept the invite without hesitation to speak at his alma mater. Everyone loved him when he spoke at the journalism school’s graduation last year, so why not? Nonsports people be damned.

3. Nancy Pelosi: This is a political selection, but I think it would be interesting to hear what the House minority leader has to say. She is the first woman to lead a major political party in the House or the Senate and although she represents California, she has roots in Baltimore. Her father and brother both served as Baltimore mayor, so someone at the university has to have a connection.

4. Juan Dixon: Now I know this is another sports selection, but what individual is a better representative of the university? If you don’t know Dixon’s story, then you shouldn’t be graduating from this university anyway. To come up from the depths of losing two parents to AIDS and the slums of Baltimore to star on the Maryland basketball team and play in the NBA is the ultimate tragedy-to-triumph story. Tell me he doesn’t have a few good stories for a speech up his sleeve.

Michael Hoffman is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at mrhoffman17@yahoo.com.