In an odd move, Ohio Wesleyan University has chosen Sen. John McCain to deliver its 2010 commencement address. According to the press release:
McCain… will discuss the importance of character and service when he delivers the keynote address at Ohio Wesleyan University’s May 9, 2010, commencement ceremony.
Jeffrey Thongsawath, Ohio Wesleyan senior class president, said McCain’s selection as commencement speaker is not about partisan politics, but about the students’ desire to hear from a national speaker with a legacy of public service.
The 1,800-student liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio is known for a student body that is very politically liberal. In the 1960s OWU students took over the campus ROTC building and demanded that the school shut down the program, which it did in 1970. The school has also featured courses with titles like “Love and Sex.”
Ohio Wesleyan seems an odd choice for McCain who, given his likely challenger in the Arizona Republican primary, is now attempting a shift to the political right.
McCain has previously given commencement addresses at University of Oklahoma, the New School University, Texas Tech, and Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
