Letter: DeVos graduation speech will be one-way street.

In his guest column “Invitation to Betsy DeVos: Mary McLeod Bethune would ask her to speak too,” Bethune-Cookman University President Edison O. Jackson fails to make a cogent argument for his decision to invite Betsy DeVos to speak at the upcoming spring commencement.

In fact, what he offers as evidence that he made the right decision actually deflates his argument. He cites a quote by University of Chicago President Robert Hutchins about the importance of open discussion and free inquiry.

Jackson closes his column with “Remember that dialogue is a two-way street.” To be clear, DeVos is not being asked to take part in a lecture series in which dialogue will take place. There will be no open discussion or free inquiry. The graduates will be forced to listen to a public figure who has confronted few, if any, relatable struggles or life experiences that would inspire. DeVos has been secretary of education for only two months. We have no idea what she will accomplish.

Jackson would be better served to follow the lead of other universities and select a commencement speaker with a reputation for exceptional accomplishments and/or a history of overcoming adversity. Leave the opportunities for free inquiry to the professors, speakers bureaus and campus organizations, where dialogue and exchange of ideas are encouraged. Susan Hambleton Orlando