Boston University’s choice for commencement speaker is drawing criticism from not only some of their students and alum, but also Hollywood writers on strike.
Graduation is in less than two weeks and BU hasn’t said if they will drop the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov as their speaker.
“I think commencement is a place for like inclusivity,” said BU sophomore Sam Herzlinger. “I think it would be better for BU to bring in someone that’s more representative of that in the industry.”
Herzlinger is joining others on campus in voicing opposition to Zaslov.
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“To tell the graduating class basically, which is a lot of COM students, that this is someone they should look up two is dangerous and I think disrespectful to the students,” said BU student Ruby Hawes.
Those against the move don't think the Warner Bros Discovery president and CEO should be addressing aspiring screenwriters at BU during a national strike over pay, residuals, and job security.
“I just really felt like it was a slap in the face,” said Kelly Krause, a BU alum who lives in San Francisco as a film writer, producer, and director.
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Krause was disappointed in her alma mater at a time of uncertainty in the film and TV industry.
“It brings us a great deal of joy to tell stories but you know we also need to survive and that’s what this really comes down to, you know, it’s the threat of screenwriting becoming a gig job basically,” she said.
Two days after union writers went on strike on May 2, BU announced Zaslav as their commencement speaker.
“I think it’s the love for the business and the love for working… That’s what’s going to bring us together,” said Zaslav about the writers’ strike on Friday while talking about profits of Warner Media’s streaming service on CNBC.
“Let’s try to get this resolved let’s do it in a way that the riders feel like they are valued which they are, and they are compensated fairly, and then off we go, let’s tell great stories together.”
But for the student chapter of the Democratic Socialists at BU, this story is not written yet. They’ve been passing out this petition online to cancel Zaslav’s invitation to commencement.
While the Writers Guild of America warns of protests during the event, saying in part:
“Boston University should not give voice to someone who wants to destroy their students’ ability to build a career in the film and television industry…”
Commencement is on Sunday, May 21. BU told NBC10 Boston it would not comment on the matter, leaving the question open of whether they will move forward with Zaslav or replace him.
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