ESSENCE Poll: Should People Who Didn't Graduate Give Commencement Speeches?

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Howard University recently announced that Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs would be their 2014 commencement speaker despite the fact that he never graduated from college. Do you agree with their decision?

Sylvia Obell Apr, 16, 2014

Former Howard University student Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs will be returning to his alma mater next month to deliver the university’s commencement speech.

Howard’s announcement has received mixed reviews on Twitter. Some praised the HBCU for recognizing Combs as a mogul and giving him the opportunity to share his insights with their senior class. Others believed the honor should not go to the Revolt TV executive because he never actually graduated from the school.

While a college degree is a vital step to success for most people, certain entrepreneurs (Mark Zucklerberg, Steve Jobs and—yes, Puff Daddy) have shown that occasionally one can take a different route to achieve it. Does that make them any less worthy of the opportunity to give a commencement speech?

Should people who didn’t graduate give commencement speeches?

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