This letter is in reference to the recently announced news that the speaker for this year’s graduation will be Gov. Mary Fallin. I am personally sickened and horrified by this decision.

In my opinion, there is no worse choice for this honor. Not only has she been declared by some as the worst governor in America; her policies and actions go against the OCCC code of values as published in the handbook. Time after time governor Fallin has favored the rights of big business over the rights of Oklahomans. She has denied our schools access to money to build storm shelters. She refused to expand Medicare programs for our state, thus denying free health insurance to thousands of Oklahomans.

She has consistently turned her back on evidence that suggests fracking is dangerous to us and our environment by giving those companies responsible considerable tax breaks; and at the same time denying tax breaks for the struggling middle class. She has signed bills limiting our rights to increase the minimum wage.

She has consistently favored those policies that deny civil rights to homosexuals, women, Hispanics, African Americans and immigrants. One only needs to look at the demographics of our school to understand this conundrum. We are an amalgam of the lower middle-class, minorities and immigrants. Is our school administration so out of touch that they don’t realize who we are? Was this really the most appropriate choice to represent us? We need a commencement speaker who can inspire passion in our graduates, not mar them in controversial junk politics.