Remember this date guys: June 14, 2014 because that's the day that traffic is going to be (even more) horrible in Orange County. Why? Well, President Barack Obama is coming to Anaheim, UC Irvine administration confirmed today, to speak at the 2014 UC Irvine commencement.
Good for you, UCI.
“We are thrilled that the President has accepted our invitation to deliver the keynote address at our commencement exercises this June,” said Chancellor Michael V. Drake in a statement released by the university. “We will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies of our campus. We are proud of the progress we have made during our first half century, and are looking forward to even greater achievements in the years to come.”
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This might be the first time ever that UC Irvine has had a speaker of this caliber, partly because in recent years UC Irvine only held multiple smaller commencement ceremonies for each individual school.
The June 14 ceremony, on the other hand, is a semi-special event for the entire student population to celebrate the university's 50th birthday. School-based ceremonies, in which graduates are individually recognized and which students greatly demanded, will follow on Sunday and Monday, June 15 and 16, on the UC Irvine campus.
What convinced Obama to visit? UCI administration thinks it was the 10,000 post card-strong invitation or the personal appeal from 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Nidaye.
Me? I'm still hoping it was the beer.
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