Community college lands a big name

MIAMI – Every year for more than a decade, Miami Dade College has sent a letter to the president of the United States asking him to deliver a commencement address.

The persistence finally paid off.

President Bush will speak today at the suburban Kendall campus of the community college. About 1,600 students expect to receive their degrees during the ceremony.

Bush is speaking at three graduation ceremonies around the country this year, the others being St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. This is the second time he has spoken at a community college, the first being Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College last year.

Bush spokesman Blair Jones said Miami Dade was chosen partly because it had made repeated requests and that it’s a “first-rate and diverse institution of higher learning.”

Miami Dade College serves more than 130,000 students on seven campuses annually and is one of the largest community colleges in the United States.

Christopher Miles, student government president for the Kendall campus, said he doubts Bush’s speech will be controversial among the college’s graduates.

“He’s the president, and I think people will respect that,” he said. “It’s not a day for politics. It’s about education, and that’s something everyone can celebrate.”