This is in response to the editorial printed June 6 regarding the creeping liberal bias of college commencement speakers.

I was particularly offended by the closing suggestion that perhaps Bates College should invite Bill O’Reilly next year to offset the appearance of Jane Pauley as one of this year’s commencement speakers.

Was that a joke?

While Pauley has been courageous in going public with her long-term struggle against bipolar disorder, and has lent her name and resources to public community health centers in her home state of Indiana … what has O’Reilly done to rival that?

While the editorial stated that there might be a liberal bias on college campuses regarding the selection of commencement speakers, it has been my experience that the vast majority of such speakers provide non-partisan, non-ideological advice to the new graduates before them. What Pauley said to Bates graduates about focusing on their own abilities and not shortcomings certainly bore that out.

The editorial was surprisingly disappointing and uncharacteristically shallow in its view. I have come to expect more depth and insight from the editorials, but that one badly missed the mark.

Denis Fortier, Lewiston