In my college days,the student body was ostenstentiously supposed to have choice in the commenment speaker - senior class- I think. It created problems when one year the choice was for Lucy Ball. It was vetoed down because "she was that type of woman."
i.e. Divorced.
Our class did not even try and we had a speaker who was initially a on the very edge type of medical researcher but had good ties with the Vatican. He had hard times with PETA.
I like no politicians in some ways yet that to falls into problems.
Maybe a lottery with the name rolls of all alums
and just pick two and let all have a chance to say something to the young folks.