December 28, 2016
Hundreds of students at one New Jersey college are reaching out to actor Danny DeVito with a desperate plea – will you be our graduation speaker?
A Change.org petition launched about three months ago has more than 550 signatures calling on the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actor to bestow the 1,500-person graduating class of 2017 at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, with some sage life advice.
It reads:
"It’s with this petition that we are putting in our formal request to bring Mr. Devito to our graduation ceremony, and every signature behind it simply is backing the ideal of having a speaker who exudes positivity and passion for life. His life has been one full of powerful messages: like that of meeting challenges head on, changing what others may see as a negative into a positive, and never becoming stagnant or complacent. Finally from a more technical standpoint, having been born in New Jersey and having a history of liberal ideals, Mr. Devito is the perfect fit for Ramapo College. To us Ramapo student’s, he truly embodies the heart of the school we truly love: Someone who may have started life as the underdog, but now shines above the rest."
It looks like the college is seriously considering the request for the May 11 ceremony, too. Ramapo reached out to DeVito, 72, via Twitter earlier last week.
Hi @DannyDeVito! 500+ RCNJ students have petitioned for you to be our 2017 Commencement Speaker. Can we chat? https://t.co/M6OiDIr03b
— Ramapo College (@RamapoCollegeNJ) December 19, 2016
However, Angela Daidone, spokesperson for the college, told NJ.com that there has not yet been a response from the actor, who grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Ramapo would be prepared to welcome the actor who was made famous for his role in the TV show "Taxi" and later went on to act and even produce big-name movies like "Pulp Fiction." In the past, the college has also welcomed New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and CBS news anchor Chris Wragge.
Who knows what he'll do, but fingers crossed for a surprise and impassioned speech like the one he gave at a Bernie Sanders rally in March.
Fingers. Crossed.
