<p>whoa, there. who said anything about less deserving? it wasn’t me.</p>
<p>i’m partial to my year because they were my class’s selection and the group of honorees included personal heroes of mine–like Paul Farmer, Shirin Ebadi, and President Cardoso.</p>
<p>you, personally, may not be a fan of Christo and Jean-Claude’s work but you can’t argue their lack of relevance. Good art is supposed to be controversial. No single installation this year generated as much controversy as theirs, and although many people griped about it, once it went up, hundreds of thousands flocked to see it. these two have been commissioned to install public art around the world for decades and by the look of it, they’re going to be around for a lot longer. for artists who think outside the box, i can certainly see how they would be an inspiration and an ideal choice.</p>
<p>the point of the honoraree degree is to recognize people that have had a significant impact on the Brown community–whether they be local philanthropists, high-profile artists, illustrious alum, internationally recognized activists, etc. by and large, i think brown has done a great job of honoring deserving people and even being ahead of the curve (we were the first to honor several dignitaries in this way, starting with George Washington more than two centuries ago, and more recently people like Kofi Anan and Shirin Ebadi)</p>