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There was a solemn atmosphere at Ohio State University on a day of celebration. Hours before the university's commencement ceremony was scheduled to begin, an attendee fatally fell 136 feet from the ceremony's venue, Ohio Stadium.
With so many families already gathered at the stadium, an estimated 60,000 people in attendance, and the event almost beginning, the university decided to proceed with the ceremony despite the tragedy.
As always, commencement speakers were chosen to offer words of wisdom to graduating seniors, but the 2024 speakers took on the extra burden of doing so amidst a cloud of despair. .
Chris Pang, a graduate of the “Social Entrepreneurship” class promoting cryptocurrencies, was reportedly hand-picked by the university president to deliver this year's commencement address.
It didn't work.
The speech was described by some attendees as “the worst commencement speech in history.” roosterreported on the bizarre speech that graduating seniors were treated to on Sunday.
Pan was chosen to conduct the ceremony, even though he had never given a speech on such a large scale. When he was first asked for his address, he reportedly thought it was a prank.
Pan revealed his anxiety about writing the speech on Facebook, revealing that he wrote part of it while using the South American hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca after a failed attempt to use ChatGPT.
“This week, with the help of AI (Ayahuasca Intelligence), I will be writing a commencement speech for 60,000 graduates and their families at Ohio State University next Sunday,” he wrote. “We are in difficult times. I wanted something special and heartfelt. (I tried chatGPT, but it wasn't that good).”
Pan later edited the post and said he relied on “higher intelligence” rather than “ayahuasca intelligence.”
In addition to his own post, he quoted author and fellow psychonaut Terrence McKenna.
“In Peru, they would say, 'This is our university. You went to Harvard, we went to ayahuasca,'” the quote reads.
What followed was a bizarre cocktail of singing, virtual currency shillings, and jewel tossing that left many in the audience stunned.
Shortly after his speech began, Mr. Pang asked the audience to stand up and sing the 1993 For None Blondes hit “What's Up?”
“When I wake up in the morning and go outside, I take a deep breath and I get really high and I scream from the bottom of my heart, 'What's going on?'” Pan sings, then adds arm movements to the song's chorus. Ta.
After the singalong, Pan began talking about investing, eventually endorsing Bitcoin as a “highly misunderstood asset class,” to boos and laughter from the audience.
He also had a power point to accompany his commentary.
Shortly after, he seemed to suggest that singing was a better treatment than antidepressants for people suffering from mental illness.
“After experiencing a severe breakup, I stumbled into singing as a wellness practice in search of emotional freedom. I felt so sad and in pain every morning. I thought about taking antidepressants, but my intuition… “I started singing it every morning,” he said. “I'm not a trained singer, but I used it as music therapy.”
He then told the crowd that he would give them all bracelets featuring a quote of his choice to remind them daily of their goals for spiritual and personal growth, saying: [were] It will come by email. ”
What did he say? The ampersand is meant to remind us of racism, but that's just not cool.
He ended his speech with yet another song, this time choosing “This Little Light of Mine.”
One OSU graduate captured the crowd's emotions during the speech in a video posted to TikTok.
“pov: You're graduating from OSU and the commencement speaker is asking us to sing and dance,” the user wrote. Mr. Pan can be heard singing in the background as the students laugh and look confused.
reporters rooster This happened because OSU President Walter Edward “Ted” Carter wanted it to happen, according to sources who spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity for fear of backlash from the university. That's what it means.
OSU commencement speakers are typically selected by the Ohio State Chancellor's Advisory Committee. The committee uses a set of criteria to determine whether a speaker is suitable for the university. The selection process considers criteria such as being an excellent speaker and being able to convey a meaningful message that is relevant to graduates.
So far, Barack Obama, Neil Armstrong, Sen. Sherrod Brown and Dr. Anthony Fauci have delivered commencement addresses at the university.
According to the people I spoke to, roosteran advisory committee prepares a short list of candidates and sends it to the university president, who has the final say.
His final say was obviously Chris Pang.
The revelations became particularly alarming after Pan revealed in a now-inaccessible social media post that Carter was a member of the board of Bitcoin mining company Terrawolf. The original social media post can still be viewed at: Rooster.
“With @ohiostatepres – he is on the board of the zero carbon Bitcoin mining company @terawulf and his daughter does psychedelic assisted therapy,” Pang wrote.
Ben Johnson, OSU's assistant vice president for media and public relations, said: independent person That Mr. Pan was on this year's candidate list.
“Chris Pang was on the list of candidates, some of them going back several years,” Johnson said. “President Carter met Chris Pang for the first time the night before Commencement Ceremony. They have no financial relationship. It is common for university presidents to serve on public and private boards of governors.”
independent person I contacted Mr. Pang.
Bitcoin enthusiasts on social media made it clear they supported the speech. A verified account called “The Bitcoin Therapist” shared a clip of Pan's speech, which included boos at the mention of Bitcoin, and celebrated the speech.
“OSU graduate Chris Pang used ayahuasca to write his commencement speech, then told 60,000 people to buy #Bitcoin to protect their purchasing power,” the account says. I have written. “What an incredible legend.”
Ben Johnson, a university spokesman, declined to comment on Pan's mention of Bitcoin during his talk, but said officials had read Pan's draft memo and the university had not approved the talk. No, he told local broadcaster WCMH.
An anonymous university official said. rooster Pan said he was “the worst person I've ever worked with” when it came to preparing graduation speeches.
The official also revealed that early drafts of the speech included numerous references to Israel and Palestine, particularly after OSU used the Ohio State Patrol to deal with protesters in Gaza last week. He then asked that references to Israel and Palestine be made as follows: It was deleted.
At least the speech was memorable.
