Release date: May 3, 2004
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark, Assistant Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-712-8780 or bclark2@emory.edu

Sesame Street's Spinney Speaks to Emory Seniors

Photo: Victor DiNapoli

Carol Spinney, creator and voice of the legendary Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch of "Sesame Street," will give Emory University seniors one last lesson with a talk on "The Wisdom of Big Bird (And the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch)" during Emory's second annual Class Day at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 6 in Glenn Memorial Auditorium. (The event is not open to the public, but media are welcome to attend. Call Beverly Cox Clark, 404-712-8780, for more information.)

"We are excited and happy to bring Carol Spinney to campus," says Carson Sieving, an Emory senior who headed the student committee to select the speaker. "A lot of Emory students grew up watching "Sesame Street," and have a special connection to Spinney's characters. Spinney is a great speaker and we feel he'll be both entertaining and give us an opportunity to reflect on our lives up to this point as we get ready to graduate."

Although Big Bird will not make it to Class Day, Oscar the Grouch will be in attendance, Sieving says.

Spinney has earned four Emmy Awards, two gold records and two Grammy Awards for his work on Sesame Street, and the Library of Congress has named Big Bird a "Living Legend." The show itself has won numerous awards for its groundbreaking work in using the power of media to help children reach their full potential.

Class Day at Emory is an event students and administrators developed together to give undergraduates their own tradition and the opportunity to hear from a well-known speaker of their choice. The university's central commencement ceremonies will be Monday, May 10 and will feature a keynote address by former president of Ireland Mary Robinson.

The winners of the Boisfeuillet Jones Medals, given in honor of one of Emory's most distinguished graduates, also will be announced during Class Day ceremonies. Recipients are selected for their good citizenship, outstanding leadership, devoted service to Emory and the community, academic performance and potential to effect positive change in their chosen profession and society at large. The first Brit Katz Senior Appreciation Award will be given on behalf of the senior class to an Emory administrator or staff member.

Class Day is the first of three events for seniors held on the Thursday before commencement. At the Emory senior class reception from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, seniors will offer the traditional Coca-Cola toast. Following the reception, graduating seniors will take part in a ceremonial candlelight walk across the Houston Mill Road pedestrian bridge to Emory's Miller-Ward Alumni House for dessert and entertainment.

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