(Editor’s Note: Eli Rohl is a 2013 Humboldt State University graduate and a DJ on KSLG 94.1. -Andrew)

During KHUM’s Mike Dronkers chat with Humboldt State University spokesman Paul Mann last week, Mann told us that there wouldn’t be a commencement speaker for the university’s centennial graduation. Instead, there would be a presentation that related to the university’s namesake, Alexander von Humboldt.

Mann hinted that the presentation might involve a descendant of Alexander von Humboldt (“perhaps AlexandRA von Humboldt”) or a biographer that had chronicled von Humboldt’s life. He suggested that the suspense and the secrecy would culminate in something well-worth all of the to-do and hush-hushedness.

The top-secret presentation was (insert drumroll here) HSU Geography Professor Stephen Cunha dressed up (and presented) as Alexander von Humboldt. I’m certain that extreme corniness was the aim; cue some of the worst jokes about being dead you’ve ever heard. Cunha, however, carried out his task as gracefully as possible.

To be fair, any other time a commencement keynote speaker couldn’t be found, I think this would’ve been a great way to fill in the ceremony. It was very resourceful and everyone got a few yuks out of it. The presentation wasn’t bungled in its execution; it was fouled in its timing.

I mentioned last night that I found the idea of celebrating von Humboldt alongside HSU’s 100th anniversary to be a little self-defeating. Instead of celebrating the accomplishments of the students, teachers, and university community as a whole over the past hundred years, we were instead given advice by a dead guy telling jokes.

Now I understand — von Humboldt is the university’s namesake. He had a huge influence on the scientific world in the early 19th century. He’s also the namesake of a lot of other things - for instance, our fair county. Also, the fair counties in Nevada and Iowa. Humboldt University in Berlin. A Humboldt Bay was also situated in New Guinea before a name change post-WWII.

The name isn’t what’s unique; the community is. The students, faculty, area, and experience are all unique. They’re what makes Humboldt great, and we’re not going to reflect on that?

My initial fears were that we would be getting a death-by-powerpoint history lesson about von Humboldt; the fact that we didn’t is something I’m thankful for. Cunha’s portrayal of von Humboldt was a good show, but it suffered from being overhyped by HSU’s PR machine. When I saw my program, I thought, “This is it? This is the big centennial secret?”

I guess I expected a bit more for a 100th anniversary. I appreciate the university’s efforts to make it memorable and their trying to drum up excitement, but a reflection on what has made the past hundred years so special would’ve been much more palatable than the ultra-double-secret dress-up words of wisdom.

Above: How Rohl rolls.