Springer selected as graduation speaker

EVANSTON, Ill., April 28 (UPI) -- The faculty of Illinois' Northwestern University Law School has approved the selection of talk show host Jerry Springer as this year's commencement speaker.

The student committee that selected Springer announced in an e-mail message their choice has won faculty approval despite objections from some classmates, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

Springer, a 1968 graduate of Northwestern law, confirmed Sunday that he has accepted an invitation to speak at graduation ceremonies May 16.

Some members of the law school class of 2008 said that Springer isn't an appropriate choice for commencement speaker.

"People feel like he has made his name and fame by taking advantage of people," Alex Aixala, who joined many of his classmates in signing petitions opposing Springer, told the Tribune.

Springer, who was forced to resign from the Cincinnati City Council in 1974 after he was caught paying for a prostitute, is accused of building up "The Jerry Springer Show," by exploiting people who are down and out.