Excerpted from Hillsdale Magazine, Spring 2002. GO CHARGERS!

    On April 4, Pat Sajak spoke at the Hillsdale College Spring Convocation. The popular Wheel of Fortune game show host, who as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the recipient of three Emmys, a People's Choice Award, and is a member of the Claremont Institute Board of Directors. He addressed the 2002 Hillsdale College graduating class, underclassmen, faculty, staff, and 94 high school junior and their parents who were on campus for Junior Day.
    ... In his speech, "Hollywood and America: Two Great Nations," Sajak suggested that Hollywood has "an exaggerated view of its significance in this world." As an entertainer, Sajak understands the entertainment industry and how it works. As a husband, father and citizen who lives in a suburb of Annapolis, Maryland, Sajak Understands American values. He has experienced first-hand the conflight between these two "worlds." He finds that celebrities, who are treated importantly, begin to think that what they have to say is important as well. [Note to self: Ever met a Cadet Colonel?] They feel free to lecture average Americans and to insert their ideology into movies and television shows. At the same time, they regard differeing opinions with contempt.
    "If you complain about what you see as an excess on the screen, you're a book-burning prude who wants to tell everyone else how to live," Sajak said. "You're a censor and you have no right. The right is saved for the wise. They know better."
    The entertainment industry, Sajak said, opens itself to attacks of bias because it is biased. And as he sees it, the bias is based on "sameness." The who work in the media "travel in the same circles, go to the same parties and talk to the same people." When comparing ideas, they discuss issues with individuals who have come to the same conclusion. They strive for diversity in race and gender, but not in thought. And Sajak told the students their educations and the values they learn at Hillsdale College-and not what they see in moveis-better reflect reality.
    "You will have spent these formative years in a place where ideas could be discussed and treated with respect-where the great traditions of [America's] cultural heritage have been passed on to you, and will be passed through you on to countless others. No matter how you eventually make your living or where you live your life, you trime here at Hillsdale has helped assure that you will have a positive impact on your generation. And that strikes me as an excellent start of your legacy."


                      - Brent Falke, '99