Yesterday, second year students had to submit forms setting out how we would like our name printed on our Tuck diploma and how we would like our names to be pronounced by the graduation speaker. A couple of things came to mind:
1) No one cared about students as individuals to anything like this extent at my undergraduate institution. Little touches like this (frequently and thoughtfully delivered by the MBA Program Office) make life sweeter at Tuck.
2) Graduation is frighteningly close! Gee-whizz.
In addition to the above, a now all too familiar rigmarole required explanation. “Please read my name as Kenneth P. Fraser,” I wrote. “That’s KEN-neth P. FRAY-zer (like Laser)”. NOT FRAY-shjier like the TV show. Kelsey Grammar included an “i” (much to my chagrin). Mine is spelled – and pronounced – like the Christmas tree in your house, the River in British Columbia, the island in Australia, etc. etc. I have been consistently amazed by the reliability of this mispronunciation since arriving on these shores. In fact, I even saw “Frasier [stet] fir” scented candles on sale in Hanover at the weekend. 
Kelsey Grammer has a lot to answer for. I wonder if he was tired of having his name spelled “Grammar” and decided to make life miserable for another family. As the Reverend I. M. Jolly once sagely remarked, “There’s nothing like constant dwelling in the misery of others to keep you feeling happy with your lot.” Maybe one day, I’ll just let Mr. Grammer win and throw in an “i” for good measure. At the pace the Tuck experience is flying past, I’m unlikely to find time to do so until after graduation.
Read the full article: Blame Kelsey Grammer