David Cohen, a junior studying environmental management, said he was watching the show’s series finale last week with his roommates.
At the end of the episode, Poehler’s character spoke at an IU graduation in the future. Cohen said he noticed that the commencement address was not actually filmed on the IU campus.
He said this gave him the idea to start a petition to make the unique situation a reality. The ?change.org petition has more than 2,500 signatures at the time of publication.
“The connection Poehler has to IU is undeniable, as she spent the past six years playing a Hoosier and School of Public and Environmental Affairs grad,” Cohen said. “The petition started the conversation, and I truly hope that life can imitate art in this case.”
The petition states that since 2009, Poehler and the rest of the cast have ?“captured the hearts of millions of Americans” in their portrayals as Hoosiers in the fictional town of ?Pawnee, Ind.
“I recently got an internship at the City of Bloomington, and I have to say, there are some southern Indiana correlations,” ?Cohen said.
Mark Case, Director of SPEA’s Career Development Office, said like many SPEA alums, Knope got her start in local government, but eventually worked her way up to national service before returning to her home state as governor.
“Knope herself acknowledged dramatic results don’t come easily,” he said. “As she said in the finale, ‘That’s what public service is all about: small incremental change every day.’“
Special education major Dani Reichman said she signed the petition because she is obsessed with the show and admires Poehler’s acting career.
“It would be a great way to add to the show’s legacy with actually doing what she did at the end of the show,” she said.
Cohen said Poehler is a hilarious actress, and also philanthropic and started amazing organizations like Smart Girls, an online community for young girls that encourages them to be volunteers and activists.
Cohen said it has been exciting to see the sharing of the petition and hopes his college career has an ending exactly like that of “Parks and Recreation.”
“In her commencement address, Knope channeled Teddy Roosevelt by saying she aspired to public service not because it is glamorous, but because you can work hard at work worth doing,” SPEA Dean John D. Graham said. “This is a common motivator driving SPEA faculty, students and alums, and we are proud to claim her as an honorary alum.”
