Graduates and guests may have tears in their eyes at the close of the University of Wisconsin's winter commencement ceremony Dec. 17, but it is hard to say whether they will be tears of nostalgia or tears of laughter.

Ben Karlin, executive producer of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," will speak at the UW winter commencement. Karlin, a 1993 UW alumnus, was chosen by the 2006 senior class officers.

UW senior class officer Dylan Rath said Karlin was chosen to speak at winter commencement because his he will bring "liveliness" to the ceremony.

"The comedy in ['The Daily Show'] I think really targets some of the feelings of going to college and discussing different viewpoints in kind of a humorous manner," Rath said. "I think it'll be good to have humor at this commencement."

Paula Gray, UW commencement coordinator, said the standards for choosing a speaker are very loosely defined, but the person is often connected to the university in one way.

"There are really not a lot of guidelines that we give the students," Gray said. "It's pretty much up to them."

According to Gray, UW has only a limited budget for commencement speakers, and the university only pays for the speakers' plane tickets and hotel accommodations.

UW senior class officer Kellie Sanders said Karlin had qualities the senior class officers wanted in a commencement speaker and the officers are excited that he will be there.

"Ben Karlin is involved with 'The Daily Show,' which a lot of people know about," Sanders said. "But he also has a connection to UW."

UW senior Brain Wratney, who will be graduating this December, said although he does not watch "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report" regularly, he isn't against the idea of Karlin as a commencement speaker.

"It should be entertaining," Wratney added.

UW spokesperson John Lucas said Ben Karlin was a good choice for a commencement speaker.

"We are excited to have somebody not only with a local tie, but somebody who is doing exciting work," Lucas said. "I'm sure it's going to be a great speech for students."

According to The Associated Press, Karlin announced earlier this week plans to voluntarily resign as executive producer of the two hit TV shows.

According to a press release, Karlin received the Wisconsin Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 and his comedic influences include "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "The Late Show" and "Seinfeld."