Commencement 2021
Going Forth With Hope in a World of Change
May, as always, is commencement season. Over many years, I have attended many graduation ceremonies. They include the commencements of my siblings and some of my nieces and nephews, my own commencements, and the commencements of my children. They also include a commencement ceremony I had the privilege of attending on stage a few years ago as chair of my college’s board of trustees, as well as others I have watched in recent years by live stream.
Each commencement has, in some respects, resembled the others, yet each has had its own distinctive character. My nephew’s commencement more than two decades ago in Upstate New York was memorable in part because it snowed that May morning. I still beam with pride that my daughter was chosen a few years later to be the speaker at her middle school commencement, and I have photographs to prove that I played guitar and sang with four of my classmates at my high school commencement (longer ago than I care to admit). By some quirk of fate, the speaker at my undergraduate commencement also spoke at my law school convocation three years later (he had become that university’s president between those assignments), and I have had the privilege of hearing some incredibly impressive speakers at my children’s college and graduate school commencements (including Joe Biden between his stints as Vice President and President, and former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor Susan Rice). The day after my daughter’s college graduation, I learned that elsewhere on campus that same day the music school’s commencement speaker was Jimmy Buffett. A news photograph showed him at the ceremony wearing a robe that revealed he was also wearing shorts and flip-flops. It was the only time I wished that any of my children had chosen a different major.
This year marked the second time in our lifetimes that commencements were held during a devastating global pandemic. Because I am on the board of trustees of my college and on the alumni board of my law school, I tuned in to the live-streamed commencement ceremonies of both institutions. Ceremonies that ordinarily would have been held inside large buildings were moved to outdoor football fields, where the degree candidates sat in physically distanced seats, with most wearing masks. There were none of the usual handshakes and fewer than the usual hugs. What there was, very visibly, was relief, joy, love, and perhaps most of all, hope for better things ahead.
In a year marked by the worldwide spread of a deadly virus, political turmoil, escalating violence against minorities, and significant unrest, the over-riding themes of the student, faculty, and guest speakers were similar: challenges to go forth and work for the common good. Some identified particular causes requiring continued vigilance, including the pursuit of racial and economic justice, and action to stop climate change. One of the student speakers at my law school quoted advice she had received not just to be one of many good lawyers, but to be a truly good lawyer. (The words were the same, but the different meanings were clear.) Professor John Blume, who serves as Director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project and supervises the law school’s admirable Capital Punishment and Juvenile Justice Clinics, invited every graduating student to recite the pledge: “I promise to change the world.” That rare (probably unique) professor, who holds both divinity and law degrees from Yale and has a long track record of representing prisoners on death row, exhorted the students to devote at least some portion of their careers to alleviating suffering, poverty, and inequality. He also admonished the audience that “every person on this earth is much more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” important words of wisdom that can easily get lost amidst the tsunamis of rage that, while often justified, crash across our news and social media at unprecedented velocity with unstoppable momentum.
The ceremonies of both of my alma maters also displayed a wonderful diversity, both among the ranks of those receiving their degrees and among the speakers. Combined, the speakers included international students, Black students, a Black guest speaker, an Asian-American student, and more women than men. When I sat on the stage at my college’s commencement a few years ago and watched each student come up to receive their degree, I was thrilled at the international, racial, and gender diversity represented in the graduating class. Although America still has a long way to go towards achieving equal justice, what we are witnessing on college and university campuses is a far cry from the domestic, white-male-dominated experiences and commencement ceremonies of decades past. And that can only make us better.
As I have mentioned in past posts, I recently began a podcast (“Higher Callings”) featuring interviews of people who have devoted their careers to making the world a better place. My most recent interview, to be released this week, was of a friend who is currently on the faculty of the University of Michigan and has devoted her career to environmental sustainability, and especially to international diplomacy aimed at mitigating climate change. Her incredibly important work has included diplomatic missions at the U.S. State Department, where she led teams that successfully negotiated two important international climate agreements signed in October 2016. She told me during the interview that one reason she is optimistic for the planet’s future is that today’s young people recognize the crucial need to control climate change and are energized to do so.
I have seen that youthful energy and commitment firsthand through my work on my college’s board of trustees and as an observer of both of my alma maters’ commencement ceremonies. It has been refreshing to hear speakers strive to inspire students not so much to achieve their own material success and prosperity, but more to go forth and make a positive difference in a world marked by great suffering, serious environmental risks, and growing inequality. And it is reassuring to know that the speakers reflect the values of many of the students who applauded the remarks and received their degrees.
In his remarks at Cornell Law School, Professor Blume paraphrased the Biblical admonition, “To whom much has been given, much will be required.” Not everyone has been given much, of course, but those of us who have bear a crucial responsibility for addressing the needs of the planet and its inhabitants. Like my friend whose work has made a difference in addressing climate change, I am optimistic that today’s generations of high school, college, and university students and recent graduates will make a positive difference in what at times feels like an increasingly troubled and dangerous world. And I am hopeful that the rest of us will find ways to support the critically important work that so many of them are destined to do.