Then seniors vote for one of the top three student nominees, while the president and dean of the college select the faculty speaker out of the top three nominees. Doors will open at a. Baccalaureate will occur from 3—4 p. The college is asking guests to be seated by p. This Cornell tradition features playful and meaningful words of gratitude from graduating seniors on behalf of their faculty, family, staff, and friends, and inter-spiritual wisdom for the life journey which includes a message by Chaplain of the College Catherine Quehl-Engel, a Cornell graduate.
Other events are also scheduled throughout the weekend. Ladies and gentlemen, now entering are members of the University Faculty. Weiss Presidential Fellow, an award given each year to distinguished scholars among the tenured faculty who have sustained a career of effective and inspiring teaching of undergraduate students.
The Weiss Fellows are joined by their colleagues of the Cornell University faculty. Ladies and gentlemen, this time we acknowledge and thank the Cornell University faculty. Next in the procession are members of the University's Board of Trustees. The Trustees are led by Chairman Robert S. And now, will everyone please stand? Pollack, to their places on the platform. Members of the Board of Trustees, the faculty, administrative staff, degree candidates, and guests are in their places. The assembly is hereby called to order.
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Good morning, everyone.
Good morning, everybody. So when you look back on today, I want you to think of it as if it were a sunny day, OK? And therefore, I am going to wear my preferred commencement eye wear-- my shades. So graduates, today you're not only making your own history, you're making history for Cornell. Give yourselves a round of applause. I've never spoken at one where it's raining this hard, but that's OK. I've spoken at literally dozens, and I always wake up on commencement morning profoundly happy, with a deep sense of excitement.
After all, it's my last chance to offer advice to the students before they go off and become alumni. I realize though, that not everyone may be as excited about the prospect of a commencement speech as I am. I was on my way to give some comments at the Senior Gala, which is a dance organized by members of our graduating class, and I passed by one of the students.
He had his back to me. He's with two friends, and I clearly heard him say to them, "Let's go get a drink. I'd rather do that than listen to President Pollack give a--" and I'm paraphrasing here-- "gosh darn speech. They just cracked up, and when he turned around and saw me, it was a completely priceless moment. I hope that despite the rain, you're not feeling that way, but I will try to be brief and limit myself to just one piece of advice.
But first, again, let me congratulate you, Class of and Candidates for advanced degrees. You deserve to be so proud of yourselves. We should really acknowledge them. Please, if you know your family is, stand up and wave to them, and if not just stand up and wave.
But thank your parents and your families. It has to do with heroes and heroism. We live in tumultuous times. We live in wet times, and in such times, it's very important to have heroes.
I'm not thinking of Iron Man and his friends in the latest Avengers movie, but of something more personal-- real people who have stood fast and taken difficult actions in the face of enormous challenges. My office here at Cornell is decorated with many things-- large oil paintings that were loaned to me from the Johnson Museum, a 3D replica of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft given to me by the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and the Planetary Science and Department of Astronomy, which memorializes Cornell's participation in the spacecraft's amazing journey.
There's a clock I treasure, which was given to me by the faculty of the school where I was dean, and on and on. But what I perhaps value the most is a large photo I have of Nelson Mandela taken and given to me by the great photojournalist David Turnley. You probably know the photo. Mandela is in his 70s. He's wearing a white button-down shirt. He's standing in the prison cell he had once occupied at Robben Island, his arm extended to the barred window, a pensive expression on his face.
I've often asked myself what he was thinking about as that photo was taken. Was he thinking about the 27 years he spent in prison for actions he had taken to rid his nation of apartheid?
Was he thinking about all he'd accomplished since then? Or perhaps was he thinking about what he hadn't accomplished? About all the work that remained for South Africa to become the kind of society he envisioned? I keep that photo on my wall because Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes. He's a hero to me because of his beliefs and because of his actions. He stood for equality and for the essential dignity of all human beings, and he took courageous steps to move his nation towards one that reflected those principles.
Importantly, he also believed in forgiveness and reconciliation as essential to progress. It's always seemed remarkable to me that after he was released from prison and became president of South Africa, he invited his white jailer to his inauguration ceremony. He did that because he understood that as a leader, he needed to demonstrate clearly the level of grace-- and my notes are stuck together-- level of grace his countries needed in order to move forward.
Nelson Mandela is also a hero to me personally because of his deep respect for and understanding of the value of education. As he once said, education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. Now Mandela may be a hero, but he was not a super hero. He certainly made mistakes in both his professional and personal life, ranging from his approach to the AIDS crisis in South Africa to his relationship with his wife.
I recognize that, but he remains a hero to me made of flesh and blood, and thus imperfect, unlike super heroes who are mere cartoon characters. And one more thing about Mandela, which is obvious but bears noting-- in so many ways, he was not like me. He's not the same sex or nationality or race or religion. To my mind, it's important to have heroes who are like us, but there's nothing wrong with also having heroes who are different.
I have other heroes, of course. A street permit was denied for the party, but police eventually ended up closing down the roadway and were at the scene for hours to monitor the festivities. She can be reached at jalmendarez ithacavoice. More by Jolene Almendarez. Skip to content. Cornell released the following schedule of events regarding Commencement Weekend: Saturday, May 26 : Military commissioning: Statler Auditorium, 8 a. University reception: An ice cream social for students, their families and guests on the Arts Quad, 2 to p.
Hooding Ceremony: 5 p. A reception will follow at p. Tickets are available at www.
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