I had been much, much older when I asked my own mother the same question. Finally, I answered. Mycah, it is true that we all have to die. But we live, I think, to move the human race forward. This may be the last time that the Class of 1999 sits together as a whole in the house of our common mother.
Days never return.
And so I say to you today that it is your responsibility not only to support and sustain this institution but also to take the infectious and transformational qualities of Sarah Lawrence into the next century and wherever they may be needed. My charge to you is simple and yet complex. Practice courage, because as Maya Angelou has said, without courage you cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. Affirm continually the embrace of diversity. Protect the rights of others as if they were your own.