Graduation is a time for reflection.
Amidst the bell ringing, the tears of joy and parting, graduation speakers have an obligation to put a stamp on the time, place, and circumstance that surround diploma granting. A stamp of time would indicate that we have just come out of the bloodiest century in recorded history, a century that has produced quantum additions to the stockpile of knowledge of science, but limited additions to the understanding of human behavior and the human condition. But, the human life span almost doubled in the last century, and, if it doubles again in this one, some of you may be here in 2100 to watch your great-great grandchildren graduate. Maybe someone will by then match Anne Dybsetter's cross country times, pitch as magnificently as Paige Stamp, whack as many home runs as Allison Rhody, or exceed Henry Bola George's physics marks. But whatever their interests, the principal question members of the class of 2100 will ponder is whether you have wisely led this, the first century of the new millennium.