tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/commencement-14117/articlesCommencement – The Conversation2020-03-25T12:29:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1343212020-03-25T12:29:21Z2020-03-25T12:29:21ZWhy people need rituals, especially in times of uncertainty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322716/original/file-20200324-155631-nmoaxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C16%2C1011%2C645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People wear a protective mask as they attend a Hindu ritual, known as Melasti, in Bali, Indonesia, on March 22.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-wear-a-protective-mask-as-they-attend-the-melasti-news-photo/1207962816?adppopup=true">Agoes Rudianto/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, most American universities have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/us/coronavirus-university-college-classes/index.html">suspended all campus activities</a>. Like millions of people all around the world, the lives of students all over the U.S. has changed overnight.</p>
<p>When I met my students for what was going to be our last in-class meeting of the academic year, I explained the situation and asked whether there were any questions. The first thing my students wanted to know was: “Will we be able to have a graduation ceremony?”</p>
<p>The fact that the answer was no was the most disappointing news for them.</p>
<p>As an anthropologist who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrjCLvSQ_cw">studies ritual</a>, hearing that question from so many students did not come as a surprise. The most important moments of our lives – from birthdays and weddings to college graduations and <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-anthropologist-explains-why-we-love-holiday-rituals-and-traditions-88462">holiday traditions</a> are marked by ceremony.</p>
<p>Rituals provide meaning and make those experiences memorable.</p>
<h2>Ritual as a response to anxiety</h2>
<p>Anthropologists have long observed that people across cultures tend to perform <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1941.43.2.02a00020">more rituals in times of uncertainly</a>. Stressful events such as warfare, environmental threat and material insecurity are often linked with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1433.2010.01305.x">spikes in ritual activity</a>.</p>
<p>In a laboratory study in 2015, my colleagues and I found that under conditions of stress people’s behavior tends to become more rigid and repetitive – in other words, <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)00652-1">more ritualized</a>. </p>
<p>The reason behind this propensity lies in our cognitive makeup. Our brain is <a href="https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26707">wired to make predictions</a> about the state of the world. It uses past knowledge to make sense of current situations. But when everything around us is changing, the ability to make predictions is limited. This causes many of us to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301008217300369">experience anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>That is where ritual comes in.</p>
<p>Rituals are <a href="https://www.academia.edu/35257965/The_Psychology_of_Rituals_An_Integrative_Review_and_Process-Based_Framework">highly structured</a>. They require rigidity, and must always be performed the “right” way. And they involve repetitition: The same actions are done again and again. In other words, <a href="https://www.nsnews.com/lifestyle/parenting/parenting-today-rituals-give-children-sense-of-security-1.5093339">they are predictable</a>.</p>
<p>So even if they have no direct influence over the physical world, rituals <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cogs.12077">provide a sense of control</a> by imposing order on the chaos of everyday life.</p>
<p>It is of little importance whether this sense of control is illusory. What matters is that it is an efficient way of relieving anxiety.</p>
<p>This is what we found in two soon-to-be-published studies. In Mauritius, we saw that Hindus experienced lower anxiety after they performed temple rituals, which we measured using heart rate monitors. And in the U.S., we found that Jewish students who attended more group rituals had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.</p>
<h2>Rituals provide connection</h2>
<p>Collective rituals require coordination. When people come together to perform a group ceremony, they may dress alike, move in synchrony or chant in unison. And by acting as one, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpspi0000014">they feel as one</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322687/original/file-20200324-155702-5txdni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When people come together for a ritual, they build more trust with each other.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vivneal/36837209242/in/photolist-Y8bjVh-bC3J7q-eeStaw-XMdjYs-XMddM9-7J5UUq-25spuzu-2cvvYFA-24rtLoS-qokd1g-4Ap1u-RsdUmy-5jrCs9-JZLUJd-9jqNXL-MicFJd-27tJAwH-RshL8m-MdpAuF-cbG1Rw-GAHSwm-HmaGHf-8set5m-6Eh7zW-7BWtf8-3vTZ9-9GHYYi-RyQpM-2dUcrfv-YaHnuE-4VxsvP-6Z8NcB-nQrRM-6ZcN9b-egfR8-2cmmYfz-28YfEU3-RZbWH4-S7Pjeb-25x9zdW-QW9cw6-RZbDki-U5Rmkw-TYUoDu-c9yabA-osmFxS-24AXygL-y7qHeK-2ahTYdw-6LobiU">Neal Schneider?flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Indeed, my colleagues and I found that coordinated movement makes people trust each other more, and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051117301151">increases the release of neurotransmitters</a> associated with bonding.</p>
<p>By aligning behavior and creating shared experiences, rituals forge a sense of belonging and common identity which transforms individuals into cohesive communities. As field experiments show, participating in collective rituals increases generosity and even makes people’s <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/how-extreme-rituals-forge-intense-social-bonds">heart rates synchronize</a>. </p>
<h2>Tools for resilience</h2>
<p>It is not surprising then that people around the world are responding to the coronavirus crisis by creating new rituals.</p>
<p>Some of those rituals are meant to provide a sense of structure and reclaim the sense of control. For example, comedian Jimmy Kimmel and his wife encouraged those in quarantine to hold <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1eN49HjXec">formal Fridays</a>, dressing up for dinner even if they were alone.</p>
<p>Others have found new ways of celebrating age-old rituals. When the New York City Marriage Bureau shut down due to the pandemic, a Manhattan couple <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/us/new-york-couple-married-street-officiant-trnd">decided to tie the knot</a> under the fourth-floor window of their ordained friend, who officiated the ceremony from a safe distance.</p>
<p>While some rituals celebrate new beginnings, others serve to provide closure. To avoid spreading the disease, families of coronavirus victims are holding <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-burial-funeral-memorial-service-deaths-grief-cdc-20200320.html">virtual funerals</a>. In other cases, pastors have <a href="https://www.ctpost.com/news/coronavirus/article/Second-CT-man-dies-from-coronavirus-15142235.php">administered the last rites</a> over the phone.</p>
<p>People are coming up with a host of rituals to maintain a broader sense of human connection. In various European cities, people have started to go to their balconies at the same time every day to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-italy-france-spain-czech-republic-balcony-europe-doctor-nurse-a9403951.html">applaud health care workers</a> for their tireless service. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C75%2C4507%2C2870&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322676/original/file-20200324-155631-5yepe1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People in Rome gather on their balconies at certain hours, to give each other a round of applause.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Italy-Virus-Outbreak/900ef0b55e69480fb57b9ec02b649712/6/0">AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Mallorca, Spain, local policemen gathered to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEpkUawiLKA">sing and dance in the streets</a> for the people in lockdown. And in San Bernardino, California, a group of high school students synchronized their voices remotely to form a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/us/school-virtual-choir-concert-trnd/index.html">virtual choir</a>.</p>
<p>Ritual is an ancient and inextricable part of human nature. And while it may take many forms, it remains a powerful tool for promoting resilience and solidarity. In a world full of ever-changing variables, ritual is a much-needed constant.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re too busy to read everything. We get it. That’s why we’ve got a weekly newsletter.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybusy">Sign up for good Sunday reading.</a> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134321/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dimitris Xygalatas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the coronavirus spreads and life comes to a standstill, people are coming up with a host of rituals to maintain a sense of order and human connection.Dimitris Xygalatas, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1172302019-05-16T10:41:11Z2019-05-16T10:41:11ZThis commencement speech had nothing but questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274731/original/file-20190515-60570-1ip382s.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students hug after a ceremony at Tufts University May 3. The ceremony celebrated 58 students who are the first in their family to receive a college degree.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Miller/Tufts University</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Editors note: At a special ceremony for first-generation college graduates at Tufts University, James Glaser, dean of the school of arts and sciences, gave a commencement speech comprised entirely of questions. The slightly edited text of the speech is as follows:</em></p>
<p>What if I told you that because a university is a place of questions – and hopefully some answers – that I have decided to give my remarks to you entirely in the interrogative? Is this OK with you?</p>
<p>Are you better off now than you were four years ago?</p>
<p>What has happened in these four years? How much has changed?</p>
<p>Did you experience great success? Did you experience failure, and if so, did you learn from it?</p>
<p>Did it take perseverance, resilience, grit and a few all-nighters to get here?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274727/original/file-20190515-60570-19n4dge.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">James Glaser, dean of school the arts and sciences at Tufts University, addresses first-generation college students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tufts University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Did you become more civically involved? Were you able to connect what you learned outside the classroom with what you learned inside the classroom?</p>
<p>Have you looked at any of the work you did first year and said “Oh my God!”?</p>
<p>Did we encourage you to question authority?</p>
<p>Did you meet someone special? Would you believe that my 5’1" sister met her 5’4" husband in a short story class? Have you made lifelong friends?</p>
<p>Through your years in college, have you become more independent and confident and wise? And have you come to appreciate your parents and families more?</p>
<p>Do you have gratitude for some of the staff and faculty who have taught you and mentored you and guided you?</p>
<p>Toward the future, will you keep in touch? Will you make a difference in whatever large or small way you are able?</p>
<p>Ladies and gentlemen, will you please join me in congratulating our students upon their graduation?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Glaser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At a special commencement ceremony for first-generation college graduates, a dean gave a speech made up of nothing but questions.James Glaser, Professor, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/419982015-05-22T10:18:45Z2015-05-22T10:18:45ZWhy commencement still matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82107/original/image-20150518-25412-168p4md.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's an annual ritual, but commencement still has value.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=graduation&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=95715637">Commencement image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We have entered one of the most pleasant rites of spring and summer – commencement season. </p>
<p>As a teacher at the University of Oklahoma for more than 20 years, I attend our ceremonies once every three years as part of my faculty responsibilities. Though my attendance is a service obligation of my department and my university, I inevitably end the evening vividly remembering the excellence in performance and character that I have witnessed over the past year. </p>
<p>I attend commencement – now without complaint – because I recognize that I need its ritual and ceremony as much as students and their families do. Even when the commencement speakers occasionally seem to be offering no more than another heaping helping of slow-roasted banalities, the totality of the experience – especially visiting with the families of my students – returns me, without fail, to the optimistic and idealistic frame of mind that led me to be a teaching scholar in the first place.</p>
<p>If ever I find myself unable to return to that emotional place, it will be a sure sign to me that it is time for me to move on. </p>
<p>So, what should we be thinking about at commencement – in addition to how far we have traveled on a difficult individual mission? To what other great works should we commit ourselves?</p>
<h1>Money, dreams, debts and decisions</h1>
<p>All the daydreams from which one’s future plans originate are idealized images that experience must and will “bring down to earth.” I used to wonder what my professors did with what I believed was the vast wasteland of time that existed between their class meetings with me and my colleagues. </p>
<p>I imagined them in their offices, relaxed and contemplating important problems from a safe distance. This vision, I now realize, conveys more about my own need for peace, reassurance and stability back in my teens and twenties than it did about what university faculty did or should do. </p>
<p>Of course, it did not occur to me to ask my professors what they did. I did not know that universities expect more of professors than teaching and research. I did not fully appreciate then that the same stress that I felt while striving to get an assignment “right” and done on deadline might also be integral to whatever career I would choose for myself. </p>
<p>I must note an additional difference between my life as a student and the student experience today: college cost far less when I attended 30 years ago than it does now. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/82108/original/image-20150518-25415-9qq2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Today, students graduate with a heavy burden of loans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=FvW_PZM7suVkXPdkgbxvKA&searchterm=graduation%20student%20loans&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=119968390">Hat image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>I was able to save for two years (while living at home) so I could devote my junior and senior years entirely to my academic work. Boy, was I fortunate! I did not begin to incur any student debt until I was halfway through graduate school.</p>
<p>As college costs go up and as loans become an increasing part of a student’s load, the path that I followed between 1979 and 1984 is simply no longer open to many students whose economic situations resemble mine 30 years ago.</p>
<p>When we commit ourselves at commencement to renewing the highest values of our society, let us see what we can do to change this. If we do not, we run the risk of having students choose majors based solely on the always shaky promise that they will earn enough in this or that career to pay for school. </p>
<h2>The teacher’s workplace has pressures</h2>
<p>It is to the everlasting credit of my undergraduate mentors that I never learned that the academy is like any other workplace: people, possessed by vanity and anxiety, feud and compete over the stupidest things and sometimes act out of the worst of motives.</p>
<p>I have since learned that “hostile work environments” are not restricted to the corporate boardroom, the temporary cubicle office of the often equally temporary white collar worker, or those who toil at the modern versions of the assembly line.<br>
I have had much to learn about this particular world of work. I am a fortunate one. To an extent that was not true in my student days, universities rely more and more on temporary and at-will employees to do the bulk of undergraduate teaching. </p>
<p>These highly trained faculty are far more <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/24/exploitation-of-adjunct-professors-devalues-higher-education">vulnerable</a> to all kinds of pressures –- including those from entitled students and their entitled parents when their “star pupil” is shown to be a <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ936788">cheater</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to these kinds of pressures, of course, they are often <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/06/adjunct-professors-get-poverty-level-wages-should-their-pay-quintuple/">not paid a living wage</a>. As we observe the pageantry of commencement and as we recommit ourselves to doing good and doing better, we need to end these practices before they devalue the experience of learning for all concerned.</p>
<h2>There is value in commencement</h2>
<p>The University of Oklahoma <a href="http://www.koco.com/news/ou-moves-commencement-ceremony-to-lloyd-noble-center/32891026">canceled commencement</a> this year because of a severe tornado threat. As difficult as this was for students, parents and faculty, it only changed the scene, not the substance, of that day. </p>
<p>Those who missed the chance to “walk” for their degree have the satisfaction of knowing that they were all part of a historic moment created by nature — and endured without loss of life or serious injury. </p>
<p>Because the value of struggling to improve one’s self and one’s world remains vibrantly alive among students and teachers the world over, commencement still matters, even when the ritual itself must occasionally be canceled to make way for stormy weather.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Keppel is a member of the University of Oklahoma Chapter of the American Association of University Professors..</span></em></p>As students walk to receive their certificates on commencement day, what are the thoughts of their teachers who stood at the same place some decades ago? What has changed?Ben Keppel, Associate Professor of History, University of OklahomaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/414802015-05-13T10:17:35Z2015-05-13T10:17:35ZWhen the US president is a commencement speaker, the number of years in office matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81439/original/image-20150512-25038-193hbhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Who is the audience for the commencement address?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/5719884910/in/photolist-9HrUvm-ejEha9-9JhbSA-aCh9AP-6o1EKg-9TnBXc-9Jensk-nNXsFK-bVAQJZ-dTq81-4TUGsA-PvMMZ-6vqkxN-ehBaGr-6uBgup-82K41h-6pSfE5-fXSpx-nft5hS-WJauM-4zyCk5-eP6gXL-9UrYZA-8PnfZw-ceKSDy-qj2Q7M-ceKT1E-qrcStX-p4WEC8-ehBam6-9K8dFd-asPJ8B-7YgXXb-83Vx8R-7Y4mZc-LDKoR-5jJ4CJ-bmh27j-9by1oF-9JhbAN-9Jhc3b-geg5J-6oUgKF-814Vk8-6q3McZ-bQwpKi-gVSVQ-Q25RF-7Y4nQc-p88rzN">Penn State</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s commencement season again. Some universities bring in famous people for honorary degrees. Some stick to the old standby of a speaker chosen from among the graduates. And some go political – choosing a candidate or an elected official.</p>
<p>Every year, one or two schools get to hear from the president of the United States. When the news comes that the president is coming to speak at a university’s commencement ceremonies, the reaction is often mixed.</p>
<p>Predictably, some students and families will protest the presence on campus of a leader with whom they vehemently disagree. Also expected are the reactions of others who are thrilled to have a president they like, on such an important day.</p>
<p>Regardless of the reaction leading up to the speech, the remarks of US presidents are often something to be remembered by those in attendance and by a broader audience. </p>
<h2>What will the president say?</h2>
<p>The speeches often have a very different tone depending on the timing of the remarks. Early on in a presidency, the speeches often sound a lot like a stump speech, focused more on the audience outside the stadium than within. Toward the end of a second term, however, presidents tend to focus more on legacy building and reflection.</p>
<p>After 20 years of working in and around politics and communications, I’ve started an academic career teaching strategic political communication and public relations. I’m studying the content of presidential commencement speeches – how they’ve changed, what they’re meant to accomplish and how they evolve throughout a presidency. </p>
<p>I’m learning there is a cadence to the life cycle of a two-term president’s commencement addresses that’s surprisingly similar.</p>
<p>Early first-term commencement addresses by presidents (from the mid-1970s to present day) tend to focus more on politics and policy and less on the graduates themselves.</p>
<p>When President Jimmy Carter <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7552">spoke</a> to graduates of the University of Notre Dame in 1977, the speech focused on foreign policy. He said, “…I want to speak to you today about the strands that connect our actions overseas with our essential character as a nation.”</p>
<p>In his remarks, he built on the messages of his inaugural address, saying, “I’ve tried to make these premises clear to the American people since last January. Let me review what we have been doing and discuss what we intend to do.”</p>
<p>In my review of the transcript of his remarks, the graduates themselves were referenced directly in the first 476 words of the speech and again in his final 15 words of the 3,197-word speech. But the entire middle section of his remarks – fully 85% of his speech – focused on advancing Carter’s foreign policy goals and accomplishments.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81441/original/image-20150512-25044-wtgzqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Speeches by presidents in their first term tend to focus on policy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&search_tracking_id=jFKcBns3RYT-gPHx3eH-Gg&searchterm=a%20row%20of%20women%20graduating&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=208784257">Graduates image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>Similarly, when President George H W Bush <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/bush/speeches/speech-3421">addressed</a> Texas A&M University in 1989, the focus was primarily on the Soviet Union and the sunset of the Cold War. </p>
<p>He prefaced his policy section to graduates by saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We are reminded that no generation can escape history. Parents, we share a fervent desire for our children and their children to know a better world, a safer world. And students, your parents and grandparents have lived through a world war and helped America rebuild the world…and today I would like to use this joyous and solemn occasion to speak to you and to the rest of the country about our relations with the Soviet Union.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>He then spoke for the remainder of his address – 80% of the remarks – about his priorities and plans to address global issues.</p>
<p>Speeches by <a href="http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/50982a.htm">President Ronald Reagan</a>, <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=56140">President Bill Clinton</a>, <a href="http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020601-3.html">President George W Bush</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/us/politics/13obama.text.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">President Barack Obama</a> early in their presidencies also kept to the “policy/agenda” message strategy.</p>
<h2>Address changes in the second term</h2>
<p>On the other end of the spectrum, presidents nearing the end of their time in office often bring a more reflective, graduate-centric approach to the remarks, while also solidifying their legacies. If new presidents focus on the “commander-in-chief” part of their jobs, presidents toward the end of their careers seem to relish the role of “wisdom imparter,” with a dash of legacy building thrown in.</p>
<p>For instance, President Reagan, in <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=35847">remarks</a> at the US Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony in 1988, spoke about the Coast Guard, its members and its successes for 45% of the speech.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The 1982 speech of President Reagan.</span></figcaption>
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<p>He devoted 55% of the speech to reminding the audience of his administration’s work on addressing the nation’s drug problem and its progress in relations with Moscow.</p>
<p>In his <a href="http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070428-3.html">remarks</a> at Miami Dade College in 2007, President George W Bush remarked extensively on the successes of the class of 2007 and told stories of the graduates themselves.</p>
<p>He used these stories, including that of immigrant Gwen Belfon, a single mother from Trinidad and Tobago, to highlight his administration’s work on immigration reform. He said she and other graduates were helping to “…maintain the promise of the United States of America,” which “…requires that we remain an open and welcoming society.”</p>
<p>Bush said, “Over the years, America’s ability to assimilate new immigrants has set us apart from other nations.” He used the opportunity to push Congress to advance his legislation in service to this “promise” of America.</p>
<h2>Address to the graduates</h2>
<p>In a commencement address at Notre Dame in 2009, Barack Obama continued his push for cooperation and unity - a message he had made a centerpiece of his campaign. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Moreover, no one person, or religion, or nation can meet these challenges alone. Our very survival has never required greater cooperation and greater understanding among all people from all places than at this moment in history.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This emphasis on unity was especially noteworthy due to controversy surrounding Obama’s position on abortion and his speech to the Catholic university. </p>
<p>With President Obama’s second term wrapping up next year, the commencement addresses he gives between now and 2016 are likely to focus on the graduates themselves and the world they’ll be entering. Remarks on May 10, 2015, in South Dakota have proven this to be true so far.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">President Obama’s 2015 commencement speech.</span></figcaption>
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<p>President Obama’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/08/remarks-president-lake-area-technical-institute-commencement-ceremony">message</a> to graduates of Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota, was much more reflective in tone and focused more on the graduates themselves. He shared stories of graduates in attendance, and said,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“So that’s why I came here today – to this little tiny school, in this little tiny town. I didn’t come here to inspire you. I came here because you, the graduates, inspire me. That’s why I came here.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He also used the occasion to tout his administration’s proposal for free community college tuition for all Americans, saying, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“So as a country, we can’t afford to let any striving American be priced out of the education they need to get ahead. For everybody willing to work for it, we need to make two years of community college as free and universal as high school is today. It’s the right thing to do.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>President Obama has one more graduation season left. If past is prologue, we’ll hear more reflection and less stump speech from this commander-in-chief, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Glover Konfrst is registered to vote in Iowa with the Democratic Party </span></em></p>American Presidents tend to use the commencement address to address the audience outside than within the graduation hall. This changes though if they go on to a second term.Jennifer Glover Konfrst, Assistant Professor of Public Relations , Drake UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/356692014-12-19T01:49:05Z2014-12-19T01:49:05ZYou can make a difference: Nobel Laureate’s advice to graduates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67620/original/image-20141218-31021-ah94a5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty says all graduates can make a difference</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=221215363&size=huge&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTQxODkwMjgzNiwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMjIxMjE1MzYzIiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDIyMTIxNTM2MyIsImsiOiJwaG90by8yMjEyMTUzNjMvaHVnZS5qcGciLCJtIjoiMSIsImQiOiJzaHV0dGVyc3RvY2stbWVkaWEifSwiYXVQRjF6YmFHYUQ2YXI1QmYyUzhJSFdMM0xVIl0%2Fshutterstock_221215363.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=iDaRNoJS6L5KosL5o4r1IQ-1-10">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Peter Doherty delivered the following speech at a graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University this week.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The first thing to say to new graduates is: congratulations! Special congratulations to the academic stars who aced all the exams and finished at the top of the list. And congratulations to those who partied a lot, had a great time and still managed to make it through. Both groups will have learned valuable, though perhaps different, skills. Congratulations also to the families, parents and significant others who supported you through these years. Sometimes you could no doubt be trying, but all is forgiven! It’s time to celebrate!</p>
<p>Most of the graduation addresses I’ve given have been in the USA, where this occasion is known as “Commencement”. There’s a ceremony like this, and the band plays Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, which most Australians of my generation know as the most jingoistic of all English songs, “Land of hope and glory”. Once, I was totally upstaged when two of us gave “Commencement” talks one after the other. I spoke first then the black American singer/poet Maya Angelou stood up and, instead of talking, sang. It was fantastic!</p>
<p>Commencement is a good word though, because that’s what graduation is, a beginning. You’ve hopefully learned some skills and you are leaving the undergraduate world with a valued certificate that has taken a deal of effort to achieve. That is an ending, but it’s not the end in any sense. What counts now is how you use what you’ve learned. Where do you go from here? Some will have learned very practical skills that can be applied immediately. </p>
<p>Others might be moving to postgraduate courses in medicine or other aspects of the caring professions. Those paths can be very straightforward and give a life of great satisfaction. Others will be thinking of many different options and some will gravitate to areas where they had never contemplated working. I graduated in veterinary science and had no thought of being involved in basic biomedical research, but that’s where I ended up.</p>
<p>Thinking of the USA and Australia, the challenges and opportunities can be both similar and different. With 300 million plus people in the USA, there is obviously much more diversity of (and opportunity in) business activity. The USA also has a much greater proportion of its population living in inland cities and small towns. Some of their top institutions, like Cornell and many of the big state university campuses, are in country towns. That’s partly a consequence of the landscape, but it is also obvious that Australia would do well to decentralize, a development that could be greatly enhanced by ultrafast internet availability and developments like high speed, inter city rail.</p>
<p>We have a great and unique country: 23 million people in a land mass that is the same size as the continental United States. How we use that resource will obviously influence our future as a nation, and that’s where some of you will undoubtedly find your career paths. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Australia’s future must be progressively decoupled from fossil fuel exports. That creates big challenges, but it should also suggest opportunities, particularly in the agriculture, energy and tourism sectors. Some of you will be well qualified to take those on.</p>
<p>Are we making the best possible use of our land and water resources? Are they being exploited in a sustainable way? Here there must be opportunities for innovative thinking, inventiveness and dedicated effort. And don’t give up on the political process! I’m sure all of you are registered to vote, but it is the case that many young Australians have not taken that step. Anyone who thinks that his or her vote does not count need only look at the policy differences between the present and immediately past federal governments. Being able to vote in a democratic election is a precious right that must be preserved. And, if you don’t like the way the political parties are currently operating, get involved and change that equation.</p>
<p>Partly because of the nature of the media and the incredible diversity of content (from great information to dangerous nonsense) that’s available via Google, there is a general concern that the era of the Enlightenment that has so driven human progress over the past 350 plus years may be coming to an end. Is there a general “retreat from reason”? Of course, none of us operate solely by reason and we would be intolerable if we did. But facile myth and lies crafted by professionals to serve the interests of those who can never have enough wealth and power can, if we are to continue to prosper, be no substitute for a dedication to evidence based reality. That is the tradition universities exemplify: we lose faith with ourselves and with the culture of western civilization if we fail to embrace that truth.</p>
<p>A university education provides particular skills depending on your subject area. What it should also convey in every faculty is a commitment to skepticism and evidence-based reality. The first question on hearing some controversial claim or viewpoint should always be: what’s the evidence?“ Then, "how good is the evidence?” And finally, “has the evidence been interpreted correctly?” Apply that filter to what we hear and see and we will continue to enjoy life in a vibrant, and inclusive democracy. Whether you’re on a school committee, a local council or have input on a larger scale, applying the skepticism/evidence rule and taking the time to convince those around you is likely to lead to more substantial and more sustainable outcomes.</p>
<p>One final point I’d like to make is that there’s a place for each and every one of us when it comes to preserving the uniqueness and (at times) harsh beauty of the country we call home. Some few of you may be able to serve that goal as farmers, pastoralists, environmental scientists, field zoologists, botanists and so forth, but that type of opportunity won’t be available to most. That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t play a part in agitating to preserve good agricultural land and water resources, in protecting native flora and fauna and in the continuation of appealing landscapes.</p>
<p>Perhaps your choice might be to work via local politics, or to become involved in the activity we’ve come to call “citizen science”. Examples are spending a bit of time counting birds for researchers associated with organisations like Birdlife Australia, watching for (and reporting on) illegal dumping or river degradation, or picking your own target in nature to monitor and record via organisations like Earth Watch. The natural world that sustains us has never been in more need of our help and, whether we act as professionals or part-timers, there are plenty of ways to become involved. Be an actor, not a spectator!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter C. Doherty is on the board of The Conversation.</span></em></p>Peter Doherty delivered the following speech at a graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University this week. The first thing to say to new graduates is: congratulations! Special congratulations to the…Peter C. Doherty, Laureate Professor, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.