Rice urges responsibility

Optimism, the responsibilities of educated people, and the Notre Dame-Boston College rivalry - and not foreign policy or Monday's planned protest - were the subjects of U.S. Secretary of State's Condoleezza Rice's commencement address to the Class of 2006 on a sunny but windy day in Alumni Stadium.

Though many graduates and their families had worried graduation would be disrupted by loud protests of Rice, a stiff wind and glaring sun caused more headaches than the protest itself.

"She's a really good public speaker. I think she had some very good insight on education and I think that the student body did a good job, despite a lot of controversy, showing support for a good speaker," said Matt Tully, A&S '06.

Some seniors and family members had been concerned about the planned protest, but the demonstrators maintained their goal of a "respectful protest" by turning their backs to Rice as she received her honorary degree.

Any boos were drowned out by an overwhelming standing ovation from both the seniors and most in attendance. Rice began a decidedly apolitical speech with jokes about BC ruining some of the best football seasons at Notre Dame - where she got her master's degree - the Red Sox breaking "The Curse," and seniors not remembering most of the nights they spent in Mary Ann's and the Mods.

The meat of her speech focused on the responsibilities of an educated person to utilize education as the "single greatest force for equality in the world," attempting "to find your passion, to use your reason, to cultivate humility, to remain optimistic, and always to serve others."

"Never assume that your own sense of entitlement has gotten you what you have or that it will get you what you want," said Rice. "Commencement marks your opportunity, indeed your obligation, to graduate with wisdom and humility."

"Progress has been the concerted effort not of cynics, but of visionaries and optimists, of impatient patriots who dealt with our world as it was, but who never ever accepted that they were powerless to change the world for the better."

At one point, Rice stressed the educated person's responsibility to a "commitment to reason," and may have been indirectly acknowledging the protesting faculty members holding up signs to her right when she added "at those times when you're absolutely sure you are right, go find somebody who disagrees. Don't allow yourself the easy course of the constant 'amen' to everything that you say."

Compared to protests that had met Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at Columbia College and the New School in New York City last week, yesterday's protests garnered similar news coverage but were much more subdued. About 50 faculty members and 75 seniors turned their backs on the stage as Rice received her honorary doctor of laws degree from University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., and some of the faculty remained standing and holding "Not in my name" fliers as Rice gave her 23-minute speech.

The only significant disruption came a minute or so into the speech when several audience members heckled Rice while unfurling a sign that read "BC Honors Lies and Torture" and a Puerto Rican flag. The protestors stopped yelling after several seconds and were forced to take down the banners by security about five minutes later.

Earlier a plane had flown over flying a banner that read "Your war is a dishonor," but the plane left before the ceremony actually began.

Rice took the second part of her speech to encourage seniors to make commencement a "new and glorious beginning" to have an affect on the world beyond BC.

"Progress is humankind's ability to view more and more of our differences, whether of race or religion or culture or gender, not as a license to kill or a cause for repression, but as matters of no moral significance whatsoever," she said. "It is [the seniors'] responsibility as educated people to reject these prejudices and to help close the gaps of justice and opportunity that still divide our nation and our world."

The speech was well received overall, hitting on the hackneyed commencement speech truisms with no mention of Iraq, Iran, North Korea, or any other major foreign policy issue - unlike McCain, who supported the war in Iraq in both of his addresses - or the ongoing protest.

"It was a very well-written speech, and an appropriate speech to celebrate the commencement," Maggie Hurley, LSOE '06.

Rice acknowledged in the end that it was neither her nor the day itself that the 3,234 graduates were celebrating.

"What really matters is not what you have learned and not what is said to you on this day, but what you do with all the days ahead of you."