As the former executive director of Amnesty International USA, William Schulz has seen his share of misery. Yet after years of witnessing human rights abuses in trouble spots ranging from Darfur to Northern Ireland to New Orleans, and despite living in a world brimming with genocide, torture and senseless violence, Schulz says history is not in checkmate. Thanks to people of good conscience and good will, he believes, suffering humanity always has another move. Schulz delivered his message of hope to some 1,350 graduates and their guests at Ithaca College’s 112th commencement on May 20.
“Moral responsibility [is] the conviction that history is not finished, the conviction that the future is not fated, and that with our privilege, with our degrees, comes a responsibility to build a more benevolent nation, a more hospitable people, a more welcoming world,” Schulz said.
That sense of moral responsibility, Schulz added, was one of four qualities Václav Havel pledged to bring to his government when he became president of the Czech Republic in 1993. To moral responsibility, Havel added spirituality, humaneness and humility.
“That’s a truly remarkable thing for anyone to say, and especially for a politician,” Schulz said. “But I wondered . . . could it possibly be that spirituality, moral responsibility, humility and humaneness might indeed save our deeds from the dark hole of time; save our lives from the yawning maw of the world’s forgetfulness?”
Schulz, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, called upon the young graduates to follow Havel and take the high road.
“Truth takes many forms, and the wise person approaches the world with a wide measure of humility, the first thing that saves us from the dark hole of time. But though truth takes a myriad of forms, there’s one truth that remains beyond dispute, and that is that everybody’s blood flows red, that more profound than all our differences is our common suffering, and that what will save us and save the planet is a recognition of the frailty we share.”
Appreciating that quality, Schulz said, is what Havel meant by humaneness; the quality of spirituality grows from identifying with those in need.
“I’ve never been tortured,” Schulz said. “I’ve never had my arm or foot amputated, but I know plenty of people who have, and I am compelled to take a metaphorical leap from my own trivial sufferings into the hearts of strangers. And what I find there is astonishing. What I find is familiarity. Familiar hearts of every stranger, foe or friend, ally or adversary.”
As Schulz congratulated members of the class of 2007 in their achievements, he asked them to keep their hearts filled with generosity and warmth.
“Every single one of us, of course, will slip eventually into that dark hole [of time],” he said. “But to have lived with . . . attentiveness and passion will be to slip into that dark hole not with fear and trembling, not with regret or rage, but with trust and calm and gratitude.”
The Commencement ceremony began with Bill Schwab, chairman of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, welcoming the new graduates to the fold of alumni.
The assembly also heard from senior class president Alexander Moore, who joined his fellow class officers in presenting college president Peggy R. Williams and Steve White ’66, trustee and past president of the Ithaca College Alumni Association, with the class gift. In addition to $5,902 to be used for various allocations, Moore and his classmates raised $25,873 to place the class name on the garden entrance of the Athletics and Events Center, a multiple-use facility scheduled to be built in the southeast quadrant of the campus. A challenge grant from Atlantic Philanthropies matched the total designated for the A&E Center, bringing the entire class gift to a record-breaking $57,648.
In his address, Moore urged the class of 2007 to commit themselves to a shared hope and a higher purpose.
“Even though our class is just beginning its steps into the larger world, we are not a group that will be satisfied with entry-level lives,” Moore said. “Not only will we move beyond minimum wages, but we will press for more than mere minimum changes in our society. As a class, we have logged thousands upon thousands of hours serving our community as volunteers. We have been the driving forces behind programs like Alternative Spring Break, Habitat for Humanity, Community Plunge, and Relay for Life. The professional goals of our class vary widely, [but] . . . no matter what our formal titles are, we will always be individuals who contribute to our communities, enrich the lives of those around us, and readily come to the aid of those in need.”
President Williams then addressed the gathering, directing her comments to the inscription on the medallions traditionally passed out to the graduates before they enter the stadium. This year the quotation is a Chinese proverb: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The saying, Williams said, is an elegant metaphor for life.
“When the proverb was written more than 2,000 years ago, the idea of taking a thousand-mile journey was an overwhelming prospect,” Williams said. “However, describing the lengthy journey as beginning with a single step makes such a journey far more appealing and suggests it may indeed be achievable. I would say the same holds true today.”
Williams told the new graduates that the first step on their journey into adulthood begins by saying goodbye to classmates and professors and leaving a campus that has been a home for many years. Though a time of sadness, graduating from college is also a time of hope and expectation.
“Commencement is, as the word suggests, a beginning,” Williams said. “For beginning a new life, for starting a career, and for using the skills and knowledge you have acquired here at Ithaca College to succeed in the world on your own and make a difference.”
The world the new graduates are about to enter, Williams said, is greatly in need of young people who, because of their years at Ithaca College, have learned how to discern, explore and communicate.
“It is a world in need of people like you. It is a world that will welcome your talents, your knowledge, your work ethic, your enthusiasm, and your determination. It is a world in need of great leaders, professionals and advocates. And it is a world yearning for people who are comfortable with change, and who have the passion to be agents of change. . . . We do lose you now—at your best moment—confident that for each of you there will be many more ‘best moments’ to come.”
In addition to honoring new graduates, the college bestowed emeritus status on retired physics faculty member Charles Spencer.
