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[quote=Anonymous]It's commencement season!  If you attended a commencement this year, how was it?  What did you glean about the college community, its values and its vibe?  I'm especially interested in hearing from folks who didn't attend their own kid's commencement and so, were more able to observe the ceremony and events with some objectivity.  (True confession:  I was a sociology major and am very interested in how traditions and ceremonies create community).

I'll start -- I went to my niece's commencement at Swarthmore.  It was my first time visiting the campus and I was blown away by the beauty, especially the gloriously blooming gardens.  The ceremonies were joyous and informal -- no Pomp and Circumstance; instead, the academic procession entered to a jazzy rendition of Let it Be.  Speeches were brief, but moving.  The main speaker was Bryan Stevenson, advocate for prisoners on death row and founder of the Legacy Museum and Memorial for Peace and Justice (aka, the Lynching Memorial) in Montgomery, AL.  Overall, my impression was that Swarthmore is a community that values rigorous intellectual inquiry in search of truth and a commitment to the power of the individual to do what each of us can to make the world a better place.

To those who say -- yeah, it's easy to put your best foot forward one day a year, but what are you doing every day to live your values? -- I would agree that's an important question, but ceremonies and traditions guide us as we try to walk the walk.

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