From left: Olivia Fantini ’10 and Lisa Kong ’10; Walker Nordin ’10, Andrew McCue ’10, Anders Rasmussen ’10, and Will Watkinson ’10; Lizzie Durney ’10, Maia Johnstone ’10, Jee Hee Yang ’10, and Daphne Kim ’10. Below: Emily Boghossian ’10, Xana Turner-Owens ’10, Julia Hanlon ’10, Eliza Rosen ’10, and Lovelie Tejada ’10. Below left: Steve Chi ’10.
familiar with some of the traditions of this ceremony—and let me acknowledge that my own acquaintance with these traditions began not so very long ago—our Commencement has two distinct practices that set it apart from other graduation proceedings. One is that we do not award prizes, a tradition that is rooted in our core value that all students, not just a few, deserve acknowledgment. Two other traditions involve a sock and the awarding of the diplomas: more on those later. As John pointed out, I’m about
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to finish my own freshman year at CA, a year that has been filled with discoveries of all sorts, in particular about this school’s distinctive culture: for instance, I discovered a new time zone here. Before I arrived at CA, I knew about Eastern Standard Time, Central Time, Pacific Time, Greenwich Mean Time, but I found that there is also CA Time. I’ve been urged to see this phenomenon as essential to the “creative process.” I’ve also come to see that people at CA habitually take on more than humans ought to take on, but breathless appears to be the preferred state of being here. Now, one might imagine that such a state would spawn chronic fatigue and its cousin, pessimism, but I’ve found that CA people are by and large optimists; regardless of how dark the sky may get, they see sunshine in the clouds, opportunity always in the offing. For instance, when the river was lapping at the back stairs of the Chapel last month, planners seized the moment to “float” a few ideas (sorry, I couldn’t resist; that was a farewell gift for [departing Science Department Head] Mike Wirtz): for instance, there was the idea for the First Annual CA Sailing Regatta and Fly Fishing Tournament; there was word of a new activity option, subsequently traced
to the Performing Arts Department, entitled, “Ten Things You Can Do Onstage While Waiting for the Fields to Dry Out”; and there were even reports of a new school slogan: “CA—A River Runs Through It.” I’ve also had the chance to observe this year’s senior class; I won’t say that I “made a study” of them, per se, but my daughter did just earn her degree in anthropology and I have thumbed through several of her textbooks on occasion, so I consider myself moderately qualified to offer just a few observations: For starters, these seniors are not shy; they will share opinions— about anything—wherever, whenever. They like to hug—each other,
their families, their friends, their teachers, their pets, their sports equipment, and occasionally, the trees surrounding the quad. I have heard that a petition to make hugging an intramural sport is gaining ground. They love to share their enthusiasms and their talents, whether that is performing as a kazoo chorus, building a cabin out of entirely recycled materials, bashing out a punk version of “Concord, Concord” at Senior Coffeehouse, or leading the student team to a “never-in-doubt” victory in the annual student-faculty/staff basketball game. They are very good students; they read widely, write clearly and movingly; they can talk to anyone