Table Of Content

m I tuaa 'k^cwkn %. ôKesi Sv/cfe tjeoiboole {)0/L Uwi(>eiisity 1824 ^(tE gônesi Poad 27106 Sv/iHSton-Saem, JlfC 2007-2008 Q/bPiMfc 1O6, opening the howler This Welcome to year's Howler is all about Wake the Wake Forest community. Forest. We hear the word "commu- Welcome nity" around here so often that Home I wonder if it has begun to lose its meaning. Well, as you flip through the pages ofthis book, remember the community you have here. 2007-2008 Remember the overwhelming and supportive response towards the Prosser family upon Skip Prosser's death. Think about the solidarity between faculty and students when the an- nouncement about facuhy apartments was made. Consider the potential the new Deacon Boulevard com- plex has in building the rela- tionships among students and between Wake Forest and the city of Winston-Salem. Remember that Wake Forest is a place, but it is also a home. Here's to Wake Forest... photosraphsprovidedby: WakeForest University/ Injnr the howler 2007-2008 T , HwlfnTiM "The Reform Generation and History^ Mysterious Cycle" Presidenthj,atch. distinguished facultyqflcf.staff, families, friends, andaboveall. membersoftheveryaccomplishedC/os'iS^ of2003:"'^' ' Ifis both an honorandaJoytobeable toJoin you today Thisisan extraordinaryinstitution, youareanextraordinarygen- eration, OS /// be insisting t(Sfday andyou haveat thisuniversityanextraordinarypresident / firstbegan readingNathan hiatchs worl^wifhadmiration ar^d togreatprofitalmost20 yearsago.And thenIhad theopportunity to get toJ^whim It isoneoffife's greatevents fo'get tomeeta writeranda thinker you admire -andit's even better tolearn thafTheperson in question isas warm, thoughtfulanddel'igptful in person as he orshe is in print. Ifdoesn't alwayshappen that way. PresidentHatch isa scholar a thinlêfanda daeifiabout thebestcombination in acollegepresi- dentIcan imagine. Yc^f-^lijcky to havehim. Asyouallprobablyknow, the worstkindofspeech togiv—e is acommencementaddress. ThepeopleIn theroom whomattet areabsolutelyeveryone—parents, graduates, teachers except thepersongiving thisspeech. Carefulacademicstudies haveshownhowspeechesofthis sortare remembered. Fourpercentofcommencementspeechesarerememberedbe- causetheywere reallygood. Twenty-twopercentofcommencementspeechesarerememberedbecause theywerereaiht. bad. Forty-sixpercentofcommencementspeechesare rememberedbecause theywereway toolong. Therestofthe respondents said theycouldn'trememberasinglewordofwhatwassaidwhen theyearned theirdegree. ThisstudyIjustcitedwasmadeupoutatwholecloth, andifyoueverdosucha thing, youwillbehauledbeforeadlscipUr^ arybodyora Congressionalcommittee, But thespiritofthosenumbers iscertainlyright, andtil tryhardtobear them In mind today The folksmostlikely to remember todayareyourparents. Can weofferahandfor them?I thoughtbeingaparentwas easyuntilIbecameone. It is oneof the flaws in thewaywe'rebuiltthatItisnotpossible forasonoradaughter toknow howmuch love, pr'idî, anxiety concern, interestandJoythata childbringsaparentuntil thechild inquestionhaskidsof — hisorherown.At thatmoment, weunderstandwhatourparents went through butouf-kidsdon'thave a clueas tohowwe are feeling orwhatwearegoing tt^jjough. Itkeepsgoing on like that, but. somehov\/, wehave surviveddsa species. And th'is^xplains whygrandparentsandgrandchil- m dren aresoclose. Whatdo theyhave incommon?Acommonenemy S^ I learned from myfriendSamanthaPower thegreat writer hhfnan rights activistandfellowRedSoxfan, thatnoaddressof thissort iscompletewjthout theclassic baseballlesson, my first lesson of this speech. And since Wake is such a fine txiseball school, that isagreat'place tobegin. Iquotehere theversiondf^reda fewyearsbackbySamantha: "Oneofthe reasons I loveb<^^^l! is that thebestplayers in thegamehit .300. Tha^Means thatsevenoutfit ten trips to theplate, they grab ' thebateagerly, slep into the batters'box. failat their task, anmreturn totheirdugouts, shouldersdroopedin'despaif!(i| (seball-playingsonwould note thatthlêavesoutwalksandtheon-base-percentage, butnevermind.) Vneverknow. In failing, whatyouareinspiring inothers".Samanthaconcludes. "Areyoulegitimatinga wayofseeing? wayofbehaving?(Toswitchsportsmetaphors]areyoumoving theballdown the fieldJustan inch?" So itmayseemstrange tostartoffwith thislesson, butdaring tofail is theonlyway tosucceed. It'sessential toacceptthat\ life willalwayshandyoudefeatsas wellas victories, andwhatmatters is whatyou do withbothofthem. Being prepared ft. lose is theonlyway to win. Being willing tostrikeoutIs theonlywaytohit .300.And. wlien itcomes topoliticsandpubliclife, remember that, thankGod. in a democracyJustas thereareno finalvictories, therealsoareno finaldefeats. I wouldalsocommend to you anotherlesson, which Is topleasecultivateasenseofhumor, especiallyasenseofhumor aboutyourself. Ifyouwriteanewspapercolumn, youhearalot from thosecriticsnow. thanks toe-mail. Theyareeven tougher than theverytoughest teachers youhadhereatWake andsomeofwhat theywritemecaneven berepeate3ddIn i politecompany Myfavoritecriticoncewrote: "DearMr Dionne:Areyouasdumb inperson?'"IfnothingelsecomesofhI talk, you'llatleastbeable toanswerthatquestion foryourself. photographsprovidedby: WakeForest University copyprovidedby: E. J. Dionne's Commencementaddress commencement 2008 Mostofourverybestpublic servants havechieristiedwit. ironyand laugt)ter Ttieyneeded it to survive in fhe worl< f/iaf ttiey did. Ttie late TexasGovernorAnn Richards is a primeexample. Richardsonceobserved that thepriceofgasolinehadgot- ten sohigh that Texas women who wanted to run over theirhusbands had tocarpool. Shealsoregularlycitedagentleman calledCarlParkerwho said: "Ifyou tookall the foolsoutoftheLegislature, it wouldnotbea representativebodyanymore" — Another trulyamusing politician—not for whathedid, but whathe said in rather direcircumstances is formerGovernor EdwinEdwardsofLousiana. He was indictedsooften thatheonce toldvoters that theyhad toknowhe washonest—be- causenoonehadbeen acquittedasoften as hehadbeen. Heeventuallywent to the slammer buthe stillhadan unusual senseofself-awareness. Running in themiddleofadeep recession againstan incumbent, hesaid: Ifyou re-electmyoppo- nent, there willbenothing leftforme tosteal. Healsosaid: myopponent issodumb thatit takeshim twohours to watch60 lînutes. Andwatching thiscampaignhas occasionallybrought tomindIvlarkShields'storyabouta politicalconsultant for a less than inspiring candidatewho advisedas follows: 'Youcan foolsomeof the peopleallofthe time. And thoseare theones you shouldconcentrateon". ButShieldscan laugh atpoliticianseasilybecausehebelieves indemocracy'somuch Therefore, a third lesson: nomatter howwell-educatedyou fee!yourself tobe. never ever treatwithcontefDptordisrespect thosewhohave less formaledu- cation than you do. Nomatterhowmuch you thinkyou know, pleasedontfall into thetrapof}gnoring the insightsand the wisdomof those whoareoftendescribedas"ordinarypeople"butareanything butordinary. Ifyou believe In democracy you mustbelieve in theJudgmentsof thoseextraordinaryordinary people. Thegreat theolo- gian ReinholdNiebuhroffered the finestaphorismI knowon behalfofdemocracy "MojjScapacityforgoodmakes democ- racypossible",hesaid, "tvlan'scapacity forevilmakesdemocracynecQssar)/:Weneeddemocracybecause ifallowsus to aspire to theJoysofself-rule. Wealsoneeddemocracybecause it^cepts theneedJa^^fctt®people theopportunity to check thepowerful—especiallywhen thepowerfulabUSQ-tîr powet. In his finebook, 'TheDemocratizationofAmeri^n(îst'ianit^. your presidentHatchnoted that theAmerican Revolution "dramaticallyexpanded thecircleofpeople whc^^/kiered themselves capableof thinking for themselvesaboutissues of freedom, equality sovereignj^mndrepresent(JI^^MBâvean aristocracy in the Unite^tateÛean aristocracyof a^ everyone, as a friendofmine^^mb say You ''^^P^tKSSSBn/^fîf^l^Jltt^^B^^^m^bering thatevery singleperson on thisearth-^^^^poof,'form!êducat^SoS^^îBSa^^^^9^KouO^Hôwandcan teach you things you need toknot Which leads to—anotherruh leeffective inlife, you reallyi fjvsom'ething. Youcan'tgi\/ on theneed to keep learning ever Remi the w'orocrMde^prnnmenceivent"me hning'not'end' You canhavegood intenti^ pu canhave thebestgoals in the world. But ifyoudont take thet'ir. I learn specificskills, specific facts, to know wh lU'redoingandwhatyou're talkingabout, you won'teverbeable toi jeor fixanything. MyfriendBillGalston isa p^Bkop/ierofaverypracticalbent. Heoncewrote: 'There'sa big distincW^pefween embracing theproposition thatman cWSnotlivebybreadaloneandnotbothering tolearnhowabakeryop^Bes in themodern world. Therearenewand mprOvedwaysofbakingbread thatmakebreadmoreavailable, morec^^ply tomorepeople': I love whatBillsaidbecau e(A.) Bill takeswhathas becomeacliche, even ifit isaverynobleone, amnâkes itfresh, and (B.) He shows thataphilos-êrcanbepractical. Breadmaynotbe themostimportantthing, butitsuielyisimportantand you'dbetterknowhowit's/JBe. Notabe07nefaplwr''fs>rlife. Practicalityshouldnotbemade theaiS>Kof themoraland the idealistic.Justas idealism is not tneenemy ut practicunty. And thatgetsme to theone big pointI want to make today It is a pointabout you and yourgeneration. Yourgeneration is poised tobecomeoneof thegreat reforming generations In ourcountry's history - Ifyoudecide to take on thischallenge. The Reform Generation and Historys Mysterious Cycle" / drew the titleoftliis talk fromFranklin D Roosevelt'sgreat 1936speechat theDemocratic NationalConvention. Ronald Reagan lovedFDR. consider ita bi-partisan reference. Thereweremanylinesin thatspeech I loveandI willgivejusta tadofpoliticalcontent to these remarksbyciting onedifmy favorites: "Bettertheoccasional faultsofa government that d^ lives in a spiritofcharity thar^fheconsistentomissions \government frozen in the iceofitsown indifference"Ido think that's true. But what'smostrelevant for' ttooddaayyll^9^îi:s moment in Roosevelt'sspeech: 'Thereis a mysteriouscycle in humanevents",Roos- eveltsaid. 'To somegenerationsmuch isgiven. Ofothergenerationsmujcokk'isseexxppeecctteedd.. T1hisgenerationofAmericanshas a rendezvous withdestiny. k^( / believe those wordsapplynnore trulyto yourgeneration than to anyothersinceFDRaddressed them to whatcame to beknown as theGreatestGeneration. Ofcourse theGreatestGeneratiSÎSMSifedandtempered byDepressionand — war didn'tknowat the timethat they wouMbecome TheGreatestGener^pn. andyoudon'tknowyet whetheryou will be thenextGreatGeneration. ButIbelievepB™youcanbeand, ifImaybe%' b6ld, Ibelti^veyou willbe Now the surestindmption ofCreeping middleage Isa proclivity towardwhi spaechesatx)utwhat's wrong with thenew generation. PerhaWmwbecauseIdon't want tohidveanything to do withcreSj gmiddleage, I have a verypositiveand entirelyuncranky of yourgeneration. — Yourgeneration has beenexceptional in itsde\^tion to service in tutoring andmentoring, atsoup kitchensandhome- lessshelters, inenvironmentalprogramsandcommunityorganizing. Youcombine theidealismofthesixtieswith theprac- ticalconcernsof thegenerationsofthe 1980sand the 1990s. It's wrong tostereotypegenerations, butsinceI'mpraising you. Ididn't thirikyou wouldmind. You'remore practical thanmanywhocameoutofthe 1960sandmore idealistic than manywhocameoutof the 1980s. You wont todogood, butyou want thegoodyoudo to last. You're willing to takerisks, but youarenot foolhardy You havedoubtsoboutpolitics, butyou're willing togive politicsachance. Youhavenoillu- sions, butyoudohavehopes. Thehealthybalance I see inyourapproach to theworldwasnicelycapturedexactly 100yearsagoby Theodore Roos- eveltwhenhesaid: "Ablindandignorantresistance toeveryeffortfor thereformofabusesand thereadjustmentof society representsnot trueconservatism, butan incitement to the wildestradicalism; forwiseradicalismand wise .. conservatism gohandinhand, onebentonprogress, theotherbenton seeing thatnochangeismadeunlessin theright direction':Thai, ' think, isyourapproach. i Inournation'shistory thegreatreforminggenerationsaretheones thatmarry theiraspirations toservicewith thepos- sibilitiesofpolitics. Theyharness thegoodworkdoneone-on-one, in localcommunities, to largermovements forchange in ournation andour world. Theyrememberwhat thephilosopherlYIichaelSandelhas taughtus, that "whenpoliticsgoes well, wecanknowagoodIncommon thatwecannotknowalone'! Yourgenerationhas theopportunitytorestorea faith inpublic life thatbegan erodingbefore you wereborn, in tê'i sionsbredbytheVietnam Warand in theashesofpublic trust leftbythe firesofthe Watergatescandal. Yourgeneratj^ hasachance togetuspast thewreckageof theoldculturewars, pastthedebrisofprejudiceon thegroundsofrace gender, classandsexualpreference, pastthedisappointmentsofgovernmentfailuresandourlossoffaith inour( fivecapacities. Nearlyhalfacenturyago, JohnFKennedydeclared: "Idonotbelieve thatanyofuswouldexchangeplaces withcmy^. otherpeople or withanyothergeneration':I donq^nvôurgeneration theproblemsyouare inheriting, butIdoj 'theopportunityyouhave tobreakwith failure, v^^mawSbidens, and with oldarrangements. ThegreathistorianArthurSchleslngersensedon opening suchas thligne when he wrote in 1960: "Atperiodicmoment^ jourhistory ourcountryhaspausedon the thresholdofanewepoch in ournationallife, unable foramoment toopen i ^qor butaware thatItmustadvanceIfItIs to preserve its nominalvitalityandIdentity O' e feels thatweareapproach ' suchamomentnow—thatthemoodwhichhasdominated thenation foradecadeIsbeginning toseem thinand irrelevant; thatitnolongerinterpretsourdesiresandne-:-dsasa people thatnewforces, newenergies, newvaluesof' straining forexpressionandforrelease: plioto^rophsprovidedby: WakeForest University copyprovidedby: E. J. Dionne's Commencement address and Wal<eForestNews Service