As family and friends watched from the stands of Wallace Wade Stadium, more than 3,800 undergraduates, graduates and professional school students participated in the University’s 153rd commencement exercises Sunday morning.
The keynote speaker of the ceremony was President Ricardo Lagos of Chile, who received a Ph.D. in economics from Duke in 1966. He called his return to appearance at the University a “return home.”
Reminiscing about his experiences in segregated Durham, Lagos urged students to believe that they could make a difference in the world, even when faced with problems as challenging as promoting civil rights.
“Today you are entering an important chapter of your life,” he said. “You have tremendous responsibility for what kind of world is going to be created... a responsibility that you have to shape a better world for mankind.”
He told students to think about “how [they] are going to be able to live in a democracy, to respect human rights, to organize society in such a way that everybody has similar opportunities.”
Lagos discussed the rising influence of the Spanish language in the United States and reminded students that with the advent of globalization, the world will become a smaller place.
“It’s going to be up to you not only to be the leaders of this country but also to think beyond the frontiers of this country—about the responsibilities of people in the countries of the world,” he said.
Rob Painter, this year's student speaker, took the stage after Lagos. A theater major and active participant in Duke's arts community in his four years here, Painter joked about clinging to the statue of Benjamin Newton Duke on East Campus that morning, refusing to leave the school.
“I realized that there are only two kinds of people who can remain at Duke forever. One, brass tobacco moguls, and two, Coach K,” he said. “Graduation is an inevitability.”
Despite his difficulty leaving a place he loves, Painter reminded his classmates of the experiences they shared and encouraged them to look toward the future.
“Before I matriculated I could have never begun to fathom the way our lives would become putty in one another’s hands, the way we would shape one another,” he said. “We’re entering the world together, just as we entered Duke. A whole generation of Dukies is making its collective way into the great unknown; we have each other and our memories.”
Like Lagos, Painter urged his fellow graduates to use their education to make a difference in the world. “We have a responsibility to utilize the fruits of our scholarly cultivation,” he said.
Duke awarded honorary degrees, reserved for “people of extraordinary accomplishment,” to five individuals: Lagos, environmental advocate John Adams, Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann, University of Maryland at Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski and humanitarian and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
Many people who attended the ceremony said that though the acoustics in the stadium made the speeches difficult to hear at times, both speakers were enjoyable.
“President Lagos wasn’t the best speaker, but he also graduated from Duke so he’s an alumnus, and that makes a difference,” graduating senior Mike Mahdi said. “I thought Rob was great, he was entertaining and very concise. He added a humorous perspective to the last four years.”
Fellow graduating senior Glenda Richardson also enjoyed Painter’s comedic touch.“I enjoyed Rob’s speech. I thought he did a good job using his experience from acting in a comical fashion,” she said.
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