It's finally here -- graduation. No longer can you deny the existence of the stage in front of Baker, nor can you pretend those thousands of green chairs are actually grass. While most seniors have dreaded graduation for months now, today is a day you will remember your whole life.
As you are sitting at the Commencement ceremony, anxiously waiting for President Freedman to announce your name, look up at Baker Tower. That beacon stretching up between the trees has come to be the symbol of the College on the hill. Members of the Class of 1927 are on campus celebrating their 70th reunion this weekend -- Baker Tower did not exist when they were at the College. Graduation was held on the Bema, and they had to sit on the ground. But, like today's graduates, they had mixed feelings about leaving the haven of Hanover. You probably feel excitement at going out on your own to begin the rest of your life, astonishment at how the past four years have passed so quickly, nervous about what your future hold for you and sorrow for having to leave behind good friends and wonderful memories.
The College's new "e-mail for life" program will help you keep in touch with your classmates. And you can always come back to Dartmouth. Five years from now or 70 years in the future, Dartmouth will be here, and it will always remind you of your college years -- which are supposed to be some of the best times of your life.
As you sit on the Green today, take a moment to be proud of yourself for where you are today. Remember that the whole world is open to you -- opportunity is hiding behind every new door.
