Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Valedictorians Daniel Fehlauer '97 and J. Brooks Weaver '97 addressed the audience at the Commencement ceremonies June 8, a sunny day on the Hanover Green.
Lipponen, who was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, told graduates the United States and Europe can learn from each other to "create a real transatlantic trade and investment community."
Lipponen attended the College for one year in 1960-61. He swam on the freshman swim team, lived in the Choates and worked in Thayer Dining Hall. Despite having a good year, he said returning to Finland was a "major right decision."
He returned because he wanted to pursue Finnish politics, and feared he would "become an American" if he stayed in the country for too long.
He said the problem with Europe is the lack of a single uniting power, and American involvement is necessary to ensure stability as the European Union "is taking a progressively larger responsibility for its own continent."
Lipponen said Finland is willing to take extra responsibility for peace and stability in the Baltic countries.
Fehlauer and Weaver, the College's first co-valedictorians, were separated by just .00026455 GPA points. Fehlauer received 34 A grades at the College --Weaver had 35 -- and both had only one A-.
Fehlauer spoke about the College motto -- "Vox clamantis in deserto."
He mentioned its biblical reference, and said he asked many people what the motto meant to them.
Fehlauer's advice to his classmates is to "search for the truth, know what you believe, care for those around you and speak boldly."
Weaver said Commencement does not represent a closure, but rather "an invitation to view life holistically, without artificial dividers and boundaries."
He said looking at Commencement as a closing point in one's life establishes an "unnatural discontinuity" in life.
Following the awarding of degrees, College President James Freedman addressed the graduates. Freedman urged them to recognize the responsibility that comes with a degree, and to enjoy the ensuing period of testing skills and applying the knowledge they acquired at Dartmouth.
Freedman also awarded honorary degrees to seven other distinguished individuals. Walter R. Peterson '47, former New Hampshire governor, and Smith College President Ruth J. Simmons received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees.
Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees went to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, African-American historian and Princeton Professor Nell Irvin Painter, Nobel Prize-winning National Institutes of Health Director Harold Varmus and Harvard Government Professor William Julius Wilson.
Well over 100 students and a few faculty members wore purple sashes over their black gowns to show their support for sexual abuse victims.
