Dartmouth's 231st academic year began yesterday with the themes of diversity and community taking center stage at the Convocation ceremonies held in Leede Arena.
Featured speakers at the event were College President James Wright, recently-elected Trustee Michael Chu '68 and Student Assembly President Jorge Miranda '01.
All three directed their remarks towards encouraging all students, and the Class of 2004 in particular, to take part in all of the educational and growth options available at Dartmouth, not just the academic ones.
In contrast to last year's Convocation addresses, references to the changing character of the College were subdued. The continuing Student Life Initiative process was not mentioned expressly.
Wright began his remarks by pointing out that the beginning of the time the Class of 2004 will spend at Dartmouth has been marked by the completion of the Human Genome Project.
The mapping of the genome raises more questions than it answers, Wright said, not only in the scientific fields but also in the social and moral domains.
As such, Wright said a liberal arts university like Dartmouth is in the perfect position to examine all of the issues that are sure to spin off of the Genome Project.
Wright also said that the possible implications of the complete mapping of the human DNA chain simply emphasize the importance of looking beyond outer appearances and appreciating the value of diversity.
"Human will and the human spirit, generosity and curiosity -- these surely are not the result of a genetic code," he said.
In a well-received speech, Chu discussed the way that his time at Dartmouth changed his outlook on life. This was Chu's first speech to the Dartmouth community since he was elected by alumni to serve on the Board of Trustees.
Chu -- a government major -- said he came to Dartmouth wanting to be help change the world as a member of an "enlightened government" and disavowing a career in business.
Thirty-six years later, he has received an MBA from Harvard and currently works on Wall Street in charge of ACCION, a private company that helps poor businesspeople in Latin America.
Although he described the path he took from the Convocation he attended at the beginning of his freshman year and the one he now spoke at as a Trustee as "winding," Chu said his ideas about the world were roughly shaped by his time at Dartmouth.
"The greatest value of academic learning ... lies in pushing you to define who you are and who you want to be," Chu said. "Use your time [at Dartmouth] to define your values."
Chu, who was born in China and grew up in Uruguay, drew upon his heritage to emphasize the opportunities Dartmouth students have to learn from each other's differences.
Directing his words in large part to members of the Class of 2004 and speaking first, Miranda told the audience that the arrival of a new group of freshmen both signifies the start of a new year and brings an infusion of new life and excitement to the College.
"There's no longer a need to welcome you. You have arrived," Miranda said to the freshmen, advising them to begin to take advantage of the opportunities before them immediately. "Class of 2004, your future is now."
Miranda told freshmen to remember those who had not gotten into Dartmouth, as well as those for whom applying to Dartmouth was not even a consideration, throughout their career at the College.
Miranda recognized his family, who immigrated from Honduras before he was born, and urged students to be aware of roles they can play in the Dartmouth community and beyond thanks to their education at the College.
"We do not live in this world alone ... you will not live in this Dartmouth community alone," Miranda said.
Provost Susan Prager presided over the event, which also featured music by the Dartmouth Glee Club and the New England Brass Consort as well as an inaugural prayer read by Stuart Lord, the newly-selected Dean of the Tucker Foundation.
