Members of the Class of 2006 joined their families and friends on June 11 to formally conclude their undergraduate experiences at Commencement ceremonies, where the College awarded 1,029 degrees in front of a crowd that filled nearly the entire Green.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel delivered the ceremony's keynote address. Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and renowned author, stressed in his speech the importance of lifelong learning and the need for the graduates to remember the past in pursuing their futures.
"Memory has its own archeology, its own mystery, its own language," he said. "What would culture, education or indeed civilization be without its lasting and challenging appeal?"
Wiesel reflected on what he learned from memories on a personal level, citing the importance of friendship and the respect of freedom as examples.
He concluded with a call to the Class of 2006 to determine the future of the world ahead of them.
"This century is not mine. It is yours. If there is hope, and there must be, you will shape it and you justify it," Wiesel said.
Katie Jaxheimer '06 characterized Wiesel's address as meaningful for those entering the world after Dartmouth.
"For me, he was able to help put the Dartmouth education in a larger context. Yes, I may have majored in economics, but the most important part of learning in my classes was not the subject matter itself, but how I will think about and apply it," she said.
Valedictorian Roberts Butts '06, who graduated with a 4.0 grade point average, also addressed his classmates at the ceremony. In his speech, Butts thanked John Sloan Dickey, the College's president from 1945-1970, who was also the president of Theta Chi fraternity during his time as a student. Theta Chi now exists as Alpha Theta fraternity, the coeducational organization of which Butts is a member. Butts emphasized the importance of his involvement in the house to his overall experience at Dartmouth.
In his address to the graduates, College President James Wright echoed Wiesel's reflections on the current state of the world, mentioning both natural disasters and the war in Iraq.
He commended the class for its humanitarian accomplishments to date and encouraged them to use their Dartmouth educations to continue contributing to the greater world.
"Remember that learning is forever -- the capacity to take on the new and the unexpected, for relearning and unlearning, these are essential components of your education," Wright said.
At the ceremony, the College awarded honorary degrees to Wiesel and eight other distinguished recipients, including Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and journalist Jim Lehrer.
The graduates hailed from all 50 states and 27 countries.
The College's graduate schools awarded their degrees at their own graduation ceremonies throughout the weekend. The College awarded 158 degrees from the Arts and Sciences graduate programs, while the Dartmouth Medical School graduated 105 students, the Thayer School of Engineering graduated 94 and 258 students received degrees from the Tuck School of Business.
Commencement was bittersweet for many of the graduates, including Jaxheimer, who said goodbye to a place that in many ways had become their home.
"I'm anxious to try something new, but it's certainly nice to know that Dartmouth is only a bus ride away," she said.
Former Student Body President Noah Riner '06 said the "growing up thing" hasn't sunk in quite yet.
"It's all so close," he said. "I feel like maybe I'll go back in a few weeks or something -- it's like a little vacation. It hasn't soaked in. It probably never will."
