Edelman Calls for Commitment to Youth

Harvard College Class Day speaker Marian Wright Edelman yesterday asked the Class of 1993 to take responsibility for their own future and the fate of the nation's children.

Edelman, the founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, spoke to a crowd of approximately 3,000 in Tercentenary Theatre.

Her speech opened with a story about an old man paying tribute to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as a person who "didn't just witness change, he caused it."

Edelman called on the graduates to do the same, moving beyond self-centered goals and asking themselves "not how much can I get, but how much can I do without and share."

The Class Day speaker referred to her own childhood as the grounding for her commitment to serving others and sense of human equality.

She was taught that "as God's child, no man or woman could look down on me and I could look down on no man or woman," she said, and that the measure of people's worth was "inside [their] heads and hearts," not in worldly achievements.

These were the lessons she sought to bring home to the class of 1993, referring specifically to the plight of America's children as perhaps the most urgent responsibility facing the country today.

"Is our moral and social development so arrested we're afraid to stand up to the [National Rifle Association] even when the prey is helpless children?" she asked. "National security has to be right here at home in our neighborhoods and in our schools."

Edelman called on the members of the audience to stand up for their beliefs and invest time also in family life, teaching and working with their children to pass on the lessons they themselves have learned.

"I know you will rise to the challenge," she said to the graduating seniors. "I wish you godspeed on your journey to shape and to change our future."

The Class Day speaker's stress on public service and activism was a theme in many of the other speeches given by students and Harvard officials.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 praised the activism shown by the Class of 1993 and asked members to continue their commitment to social justice in future life.

Three Harvard students, Jessica S. Yellin '93, Joshua A. Tucker '93 and David A. Aronberg '93, also spoke.

Yellin and Tucker, like Edelman, called for a sense of social responsibility and commitment to freedom, with Tucker delivering an imaginary "25th reunion" speech dwelling on the loss of American democracy in the year 2008 due to a failed commitment to social justice.

Aronberg, who was cracking Harvard jokes (about the Quad, the Coop and the Core) and telling anecdotes, asked classmates to avoid simplistic labelling of others.

Harvard and Radcliffe's first marshals, Mukesh Prasad '93 and Maitri Chowdhury '93, also issued calls in their concluding speeches for continued activism by the graduates.

"We should be dedicated to activism," said Chowdhury. She said the class had "chosen to honor activism."

Also lauded for their activism were Ming-Hui Fan '93 and Heather A. Lattimer '93, who won the Ames awards for public service.CrimsonEric P. WilfridMARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

The Class Day speaker's stress on public service and activism was a theme in many of the other speeches given by students and Harvard officials.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 praised the activism shown by the Class of 1993 and asked members to continue their commitment to social justice in future life.

Three Harvard students, Jessica S. Yellin '93, Joshua A. Tucker '93 and David A. Aronberg '93, also spoke.

Yellin and Tucker, like Edelman, called for a sense of social responsibility and commitment to freedom, with Tucker delivering an imaginary "25th reunion" speech dwelling on the loss of American democracy in the year 2008 due to a failed commitment to social justice.

Aronberg, who was cracking Harvard jokes (about the Quad, the Coop and the Core) and telling anecdotes, asked classmates to avoid simplistic labelling of others.

Harvard and Radcliffe's first marshals, Mukesh Prasad '93 and Maitri Chowdhury '93, also issued calls in their concluding speeches for continued activism by the graduates.

"We should be dedicated to activism," said Chowdhury. She said the class had "chosen to honor activism."

Also lauded for their activism were Ming-Hui Fan '93 and Heather A. Lattimer '93, who won the Ames awards for public service.CrimsonEric P. WilfridMARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN