Radcliffe Convocation Welcomes '97 Women

Radcliffe College convocation keynote speaker A'lelia Perry Bundles '74 last night urged the women of the Radcliffe Class of 1997 to take chances with their lives and live up to their leadership potential.

Speaking to an audience of about 200 people in a tent set up on the Radcliffe Yard, Bundles, who is producer of ABC World News Tonight, spoke of her own time at Radcliffe and the lessons she learned in college.

"Use some of your time here to experiment," she said. "Use some of your time even to fall on your face. I'm urging you to venture into unknown territory."

Bundles recalled her own arrival at Radcliffe from the Midwest and said that Harvard professors and officials like Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III and Harvard Foundation Director S. Allen Counter had been instrumental in making her feel at home.

She called on the students in the audience to take time off from ambition and rely on "serendipity" as well as their own talents to advance them.

"I wish someone had told me 20 years ago that it's okay not to be driven all the time," she said, recalling that while the standard career path for a journalist might be The Crimson, she instead chose to join WHRB.

"When you let serendipity take the lead, success will come," she said.

Bundles also asked audience members to consider the meaning of leadership and to act on the leadership potential within themselves.

Finally, Bundles asked Radcliffe first-years to realize the dual nature of their membership in the Harvard community and accept and enjoy both of their schools and communities.

"When you say you are at Harvard, it may stop conversations," she said. "But when you say you go to Radcliffe, it will start conversations."

Bundles spoke after addresses by Dean of Radcliffe Philippa Bovet and Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson.

And Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana L. Eck called on the first-year women to "pay attention to that deeper knowledge...knowledge of your own inner-most selves" and welcomed them in the name of the faculty.

The tradition of Radcliffe convocation, called the Formal Opening until 1967, dates back to 1925, when the first was held. The College stopped holding convocation in 1968, and it was reestablished for first-year women in 1992.