Nostalgia, anticipation grip graduates across Mass.
As church bells beckoned them to their graduation ceremony, groups of black-robed seniors at Tufts University paused at the bottom of a sharp rise to the main quad at the center of the college. This would be their final climb up the campus landmark, they realized, a defining moment that deserved to be commemorated.
Arms tossed over shoulders, they whooped and beamed for the cameras. A quick hug with their parents, and they were off, blue and brown tassels bouncing side to side.
In ceremonies marked by nostalgia and anticipation, thousands of college seniors across Massachusetts concluded their undergraduate careers yesterday, culminating the spring's busiest commencement weekend and drawing tens of thousands of proud relatives to the region.
Students celebrated their hard-won diplomas with friends and family, reminisced over classic college moments, and gulped over their next move. They said goodbyes and promised to stay in touch.
At Boston University, New England's largest graduation ceremony, nearly 6,300 students received diplomas as Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino delivered the keynote address. CNN political analyst William Schneider spoke at Brandeis University, his alma mater, while famed Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein addressed Suffolk University graduates.
In a sharply worded critique of contemporary media and political culture, Bernstein criticized the press as shallow and sensationalist, and denounced the Bush administration, saying it "in many ways is far more catastrophic to this country than the Nixon administration was."
At Tufts, Emmy Award-winning journalist Meredith Vieira, a 1975 graduate, urged nearly 3,000 graduates to "listen to their internal compass" when they face obstacles or difficult decisions.
"There is no easy way to get from point A to point B, nor is there any right way," said Vieira, the co-host of NBC's "Today," the highly rated morning television show.
In a light-hearted, self-deprecating speech, Vieira told the audience she "would never get in" to Tufts nowadays, and that her primary leadership role as an undergraduate came when she was at the head of a line of campus streakers.
Recalling an embarrassing mix-up from her early days in radio, Vieira advised students to "always ask questions."
"No question is too stupid," Vieira said. "You're not as smart as you think you are, and you never will be. There's always room to learn. Don't be scared to ask."
Describing her widely publicized decision to leave "60 Minutes" to spend more time with her children, Vieira said that each graduate must find the proper balance between work and family life.
"I've learned that as much as you reach forward for your dream, it's important to never forget to reach out to those around you," she said.
During the ceremony, held under a cloudless, pale blue sky, students cheered loudly at every mention of the "Class of 2008," and chanted "Larry! Larry!" in honor of President Lawrence Bacow.
At Brandeis University, Schneider called on more than 1,500 graduates to become engaged in politics, and criticized President Bush for failing to deliver on his promise to unite the country.
"And so my generation leaves your generation with this charge: When it comes to the country's politics, we broke it, you fix it," he said.
At BU, Lucchino asked graduates to remember the lessons of Hall of Fame baseball player Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947.
"Be mindful of the catalytic effect one person can have on a community, on a neighborhood, on a nation, on a compelling cause or a nagging injustice," said Lucchino, a Yale Law School graduate. "Hold within yourself a capacity for outrage at injustice. Be confident that if you fight long enough and hard enough, you too can make a difference. And like Jackie Robinson, you can do it with dignity."
At Suffolk's undergraduate ceremony, held at the
"Rarely do we sit and enjoy this momentous event as is," he said. "A transition of this magnitude comes by a few times in our lives and should be experienced for what it is . . . a horrific moment of panic. But after that passes, this is a day where our only responsibility is to enjoy the company of friends and family."
As Tufts graduates filed in, an elderly man took a picture of his granddaughter in her cap and gown, then hugged her close, patting her proudly on the back. He smiled as he watched her take her seat with her friends, and smiled to himself for several more moments. "A happy day," he said.
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.
