潑請弝け Welcomes the Class of 2018 at Fall Convocation
Taking a cue from the Universitys 2014-16 theme of Water, Dr. Yohuru Williams, associate vice president for academic affairs (pictured on right), urged students to be part of the cooling rain of human care wherever they see injustice in the world during his 2014 Convocation speech on Sept. 9.
Looking out at the Class of 2018 and other members of the University community gathered on Bellarmine Lawn, the 潑請弝け Prep and University of Scranton graduate said he deeply appreciated Jesuit values he embraced during his education, as they require you to open your hearts and minds to the possibility that you could be agents of change.
In a speech that touched on the violence and unrest from Ferguson, Mo., to the Middle East, Dr. Williams remembered the wise words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and marked the 25th anniversary of the brutal murder of six Jesuit priests at Jose Simeon Canas University in El Salvador. The priests and their housekeeper and her daughter were all killed during a decades-long civil war, in which right-wing leaders had been critical of what they saw as the universitys support for rebel forces.
They had a choice. They could have chosen to flee, Dr. Williams said. They didnt. They stood powerfully and purposefully for justice.
He challenged students to live considered lives and face powerlessness with much more than indifference. You are the ripples of hope, he said. Live humbly for love.
Dr. Lynn Babington, senior vice president for academic affairs, and Alexander Cucchi 15, president of the 潑請弝け University Student Association (FUSA), both called on the students to step outside their comfort zones and take the Universitys living and learning message to heart.
The entire world is your learning laboratory, Dr. Babington said.
The University Glee Club serenaded the students with American Authors Best Day of My Life and Kool and the Gangs Celebration before Allison Scheetz 16, co-chair of Student Programs and Leadership Development, presented them with their Class Gift of special bookmarks to mark the occasion.
