Stanford Today
Edition: July/August, 1996
Section: Campus News: 105th Commencement
WWW: 105th Commencement

WACKY HATS, HULA-HOOPS LIVEN UP 105TH COMMENCEMENT
By Diane Manuel

When Mae Jemison resigned from NASA three years ago, many of her friends told her she’d made a mistake. What could top being the first black woman astronaut?

But Jemison knew she wanted to accomplish more.

"Do I get only one opportunity, and do I have to keep it for life?" she asked. "Because something was once exactly right for me, does that mean I cannot grow and change?"

Recalling that "most difficult personal decision" during her address at Stanford’s 105th commencement June 16, Jemison urged graduates to stay open to a range of possibilities throughout their lives.

As Jemison and university President Gerhard Casper led the traditional procession of faculty members and graduate students into Stanford Stadium, the seniors already were celebrating. Frisbees soared across the football field and hula-hoops made an unexpected comeback. The Class of ’96 pushed the outside of the sartorial envelope with mortarboards that sprouted aluminum-foil "Claws," miniature putting greens, a solar-powered windmill, and a green light bulb ("a good idea waiting to happen").

In introducing Jemison, ’77, Casper cited her undergraduate study in chemical engineering and African and Afro-American studies, and her work in West Africa with the Peace Corps. He also noted her experience as an astronaut, a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, director of the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries and as head of her own company, The Jemison Group.

Jemison quoted from the works of Alice Walker, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. to describe the issues facing today’s graduates -- sustainability of the planet and division of natural resources; peaceful versus provocative postures; and political involvement. She also challenged the "polarity of those who promote intolerance" in America today.

"You’re going into a world where people have behaved irresponsibly and have decided for some reason that they can isolate themselves from one another," she told graduates. "The reality in this world is that we will always be together, and there is always going to be a diverse population." As "participants on this planet," Jemison said, "we all have responsibilities to each other."

Instead of being discouraged by the "pompous, aggressive and vitriolic ignorance" of others, Jemison said that she chooses to put the 86,400 seconds of each day to more constructive use.

Punctuating her remarks with one-liners that drew frequent applause and laughter, Jemsion told the graduates that "the danger we face when we have an opportunity is usually not a danger to us physically, but is a danger to our ego."

She said she left NASA because she thinks she can be a better advocate for space exploration and human achievement as head of the company she founded that focuses on integrating technological solutions to societal issues.

"You know what?" she asked. "There is a chance I may fail. But we all get many chances in life, and we have to be willing and ready to take advantage of them."

Casper bade an "especially affectionate" farewell to the undergraduate class that entered Stanford the year he was appointed president.

He thanked the Class of 1996 for its record-breaking participation in the Senior Gift -- 58 percent -- and noted that $185,000 had been raised so far in the name of the class.

After leading the traditional "thank-you" to their families, Casper congratulated the graduates on their academic achievements, and pointed out that the university this year was awarding 1,808 bachelor’s degrees, 2,052 master’s degrees and 853 doctoral degrees.

Casper told the story of a geology major who, in his memoirs, recalled his feelings at commencement 101 years ago. The student wrote: "I listened to Dr. Jordan’s fine commencement address with my mind mostly on the sinking realization that a new era was opening for me with only $40 in cash and the need of finding an immediate job."

Casper said he had "no doubt that many in the audience today, from past or present experience, understand this 'sinking realization.' "

But Casper encouraged the graduates to be hopeful, explaining that the geology major went on to a successful career in mining on four continents, that he took charge of famine relief for the Allies in Europe after World War I, and that he led the first fund drive for Stanford. By the way, said Casper, Herbert Hoover also became 31st president of the United States. ST