We gather together for this Baccalaureate Ceremony in Memorial Chapel, a beloved space for many graduates of Union College. Memorial Chapel was completed in 1925 and was intended to honor Union alumni who had been killed in wars up to that time, especially the then recent conflict of World War I. Over the ensuing years, it has evolved into a place for remembering the passing of all graduates of the College and other members of the Union community.
For this reason, each year at the Baccalaureate ceremony, we take time to honor those members of the Union family who died during the preceding year. We do so again today. Their names are listed in the program, and I would ask that you join me in remembering them, their many contributions, and their love of Union with a brief moment of silence.
Well, you are almost there! Within 24 hours, you will be graduates of Union College. No longer a “rising” sophomore, junior, or senior. Tomorrow, you will receive your diploma from Union, what the words to Ode to Old Union – your school’s alma mater – describe as “a prize as fair as a god may wear.” You’ve probably wondered what a “dip” is when the Dutch Pipers sing those lyrics and thrust their arms forward. Well, you are getting one tomorrow!
The Baccalaureate Ceremony is said to have originated at Oxford University in 1432. Tradition has it that each Oxford graduate was expected to stand and deliver a sermon in Latin. You’ll be relieved to know that Union’s Baccalaureate does not require this. Instead, our Baccalaureate, held as it is each year in Memorial Chapel, is more of an opportunity to pause before you end your studies here and reflect on your time at Union and the future that awaits you.
How appropriate that we hold this Baccalaureate – a remembering ceremony – in Memorial Chapel. President Charles Alexander Richmond, Union’s 10th president, built this structure to remember alumni who had lost their lives in World War I. The campus saw a good deal of construction during the Richmond administration. During his tenure, he oversaw construction of the Campus Center, Bailey and Butterfield Halls, the College’s main gate – Payne Gate – and Alumni Gymnasium (now Breazzano Fitness Center). But Memorial Chapel must have been particularly special to him for President Richmond had his ashes, along with those of his wife, Sarah, interred here.
Those of you who gathered for the ceremonial handshake with members of the Class of 1959 in this very place just two weeks ago at ReUnion know what I mean when I say that this is a special place to our alumni as well. For these men (and they were all men in the Class of 1959), they remembered a year full of history.
The year they received their “dip” from Union, Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as our 49th and 50th states, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba, the Barbie Doll debuted, two monkeys (“Able” and “Miss Baker” were the first two living beings to return successfully from space travel, and, as Don McLean’s song lamented, their graduation year marked the “Day the Music Died” – when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in Iowa. Memories of all these national and world events undoubtedly came back to them during their ReUnion weekend.
More importantly, memories of their times at Union rushed over them. Many of them recounted their visits to the President’s House, where then President Carter Davidson and his wife, Capitola, hosted parties for their daughter, Cynthia. One alumnus recounted sleeping over at the house after one of these parties, under the piano in the music room. Another could tell me precisely where the key used to wind one of the grandfather clocks was located – having used his height to do the Davidsons a favor.
They recounted influential faculty who had awakened them to new ideas. They remembered mentors who had the insight and were courageous enough to urge them to change plans. They remembered staff who simply took time to care for them. They recounted games won or nearly won and seasons ended prematurely. They remembered being buffeted by winds around the Nott Memorial on a cold day. And, they remembered sitting on the lawn around the Nott Memorial, warming themselves in the early days of spring.
They recounted roommates and close friends. They remembered good times and good conversations. They remembered changes that took place over their four years here that led to the person they were at the time of graduation, changes that, in many instances were changes for a lifetime; changes that still inform their approach to life 50 years later.
What will you remember about your time at Union? I suspect you will remember that in your senior year, America elected its first African-American President. I would wager that you will remember that the nation and world endured its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. You may well remember a men’s hockey season that posted the best record in the history of the program and a women’s volleyball team that posted more wins than any team in Union’s history.
You may remember long discussions about changing the Student Forum constitution. I think you’ll remember that you helped volunteer at Minerva Games and provided countless hours of tutoring, helping young, impressionable and hungry minds imagine a better future. You’ll also likely remember that you helped build a new and better relationship between the College and the city; that you helped Union make progress toward a more sustainable future; and that, while you were here, Union became a more diverse and inclusive place.
I am sure that you will remember your roommates and your friends – the close relationships you’ve built and enjoyed, and you will find wonder in the way in which they endured long after graduation. And, I know you will recall faculty and staff who – just as in the case of the Class of 1959 – made a difference in your life.
When prospective students are thinking Union as their college of choice, I tell them that they should consider this: in choosing Union, you are also choosing a lifetime membership. I mean that. Your relationship with Union will change tomorrow; there’s no mistaking or stopping that. But, your relationship with Union and all that it’s been to you need not be lost. Come out to alumni events when you get that card or email. I told you at the Senior dinner that recent classes attend in great numbers and I hope members of the Class of ’09 raise the bar even higher.
Wherever you locate, find the nearest alumni club and become active. Come back for ReUnions, Homecomings and Alumni Symposia – while you may not feel like sitting in another class today, mark my work you will want to relive that experience in the future. Make the trip to Union when you see that a concert, game or theater performance is coming up that you would simply hate to miss. All these provide you with opportunities to stay connected with each other and with the school.
And when you are back on campus, take the tour, see what changes have been made. And be sure to return to Memorial Chapel. When you do, remember that you sat in this place, on a special weekend in June, and paused consider all that it meant to be a member of the Great Class of 2009.