The class of 2000 gets a glorious send-off

The 282 undergraduates of the class of 2000, along with 6 MALS graduates, enjoyed a beautiful day, a huge audience, and a wise, funny, and stirring commencement speech this year on May 15.

President Steven Koblik asked the graduates "Who among you will take the risk to make us uncomfortable by exposing systems and values gone amuck?" and urged them to "Continue to ask the tough and often unpopular questions. But remember to have fun along the way."

Steve McCarthy '66, vice chairman of the board of trustees, and Sheldon Hochheiser '73, president of the alumni association, also spoke to the graduates and their many families and friends sitting under the big tent on Reed's front lawn.

Donald Steinberg '74 delivered the commencement address, which follows. Steinberg is the Department of State's special Haiti coordinator and U.S. special representative of the President and the Secretary of State for global humanitarian demining.

This year the departments with the most graduates were biology (37), English (36), psychology (29), and art (22). You can find complete coverage of commencement 2000, including the full text of the speakers' addresses and graduates' theses titles, on Reed's web site: http:// www.reed.edu/community/newsandpub/ commencement/.

Photos by Lisa Currier



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