Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 16, 1994 TAG: 9405160117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"This, I believe, is one of the fundamental challenges of America today and one of the great tests awaiting all of you: to reinvigorate our public life by recapturing a sense of personal responsibility, to renew our commitment to America's core principles and values by rediscovering leadership," Baker said.
At the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Will told the 1,609 graduates to reject the popular trend of "identity politics" in education and to think for themselves.
"The theory is that we are whatever our group is, and that we necessarily think and act according to the circumscribed mental makeup of the group's interests. This theory is starkly incompatible with, and subversive of, the premises of American democracy," Will said.
At the Randolph-Macon Woman's College graduation in Lynchburg, Rep. Blanche Lambert, D-Ark., paid tribute to her alma mater.
"Randolph-Macon challenged my curiosity," she said. "This is the single most valuable asset a person can possess. The self-assurance of knowing that there are no unanswerable questions has been extremely important to my career in Congress."
Lambert is a 1982 alumna of the college, which graduated 144 seniors.
At Virginia State University in Ettrick, Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders addressed a crowd of about 8,000, including 666 graduates.
Elders said that while it is always noted the United States has the best hospitals and doctors, there are 39 million people in this country without access to health care, one-third of whom are children.
"We need to work toward every American having access to health care," she said. "Lawyers feel that every criminal should have a right to a lawyer. Why shouldn't every sick person have access to a doctor?"
Paul Trible, a former Republican U.S. senator from Virginia, called for a renewal of the American educational system in a speech at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.
"As the world's first democracy, as the first political order committed to human equality, Americans have long understood that the full realization of human potential requires a well-educated people," Trible told the 650 graduates.
"America must do better. Academically significant subjects must be re-emphasized and standards made more rigorous," he said.
At Norfolk State University, alumnus and publisher Derek T. Dingle told the 1,230 graduates that anything is possible if they embrace hard work and the can-do spirit.
"Five days ago, we witnessed the presidential inauguration of Nelson Mandela in a country that made him its prisoner for 27 years," said Dingle. "We must never overlook the dawning of a new day."
by CNB