THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605120146
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
At Christopher Newport University on Saturday, 635 graduates listened to U.S. Sen. John W. Warner praise the values of family and integrity while sharing reflections of former senators, including university President Paul S. Trible Jr.
When Trible was a federal prosecutor, ``people said, `Oh, he will be congressman someday.' When he was a congressman, they said, `He will be a senator someday.' When he was a senator, they said, `Someday he will be president.' And president you are,'' Warner said to laughter and applause.
At Virginia Wesleyan College's graduation, the speaker, a University of Pittsburgh biologist and alumna of the school, urged the 260 graduates to recreate the Wesleyan experience in their lives.
``This is a true community where the administration, the faculty and students are friends, and everyone knows your name,'' said Amy Gallup Klann, a1989 graduate who is a postdoctoral researcher.
``With this camaraderie comes an added responsibility, for you don't want to disappoint the people who care the most about you. This is the kind of feeling of trust and obligation we need in all of our communities.''
This is the season of college graduations, and Virginia schools have turned to a variety of speakers to inspire their graduates and maybe boost their images. Christopher Newport and Virginia Wesleyan illustrate the range of choices, from big-name politicians like Warner to little-known alumni like Klann.
Trible served with Warner, as fellow Republicans, for 10 years in the U.S. House and Senate. He said he asked Warner to speak because the senator ``is one of America's most respected public officials and Virginia's most popular politician.
``Having an alumnus return and speak to the graduating class is an excellent way to celebrate the day,'' Trible said. ``Another way to do that is to bring to the campus a distinguished American whose life symbolizes the values and service that we hope that our graduates will contribute to the commonwealth.''
Junior Gary Clark liked Trible's choice. ``To be able to get a U.S. senator to speak, that's pretty good,'' Clark said. ``You want to have a popular person, and you want to make them (the seniors) feel important enough to deserve a good speaker.''
But another junior, Jeff Lamprecht, wasn't thrilled. ``I don't like listening to politicians,'' he said. ``It's basically `Re-elect me.' ''
In fact, Warner, who is up for re-election this year, steered clear of politics. His only partisan comments were to praise both President Clinton and Sen. Robert Dole for their own recent advice to college graduates.
Dole, he said, told graduates to ``stand up for what is right,'' Warner said. Clinton, urging students to be active in their communities, said: ``Government alone cannot solve the problems.''
Warner took his own cue from a Winston Churchill line that he said was a favorite of former Vice President Dan Quayle: The most important things in life ``can be expressed with just a single word - faith, family, freedom, integrity, responsibility and duty.''
For 30-year-old Virginia Wesleyan, Klann's appearance marked a first: Never before has a graduate spoken at commencement.
``It's a strong signal of the maturing of Virginia Wesleyan College that we can invite back a member of the family to speak to the family,'' said President William T. ``Billy'' Greer Jr., noting that Klann was a summa cum laude graduate of Wesleyan.
``We think there will be an immediate rapport between Dr. Klann and this graduating class. Any college can bring anyone they want if they put enough zeroes on the check. She's coming here because she loves this school.''
Klann told the graduates to ``do something for the common good, instead of merely striving to earn a living . . . Use the traits exhibited by Virginia Wesleyan College and apply them to your next home. We must all live, learn, love and raise children in a healthy, whole community.''
Some Wesleyan students have groused that the college didn't get a more prominent speaker. But after the ceremony, graduate Christina Horvath of Virginia Beach said Klann ``touched on every point you could possibly think of - the importance of education, being part of your community.''
Isabel Vieira, a junior, said that Klann, more than a celebrity, can show the graduates that they, too, will succeed. ``Somebody not affiliated with the college might be a big name, but how does that give you the drive to go out there and find yourself a job?''
In Virginia, the College of William and Mary tends to get the biggest names for commencement, including former President George Bush and comedian Bill Cosby. Today, graduates will hear U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
It's what the students want, said W. Samuel Sadler, vice president for student affairs. Speakers are usually selected from a list of a dozen names submitted by the graduating class.
The University of Virginia tends to go with speakers who already have a connection to the campus, whether or not they are household names, spokeswoman Louise Dudley said. The speaker at next Sunday's commencement will be astronaut Kathryn Thornton, who received her doctorate in physics from U.Va. in 1979. There will be a bigger speaker at the law school's ceremony later that day - Jesse Jackson. His son Yusef will be graduating.
Today, Norfolk State University will also have a speaker with double appeal: Daphne Maxwell-Reid is a well-known actress who also knows the campus well.
She and her husband, actor and NSU alumnus Tim Reid, organized a celebrity-packed tennis tournament on campus last month that raised $160,000 for scholarships.
Elsewhere in Hampton Roads Saturday, Tidewater Community College brought in one of its bosses to speak - Karen J. Petersen, vice chancellor of the state's community college system. And Regent University had South Carolina Gov. David M. Beasley, whom President Terry Lindvall described as a conservative Christian who has risen to power without compromising his principles - or alienating others.
Of course, as Trible acknowledged, students usually are more interested in getting their diplomas than hearing a speech, no matter who gives it. Warner also admitted as much. One of his most popular commencement speeches was at James Madison University during a heavy downpour last year, he recalled.
Warner walked to the podium and said, `` `There are rare moments in the life of public figures when they should be seen and not heard.' And I sat down. The ovation was longer than the speech.'' MEMO: Campus correspondent Kia Morgan Allen contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Amy Gallup Klann, a 1989 graduate who is a postdoctoral researcher,
gave Saturday's speech at Virginia Wesleyan College.
CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner gave the commencement speech at Christopher
Newport University on Saturday.
Photos
CANDICE C. CUSIC, top, BILL TIERNAN, left/The Virginian-Pilot
Above: Beth Hermann and Anne Davis entertain themselves and fellow
graduates with soap bubbles during commencement ceremonies for
Christopher Newport University.
At left: Part of the 262 members of the 1996 graduating class of
Virginia Wesleyan College move across campus during in the
processional on Saturday morning in an outdoor ceremony.
by CNB