Baccalaureate ceremonies marked by falling tears, roof

Tears were not the only things that fell during Monday's Baccalaureate ceremony in Irvine Auditorium, as a loose chunk of plaster in the ceiling interrupted President Sheldon Hackney's address to the graduating class. "Through honesty, a free exchange of ideas and tests for the future, we enable each individual to fulfill his potential," Hackney said, as the ceiling fell. "And I hope someone will have enough potential to give us enough money to fix the roof." Outgoing Nursing Dean Claire Fagin delivered the keynote address, to a full house, during the annual non-denominational service, urging the Class of 1991 to "follow the pursuit of happiness." "In whatever you choose to do don't stop too long in work you don't enjoy," Fagin said. Quoting former Supreme Court Justice William Douglass, Fagin said that doing one's best in life is essential to achieving that happiness. She added that the benefits of modern times will help people pursue their goals. "Everyone has the capacity to be excellent at something. What we consider to be limits are boundaries we set for ourselves," Fagin said. "The pursuit of happiness expresses our desire to reach our goals. "During the next few years you will have time to examine and re-examine the degree to which you have reached that standard of excellence," Fagin added. "Use the modern gifts of health and long life to help you pursue your goals." Hackney's speech focused on the struggle for equal opportunity and equality. He stressed the importance of a group consciousness in achieving these goals. "The well-being of the group are measures of social and economic equality," Hackney said. However, Hackney pointed out that group identities can also be decisive in society. "The solution is that a group identity can be a poor thing . . . if it inclusive rather than self-isolating," Hackney said. "It helps if the general community has a clear set of goals and values and these goals and values are what is shared among groups." Fagin added that the country is beginning to reject the greed and consumerism which was characteristic of the 1980s. "We have seen a generation, and yours is the end of it, of people more concerned with themselves and with making money than society," Fagin said. "Your class represents a pendulum swing away from these values.

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