Staff Editorial: Congrats, Class of 2002

Four long years ago, 2,400 newly-arrived freshmen gathered on College Green for Convocation and their official welcome to Penn from University President Judith Rodin.

And on Monday, those 2,400 freshmen -- seniors now, of course -- will make the traditional trek down Locust Walk to Franklin Field to bid farewell to student life and to hear University President Judith Rodin declare them graduates of the University of Pennsylvania.

For these new alumni, the world awaits. Some will step out of their cap and gown and into a business suit, ready for a career on Wall Street. Others will quickly return to the classroom, preparing for another graduation ceremony several years down the line.

And no matter where they are headed, every member of Penn's Class of 2002 deserves congratulations. Through four years of achievement and exultation, heartbreak and sorrow, you have persevered. Now, it is your time to soak up the applause, take a bow and join the ranks of proud Penn alumni. You've certainly earned it.

In September of 1998, each of you came to this university excited to do great things and make the most of your college experience.

You came to Penn from around the world, from Hong Kong and North Merrick, N.Y., from London and Alma, Mo., and everywhere in between. You brought with you great achievements in athletics, in the arts and, of course, in academics.

You came to Penn as an extraordinarily diverse group. And that's exactly how you'll leave.

But you bid farewell to Penn as a unified community, friends and classmates who have stood together, through times good and bad.

You've been through a lot together, from feared chemistry midterms and economics finals to unspeakable tragedies on campus and around the world. And you've forged bonds that we can only hope will be with you for many years after Monday.

The week you arrived, the University trumpeted the opening of the Katz Fitness Center, which has now given way to Walnut Street's fourth big construction site.

There probably aren't many of you who, during your first semester, had thought an awful lot about the University's alcohol policy. By the end of your second semester, the campus was consumed by it.

And that first week, Penn officials announced plans for a movie theater, parking lot and grocery store. You've waited three summers for that movie theater, and now it looks like most of you will never have the opportunity to use it. But then again, you're no strangers to construction delays.

But in a few days, those events will have a convenient finale at Commencement, tucked away into University history and your own memory.

Still, they'll probably not be your most important -- the evenings at Smoke's, beautiful days spent lounging on College Green and chats with professors likely occupy the great part of your Penn experience.

For now, however, enjoy the many fruits of your labor, be proud of yourself and your classmates and be secure in the knowledge that this university is forever changed by each and every one of you.

Congratulations, and best of luck.

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