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Commencement weekend May 24-26 to feature concerts, learning seminars and more
May 16, 2002
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Approximately 700 seniors will graduate during St. Olaf College's 113th annual commencement on Sunday, May 26. The ceremony will start at 2:30 p.m. at Manitou Field.
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| Bad Wound | Berkman |
Additional events for Celebration Weekend include the Last Lecture by Professor of Biology Ted Johnson on Saturday afternoon (in which students vote for which professor gets to have the "last word"), a series of Learning Seminars throughout the three-day weekend and concerts at Skoglund Center Auditorium by the St. Olaf Band (Friday, May 24, 8 p.m.), the St. Olaf Orchestra (Saturday, May 25, 3:30 p.m.) and the St. Olaf Choir (Saturday at 8 p.m.).
Bad Wound's speech, "Forward, Forward" - a word that, he says, encapsulates the mission of the college - will reflect on the tradition and heritage of St. Olaf, as well as the quality of the education he and other seniors are carrying with them.
"Our accomplishments extend beyond a meaningful four years, a diploma or a degree," says Bad Wound, who will attend Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City next fall. "They represent a forward change in all of us."
A committee of professors and fellow seniors selected Bad Wound as senior speaker after reading a draft of his speech. "I believe that St. Olaf is a college that changes lives, and changes the world," Bad Wound says. "As we prepare for tomorrow, this forward calling continues to shape us and will undoubtedly make a difference in the world."
Berkman will look both forward and back, as she recalls her fight to get women hired by the New York City fire department, her experiences at Ground Zero since the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, and her own years as a student at St. Olaf.
"I graduated in 1973," says Berkman, 50. "The Vietnam War was winding down, but there was still a draft. My years at St. Olaf were interrupted by numerous demonstrations and student moratoriums on going to class.
"I carried that from St. Olaf," she says, "the idea that people can feel passionate about an issue without having to destroy things to make their point or demonize the other side to the point where you can't talk to them. That, to me, is what a liberal arts education is about."
Visitors to campus during commencement weekend can get their own taste of a liberal arts education at numerous Learning Seminars conducted by St. Olaf professors, professors emeriti, students and alumni.
Among the seminars are "Reading for Life," by Assistant Professor of English Mary Steen (Friday, May 24, 3:30 p.m.); "Forming St. Olaf, 1874 to 1942," by Archivist and Professor of History Gary De Krey (Saturday, May 25, 2 p.m.); and "The Women of Ground Zero," by Berkman (Sunday, May 26, noon).
Other events open to the public include the 16th annual Ole Roll 5K Run/Walk Saturday, 8 a.m. Register between 7 and 7:45 a.m. that day at the Manitou Fieldhouse.
Celebration Weekend will also include reunion events for the classes of 1932, '37, '42, '47, '52, '57, '62, '67, '72 and '77. An All-Alumni Banquet on Saturday will honor the recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award: Grace Mittermeier Allen, Charlotte "Shoonie" Donhowe Hartwig, Brock Nelson, and John and Debra Carlsen Wilkinson.
For more information about Celebration Weekend 2002, see www.stolaf.edu/offices/alum.
