Speakers at the May 2003 commencement reminded graduates that
the world is a different and scarier place than when they arrived
at college. One said the way to cope with it is through a worldwide
system of accountability for weapons of mass destruction. Another
simply implored, "Do not be afraid."
Valedictorian Margaret Laracy '03 from Jersey City, New Jersey,
recalled that four years ago, when she and her classmates arrived
at Notre Dame, "the economy was strong, jobs were plentiful, and
Americans felt secure." Today, she said, jobs are scarce, terrorism
threatens, and war has become a reality.
However, she reminded the capacity crowd in the Joyce Center
May 18 that Jesus' first words upon rising from the dead, in the
Gospel of Matthew, are, "Do not be afraid."
The psychology major said graduates could take inspiration in
these anxious times from the courage demonstrated by people like
the World Trade Center firefighters and because, in the words
of Saint John: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives
out fear."
"Here at Our Lady's university, " she told her classmates, "we
have learned too much of love to be afraid."
The featured speaker at commencement, Indiana Senator Richard
Lugar, devoted almost his entire talk to warning against isolationism
in a time of rising threats of violence globally.
"The experience of September 11, 2001, re-taught a grim lesson
that our nation periodically has had to re-learn. That is, trouble
will find us whether we choose to be involved in the world or
not, said the Republican, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
Lugar said Americans have always loved the image of the U.S.
hero who goes overseas, brings peace to a distant land and then
returns home, the plot line of popular movies from Sergeant
York to Saving Private Ryan. In coming years, he
said, we will not have the luxury of coming home after battles
are fought.
"We're struggling with this problem right now in Iraq."
Lugar said the United States must embrace the role of nation
builder in Iraq and elsewhere, not merely out of altruism "but
because our own existence is threatened by the intersection of
terrorism and weapons of mass destruction."
He called for a worldwide system of accountability for nations
possessing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. For those
countries lacking the means to guarantee such security, he said,
the international community must provide the money and technical
assistance.
Also at commencement, Catholic writers and editors Peter and
Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, received the Laetare Medal, the oldest
and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics. The Steinfels
are both former editors of Commonweal, an independent
journal of political, religious and literary opinion published
by Catholic laypeople. Peter Steinfels' "Beliefs" column continues
to appear in The New York Times. Margaret Steinfels,
who succeeded her husband as editor of Commonweal in
1988, continued in that position until resigning earlier this
year.
O'Brien Steinfels began by saying she and husband were grateful
for the honor but were also reminded of the old Irish belief about
what inevitably follows good fortune.
"You will be punished. Your plane will probably crash on the
way home. Or that slightly sore tooth . . . will metastasize into
a brain tumor. Or your children will start voting Republican."
This last remark drew not only laughter but applause. It was
unclear whether people were clapping because they thought it would
be fortunate to have one's children voting Republican or, as Mrs.
Steinfels implied, the opposite.
In addition to Lugar, nine people received honorary doctorates
at the 2003 commencement exercises, Notre Dame's 158th. They were:
Notre Dame Trustee and Fellow Kathleen W. Andrews '63M.S.,
vice chairman of Andrews McMeel Universal, a media company
that includes the largest independent newspaper syndicate in the
world; Molly Corbett Broad, president of the
16-campus University of North Carolina and chair of the Internet2
Board of Trustees; Roland W. Chamblee, longtime
family physician in South Bend and community leader in the civil
rights movement and social services; Evelyn Hu-DeHart,
professor of history at Brown University and director
of its Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America;
Allen Mandelbaum, internationally acclaimed Dante
scholar; Leslie E. Robertson, lead structural
engineer for the twin towers of the World Trade Center and designer
of three of the eight tallest buildings in the world plus the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and Continental Arena
in New Jersey; Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez
Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, campaigner
for human rights and the poor and considered a leading papal candidate;
Judge Anthony J. Scirica, chief of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia; and Raul
Yzaguirre, civil rights leader, president and chief executive
officer of the National Council of La Raza, the most influential
and respected Hispanic organization in the country.
