Table Of Contentm
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Sv/iHSton-Saem, JlfC
2007-2008
Q/bPiMfc 1O6,
opening
the
howler
This
Welcome to year's Howler is all about
Wake the Wake Forest community.
Forest.
We hear the word "commu-
Welcome
nity" around here so often that
Home
I wonder if it has begun to
lose its meaning. Well, as you
flip through the pages ofthis
book, remember the community you have here.
2007-2008
Remember the overwhelming and supportive
response towards the Prosser family upon Skip
Prosser's death. Think about the solidarity
between faculty and students when the an-
nouncement about facuhy apartments
was made. Consider the potential
the new Deacon Boulevard com-
plex has in building the rela-
tionships among students and
between Wake Forest and the city
of Winston-Salem. Remember that
Wake Forest is a place, but it is also a
home. Here's to Wake Forest...
photosraphsprovidedby: WakeForest University/
Injnr
the howler 2007-2008
T ,
HwlfnTiM
"The Reform Generation and History^ Mysterious Cycle"
Presidenthj,atch. distinguished facultyqflcf.staff, families, friends, andaboveall. membersoftheveryaccomplishedC/os'iS^
of2003:"'^' '
Ifis both an honorandaJoytobeable toJoin you today Thisisan extraordinaryinstitution, youareanextraordinarygen-
eration, OS /// be insisting t(Sfday andyou haveat thisuniversityanextraordinarypresident
/ firstbegan readingNathan hiatchs worl^wifhadmiration ar^d togreatprofitalmost20 yearsago.And thenIhad theop-
portunity to get toJ^whim It isoneoffife's greatevents fo'get tomeeta writeranda thinker you admire -andit's even
better tolearn thafTheperson in question isas warm, thoughtfulanddel'igptful in person as he orshe is in print. Ifdoesn't
alwayshappen that way. PresidentHatch isa scholar a thinl^efanda daeifiabout thebestcombination in acollegepresi-
dentIcan imagine. Yc^f-^lijcky to havehim.
Asyouallprobablyknow, the worstkindofspeech togiv—e is acommencementaddress. ThepeopleIn theroom whomattet
areabsolutelyeveryone—parents, graduates, teachers except thepersongiving thisspeech. Carefulacademicstudies
haveshownhowspeechesofthis sortare remembered. Fourpercentofcommencementspeechesarerememberedbe-
causetheywere reallygood. Twenty-twopercentofcommencementspeechesarerememberedbecause theywerereaiht.
bad. Forty-sixpercentofcommencementspeechesare rememberedbecause theywereway toolong. Therestofthe
respondents said theycouldn'trememberasinglewordofwhatwassaidwhen theyearned theirdegree.
ThisstudyIjustcitedwasmadeupoutatwholecloth, andifyoueverdosucha thing, youwillbehauledbeforeadlscipUr^
arybodyora Congressionalcommittee, But thespiritofthosenumbers iscertainlyright, andtil tryhardtobear them In
mind today
The folksmostlikely to remember todayareyourparents. Can weofferahandfor them?I thoughtbeingaparentwas
easyuntilIbecameone. It is oneof the flaws in thewaywe'rebuiltthatItisnotpossible forasonoradaughter toknow
howmuch love, pr'id^i, anxiety concern, interestandJoythata childbringsaparentuntil thechild inquestionhaskidsof
—
hisorherown.At thatmoment, weunderstandwhatourparents went through butouf-kidsdon'thave a clueas tohowwe
are feeling orwhatwearegoing tt^jjough.
Itkeepsgoing on like that, but. somehov\/, wehave surviveddsa species. And th'is^xplains whygrandparentsandgrandchil-
m
dren aresoclose. Whatdo theyhave incommon?Acommonenemy S^
I learned from myfriendSamanthaPower thegreat writer hhfnan rights activistandfellowRedSoxfan, thatnoaddressof
thissort iscompletewjthout theclassic baseballlesson, my first lesson of this speech. And since Wake is such a fine txiseball
school, that isagreat'place tobegin. Iquotehere theversiondf^reda fewyearsbackbySamantha: "Oneofthe reasons
I loveb<^^^l! is that thebestplayers in thegamehit .300. Tha^Means thatsevenoutfit ten trips to theplate, they grab '
thebateagerly, slep into the batters'box. failat their task, anmreturn totheirdugouts, shouldersdroopedin'despaif!(i|
(seball-playingsonwould note thatthl^eavesoutwalksandtheon-base-percentage, butnevermind.)
Vneverknow. In failing, whatyouareinspiring inothers".Samanthaconcludes. "Areyoulegitimatinga wayofseeing?
wayofbehaving?(Toswitchsportsmetaphors]areyoumoving theballdown the fieldJustan inch?"
So itmayseemstrange tostartoffwith thislesson, butdaring tofail is theonlyway tosucceed. It'sessential toacceptthat\
life willalwayshandyoudefeatsas wellas victories, andwhatmatters is whatyou do withbothofthem. Being prepared ft.
lose is theonlyway to win. Being willing tostrikeoutIs theonlywaytohit .300.And. wlien itcomes topoliticsandpubliclife,
remember that, thankGod. in a democracyJustas thereareno finalvictories, therealsoareno finaldefeats.
I wouldalsocommend to you anotherlesson, which Is topleasecultivateasenseofhumor, especiallyasenseofhumor
aboutyourself. Ifyouwriteanewspapercolumn, youhearalot from thosecriticsnow. thanks toe-mail. Theyareeven
tougher than theverytoughest teachers youhadhereatWake andsomeofwhat theywritemecaneven berepeate3ddIn i
politecompany Myfavoritecriticoncewrote: "DearMr Dionne:Areyouasdumb inperson?'"IfnothingelsecomesofhI
talk, you'llatleastbeable toanswerthatquestion foryourself.
photographsprovidedby: WakeForest University
copyprovidedby: E. J. Dionne's Commencementaddress
commencement 2008
Mostofourverybestpublic servants havechieristiedwit. ironyand laugt)ter Ttieyneeded it to survive in fhe worl< f/iaf ttiey
did. Ttie late TexasGovernorAnn Richards is a primeexample. Richardsonceobserved that thepriceofgasolinehadgot-
ten sohigh that Texas women who wanted to run over theirhusbands had tocarpool. Shealsoregularlycitedagentleman
calledCarlParkerwho said: "Ifyou tookall the foolsoutoftheLegislature, it wouldnotbea representativebodyanymore"
—
Another trulyamusing politician—not for whathedid, but whathe said in rather direcircumstances is formerGovernor
EdwinEdwardsofLousiana. He was indictedsooften thatheonce toldvoters that theyhad toknowhe washonest—be-
causenoonehadbeen acquittedasoften as hehadbeen. Heeventuallywent to the slammer buthe stillhadan unusual
senseofself-awareness. Running in themiddleofadeep recession againstan incumbent, hesaid: Ifyou re-electmyoppo-
nent, there willbenothing leftforme tosteal. Healsosaid: myopponent issodumb thatit takeshim twohours to watch60
l^inutes.
Andwatching thiscampaignhas occasionallybrought tomindIvlarkShields'storyabouta politicalconsultant for a less
than inspiring candidatewho advisedas follows: 'Youcan foolsomeof the peopleallofthe time. And thoseare theones
you shouldconcentrateon".
ButShieldscan laugh atpoliticianseasilybecausehebelieves indemocracy'somuch Therefore, a third lesson: nomatter
howwell-educatedyou fee!yourself tobe. never ever treatwithcontefDptordisrespect thosewhohave less formaledu-
cation than you do. Nomatterhowmuch you thinkyou know, pleasedontfall into thetrapof}gnoring the insightsand the
wisdomof those whoareoftendescribedas"ordinarypeople"butareanything butordinary.
Ifyou believe In democracy you mustbelieve in theJudgmentsof thoseextraordinaryordinary people. Thegreat theolo-
gian ReinholdNiebuhroffered the finestaphorismI knowon behalfofdemocracy "MojjScapacityforgoodmakes democ-
racypossible",hesaid, "tvlan'scapacity forevilmakesdemocracynecQssar)/:Weneeddemocracybecause ifallowsus to
aspire to theJoysofself-rule. Wealsoneeddemocracybecause it^cepts theneedJa^^fctt®people theopportunity to
check thepowerful—especiallywhen thepowerfulabUSQ-t^ir powet.
In his finebook, 'TheDemocratizationofAmeri^n(^ist'ianit^. your presidentHatchnoted that theAmerican Revolution
"dramaticallyexpanded thecircleofpeople whc^^/kiered themselves capableof thinking for themselvesaboutissues
of freedom, equality sovereignj^mndrepresent(JI^^MB^avean aristocracy in the Unite^tate^Uean aristocracyof
a^
everyone, as a friendofmine^^mb say You ''^^P^tKSSSBn/^f^if^l^Jltt^^B^^^m^bering thatevery
singleperson on thisearth-^^^^poof,'form!^educat^SoS^^^iBSa^^^^9^KouO^H^owandcan teach
you things you need toknot
Which leads to—anotherruh leeffective inlife, you reallyi fjvsom'ething. Youcan'tgi\/ on theneed to
keep learning ever Remi the w'orocrMde^prnnmenceivent"me hning'not'end'
You canhavegood intenti^ pu canhave thebestgoals in the world. But ifyoudont take thet'ir. I learn specificskills,
specific facts, to know wh lU'redoingandwhatyou're talkingabout, you won'teverbeable toi jeor fixanything.
MyfriendBillGalston isa p^Bkop/ierofaverypracticalbent. Heoncewrote: 'There'sa big distincW^pefween embracing
theproposition thatman cWSnotlivebybreadaloneandnotbothering tolearnhowabakeryop^Bes in themodern
world. Therearenewand mprOvedwaysofbakingbread thatmakebreadmoreavailable, morec^^ply tomorepeople':
I love whatBillsaidbecau e(A.) Bill takeswhathas becomeacliche, even ifit isaverynobleone, amn^akes itfresh, and
(B.) He shows thataphilos-^ercanbepractical. Breadmaynotbe themostimportantthing, butitsuielyisimportantand
you'dbetterknowhowit's/JBe. Notabe07nefaplwr''fs>rlife. Practicalityshouldnotbemade theaiS>Kof themoraland
the idealistic.Justas idealism is not tneenemy ut practicunty.
And thatgetsme to theone big pointI want to make today It is a pointabout you and yourgeneration.
Yourgeneration is poised tobecomeoneof thegreat reforming generations In ourcountry's history - Ifyoudecide to take
on thischallenge.
The Reform Generation and Historys Mysterious Cycle"
/ drew the titleoftliis talk fromFranklin D Roosevelt'sgreat 1936speechat theDemocratic NationalConvention. Ronald
Reagan lovedFDR. consider ita bi-partisan reference. Thereweremanylinesin thatspeech I loveandI willgivejusta
tadofpoliticalcontent to these remarksbyciting onedifmy favorites: "Bettertheoccasional faultsofa government that
d^
lives in a spiritofcharity thar^fheconsistentomissions \government frozen in the iceofitsown indifference"Ido think
that's true.
But what'smostrelevant for' ttooddaayyll^9^^ii:s moment in Roosevelt'sspeech: 'Thereis a mysteriouscycle in humanevents",Roos-
eveltsaid. 'To somegenerationsmuch isgiven. Ofothergenerationsmujcokk'isseexxppeecctteedd.. T1hisgenerationofAmericanshas
a rendezvous withdestiny. k^(
/ believe those wordsapplynnore trulyto yourgeneration than to anyothersinceFDRaddressed them to whatcame to
beknown as theGreatestGeneration. Ofcourse theGreatestGeneratiS^ISMSifedandtempered byDepressionand
—
war didn'tknowat the timethat they wouMbecome TheGreatestGener^pn. andyoudon'tknowyet whetheryou will
be thenextGreatGeneration. ButIbelievepB™youcanbeand, ifImaybe%' b6ld, Ibelti^veyou willbe
Now the surestindmption ofCreeping middleage Isa proclivity towardwhi spaechesatx)utwhat's wrong with thenew
generation. PerhaWmwbecauseIdon't want tohidveanything to do withcreSj gmiddleage, I have a verypositiveand
entirelyuncranky of yourgeneration.
—
Yourgeneration has beenexceptional in itsde\^tion to service in tutoring andmentoring, atsoup kitchensandhome-
lessshelters, inenvironmentalprogramsandcommunityorganizing. Youcombine theidealismofthesixtieswith theprac-
ticalconcernsof thegenerationsofthe 1980sand the 1990s. It's wrong tostereotypegenerations, butsinceI'mpraising
you. Ididn't thirikyou wouldmind. You'remore practical thanmanywhocameoutofthe 1960sandmore idealistic than
manywhocameoutof the 1980s. You wont todogood, butyou want thegoodyoudo to last. You're willing to takerisks,
but youarenot foolhardy You havedoubtsoboutpolitics, butyou're willing togive politicsachance. Youhavenoillu-
sions, butyoudohavehopes.
Thehealthybalance I see inyourapproach to theworldwasnicelycapturedexactly 100yearsagoby Theodore Roos-
eveltwhenhesaid: "Ablindandignorantresistance toeveryeffortfor thereformofabusesand thereadjustmentof
society representsnot trueconservatism, butan incitement to the wildestradicalism; forwiseradicalismand wise
..
conservatism gohandinhand, onebentonprogress, theotherbenton seeing thatnochangeismadeunlessin theright
direction':Thai, ' think, isyourapproach. i
Inournation'shistory thegreatreforminggenerationsaretheones thatmarry theiraspirations toservicewith thepos-
sibilitiesofpolitics. Theyharness thegoodworkdoneone-on-one, in localcommunities, to largermovements forchange
in ournation andour world. Theyrememberwhat thephilosopherlYIichaelSandelhas taughtus, that "whenpoliticsgoes
well, wecanknowagoodIncommon thatwecannotknowalone'!
Yourgenerationhas theopportunitytorestorea faith inpublic life thatbegan erodingbefore you wereborn, in t^e'i
sionsbredbytheVietnam Warand in theashesofpublic trust leftbythe firesofthe Watergatescandal. Yourgeneratj^
hasachance togetuspast thewreckageof theoldculturewars, pastthedebrisofprejudiceon thegroundsofrace
gender, classandsexualpreference, pastthedisappointmentsofgovernmentfailuresandourlossoffaith inour(
fivecapacities.
Nearlyhalfacenturyago, JohnFKennedydeclared: "Idonotbelieve thatanyofuswouldexchangeplaces withcmy^.
otherpeople or withanyothergeneration':I donq^nv^ourgeneration theproblemsyouare inheriting, butIdoj
'theopportunityyouhave tobreakwith failure, v^^mawSbidens, and with oldarrangements.
ThegreathistorianArthurSchleslngersensedon opening suchas thligne when he wrote in 1960: "Atperiodicmoment^
jourhistory ourcountryhaspausedon the thresholdofanewepoch in ournationallife, unable foramoment toopen i
^qor butaware thatItmustadvanceIfItIs to preserve its nominalvitalityandIdentity O' e feels thatweareapproach
' suchamomentnow—thatthemoodwhichhasdominated thenation foradecadeIsbeginning toseem thinand
irrelevant; thatitnolongerinterpretsourdesiresandne-:-dsasa people thatnewforces, newenergies, newvaluesof'
straining forexpressionandforrelease:
plioto^rophsprovidedby: WakeForest University
copyprovidedby: E. J. Dionne's Commencement address
and Wal<eForestNews Service
