‘Finish your own sentences’
When Harvard President Drew Faust welcomed her first class of freshmen to Harvard in the fall of 2007, she warned them that the next four years would disorient their lives and unsettle their assumptions. Now, as the Class of 2011 prepares to graduate, Faust appealed to them to chart their own unique courses in life, while staying true to the values of truth and goodness they learned at the University. “Remain mindful of others, but decide for yourself,” Faust told Harvard College seniors in her Baccalaureate Address on Tuesday (May 24). After Commencement itself, the Baccalaureate Service is one of Harvard’s oldest traditions, existing off and on at the University since 1642. It has been customary for the president and Harvard clergy to address the graduating class since the 19th century. Calling to mind the University’s religious roots, the service at the Memorial Church now includes readings from Hindu scriptures, the Quran,...