Graduation season is in full swing, with stars and power brokers from Dolly Parton to President Obama waxing philosophical in commencement speeches nationwide. The most controversial address of the season happens today in South Bend, Ind., where Obama will receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame. Almost 70 bishops and pro-life groups have expressed outrage over the Catholic institution’s decision to honor a president who supports abortion rights and embryonic- stem-cell research. Yesterday, more than 20 protesters, including a priest, were cuffed after they marched onto campus at noon. Obama — who is booked for three graduations this month –spoke last week at Arizona State University, which elected not to give him an honorary degree because of his “inexperience.” “I come to confirm that one’s title, even a title like president of the United States, says very little about how well one’s life has been led — and that no matter how much you’ve done, or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to do, always more to learn, and always more to achieve,” he told the graduates. Here are some other pearls of wisdom imparted to the Class of 2009.
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Smokey Robinson, Berklee College of Music, Boston
“Show business is a fickle life. You’re up today, you’re down tomorrow. You’re in today, you’re out tomorrow. It’s a life of peaks and valleys. Let your valleys inspire you to get to the next peak. And if you have a lot of peaks in a row, don’t take yourself so seriously that you think you’re IT.”
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, NYU, Yankee Stadium
“Thanks to all of you for cheering a visitor. I didn’t realize that was permitted in Yankee Stadium.”
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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, High Point (NC) University
“Someone once asked Wernher von Braun, the man who built the Apollo rockets, what it would take to send a man to the moon. The answer is the epitaph of his generation: ‘The will to do it.’ ”
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Oprah Winfrey, Duke University, Durham, NC
“It is a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home, or homes . . . And it is really fantastic to have your own jet, and anybody who says it isn’t is lying to you. That jet thing is really good. But you really haven’t completed the circle of success unless you can help somebody else move forward. That’s the truth. Move to higher ground. That’s the real goal.”
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“Late Night” TV star Jimmy Fallon, College of St. Rose, Albany
“Finally, I convinced them that I’ve done enough communicating to get my communications degree — and it only took me 17 years do to it,” he said of the honorary degree his alma mater gave him. “All I can say is, thank God I didn’t want to be a doctor. That would have taken 65 years.”
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Dolly Parton, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
“Just think, I’m Dr. Dolly! So when people say something about ‘Double D,’ they’ll be thinking of something entirely different.”
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Mayor Bloomberg, Fordham University, Bronx
“I look out into the crowd of you proud graduates — and I see so many shining faces. Either you’re beaming — or you’re still glassy-eyed from spending last night at Mugsy’s on Arthur Avenue. That’s OK. You have a lot to celebrate.”
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First Lady Michelle Obama, University of California, Merced:
“When times get tough and fear sets in, think of those people who’ve paved the way for you, and those who are counting on you to pave the way for them . . . Hold onto the hope that brought you here today, the hope of laborers and immigrants, settlers and slaves whose blood built this community and made it possible for you to sit in these seats . . . You are the hope of Merced and the hope of this nation.”
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Phillies Pitcher Jamie Moyer, Holy Family University, Philadelphia
“The road is not going to be smooth, but you can always remember that no matter what you’re doing, how much success you’re having, that you can always give back and make a difference to the community you live and work in.”