Ave Atque Vale: June 8 1959
Barbara A. Johnson
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Opinions
The gaiety and pride which comes with Commencement find themselves linked with sadness as friends depart. The good-bye, "See you in the fall," no longer applies to the class of 1959.
As we witnessed Last Chapel we could see the lines of sadness that lay under the bright smiles of the seniors, who were proud of their careers here, and proud of Smith. Yet once or twice, as they listened, "This is the end…" flashed through their minds.
In truth, it is not the end. Each graduate who leaves takes with her a part of Smith. She has helped to build this community and has left part of herself here. Those of us who remain to study or to teach cannot and will not ignore the past here.
Further, it is not the end if one does not make it so. Certainly the class shall never live together in 'Hamp again, but the values and spirit which one acquires here are carried away more easily than the typewriter and stack of books which a patient father places in his car. The spirit and the values are not as easily lost as the old notebook or the letter from home.
During four years here, teachers have contrived to create within the student a thirst for knowledge never quite quenchable, a love for life never defeated and a knowledge of the self never ending in its growth. What the books cannot teach, experience - given time - surely will. Thus, if four years in Northampton have provided each individual with a zest for life, its curiosities and its challenges, the lessons learned here are not lost. The chronology of the reign of Louis XIV may slip the mind, but the more valuable quality can remain.
We who stay behind bid each graduate farewell. We hope you will find your future fulfilling and successful. We, the class of 1960, who follow you, do so awed by our predecessors and send you off on the "road to tomorrow" sure of your success.
As we witnessed Last Chapel we could see the lines of sadness that lay under the bright smiles of the seniors, who were proud of their careers here, and proud of Smith. Yet once or twice, as they listened, "This is the end…" flashed through their minds.
In truth, it is not the end. Each graduate who leaves takes with her a part of Smith. She has helped to build this community and has left part of herself here. Those of us who remain to study or to teach cannot and will not ignore the past here.
Further, it is not the end if one does not make it so. Certainly the class shall never live together in 'Hamp again, but the values and spirit which one acquires here are carried away more easily than the typewriter and stack of books which a patient father places in his car. The spirit and the values are not as easily lost as the old notebook or the letter from home.
During four years here, teachers have contrived to create within the student a thirst for knowledge never quite quenchable, a love for life never defeated and a knowledge of the self never ending in its growth. What the books cannot teach, experience - given time - surely will. Thus, if four years in Northampton have provided each individual with a zest for life, its curiosities and its challenges, the lessons learned here are not lost. The chronology of the reign of Louis XIV may slip the mind, but the more valuable quality can remain.
We who stay behind bid each graduate farewell. We hope you will find your future fulfilling and successful. We, the class of 1960, who follow you, do so awed by our predecessors and send you off on the "road to tomorrow" sure of your success.
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