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Commencement 2014 - Printable Version

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Re: Commencement 2014 - GoodGrief - 02-04-2014

(02-04-2014, 10:33 AM)CrazedZooChimp link Wrote:I also just realized that my brother also had a news anchor as commencement speakers (his was Ted Koppel), weird.

Wasn't my year, but I heard that when a contingent started enthusiastically chanting, "TEDDY! TEDDY!" Koppel got big laughs by asking, "How'd you get the keg in here?"


Re: Commencement 2014 - CompSci87 - 02-04-2014

I graduated midyear from Marquette University (December 1980), and our speaker for the midyear ceremony was Father Somebody, the current university president. Zzzz. Maybe there was a better speaker in June 1981 when the rest of my class graduated, but I don't remember attending.

I also attended the Stanford graduation ceremony in 1987 when I got my PhD. The web page tells me Tip O'Neill spoke, but I remember zero about that. I do remember the C.S. department hooding ceremony afterward -- that's a great tradition.


Re: Commencement 2014 - Papa John - 02-04-2014

We had Mario Cuomo in '85, but what I remember most was all of the "Free South Africa" sashes that folks were wearing. At one point, Cuomo acknowledged the anti-apartheid crowd and someone jumped on stage and handed him a sash. I'm pretty sure that his speech was strongly anti-Reagan, but--and I hate to sound so insensitive--I really wasn't in the mood for a social justice/political rally that day. I was just so sad that my tenure on the Farm was over, and I was overly anxious about my uncertain future.

Re: Commencement 2014 - Spiny_Norman - 02-04-2014

The speaker in 1983 for my graduation was George Schultz, then the US Secretary of State.  The only memory that I have of his speech is that he was dodging champagne corks being shot his way.  The Secret Service guys were freaking out.

I believe that was the last commencement in Frost because it was just not big enough to accommodate the number of people wanting to attend.  I hope that more recent students have been relieved of the mad scramble to find commencement tickets when each graduating student was limited to 2 tickets.

Oasis, Robert Pinsky has been ranked highly on my list of Cool People ever since I saw him moderate Stephen Colbert vs. Sean Penn in the Meta-Free-Phor-All.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/85568/april-19-2007/meta-free-phor-all--shall-i-nail-thee-to-a-summer-s-day-

Re: Commencement 2014 - rastaman85 - 02-04-2014

I remember being profoundly sad, too--as it turns out, I may not have been sad enough--life has been pretty good to me, but I haven't worn a tux to basketball games, or run for office, or directed a play, or run through a glass door since I was an undergrad. Good times, good times...

As an '85er, I was very glad that I didn't have to parse scarce tix out among divided family members. We were one of--if not the first-- class to graduate from the stadium.

I have a vague memory of Cuomo catching a champagne cork, but none of the sash incident referenced above.

Re: Commencement 2014 - needle - 02-04-2014

I loved Garrett Morris on Hunter.

Graduation Memories..... - jacketree - 02-04-2014

In order as I remember them.  (I love threads like this.  Wish we were in Frost.....)

1981 - High School.  Jefferson County Stadium, Lakewood, CO. Micky's Big Mouths the night before in an undisclosed location.  Hot and humid for Colorado; it had snowed earlier that week and the field was literally steaming.  I was seated next to Karri U. my homecoming date.  Someone must have spoken.  The house band played Freebird.  Left on a Trailways bus later that night, never to return.

1985 - Undergraduate. Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta.  Hard to describe what we had the night before.  We had dammed the front courtyard of our house (yours truly was in charge of that since I was to receive a BCE the next morning) and floated on inner tubes drinking what was basically pure grain jet fuel.  At about 5 a.m. everyone was passed out in said inner tubes while "shithead" our house mutt was drinking the pond water, oblivious to the flotsam and jetsam, which included fine sediment from our front porch, empty bottles, a torn bag of Popeye's Chicken, vomit, and a guy named Franco.  At 8:30 a.m. I performed a controlled breach of the dam, thereby washing the effluvia down our front steps (effective energy dissipation) and on to Fourth Street, NW.  At 9:00 we were in cap and gown at the intersection of Tenth and Fowler.  It was hot and humid.  Atlanta in its mid-June glory. "If you need to toss cookies, there are potted palms lining every aisle...."  I believe a Regent spoke.  I managed to make it to the stage and shook Joe Pettit's hand without a palm detour. A few were not so fortuitous. They played Ramblin' Wreck one last time and we went absolutely delirious.

1986 - Graduate. Stanford Stadium.  We had "prairie dogs" the night before.  151 with Tabasco Sauce.  Good Lord.  Ted Koppel spoke. Awful.  We hissed at the Law School and GSB classes.  Pure Mediterranean bliss.  We all wore anti-apartheid sashes and leis.  Weird combo.  In all honesty I wish I had stayed in bed like half my friends.  Prairie Dogs.

1992 - Sister's Graduation.  Colorado College lawn.  I was sober with a one year old daughter in tow.  Dick Cheney spoke the year prior and they were still buzzing about that.  CC is a tiny blue island in a red town. That year they went super tame. I think the President of the College spoke.  Probably just to avoid a repeat of the mass protest the year before. I was busy corralling a toddler, so Christ could have spoken and I would not have noticed. Very nice weather. Lots of green to wander. Butterflies everywhere.  My sister was dating some guy named Bob and it was a big deal.  I wonder what ever became of Bob.

1998 - Son's graduation from Montessori School.  Cap and gown.  Freaking hilarious. I'm sure the weather was nice. When is it not on the Peninsula in late May / early June?

2009 - Jacketrette graduates from high school. St. Pious Catholic Church, Redwood City.  Sat next to Will Powers of all people.  Really nice ceremony. Some kid spoke. Meh. Perfect weather.

2012 - Jacketree Junior graduates from high school. St. Ignatius Catholic Church, San Francisco.  Freaking gorgeous venue. The valedictorian had lost her mother, sister, and home in the San Bruno explosion.  She and her father were spared because they were at back to school night. "SI literally saved my life."  Whoa.  Early June. Cold as shit in line waiting to go inside the church.  Sun broke free just after the ceremony.

2013 - Jacketrette graduates from college. Chiles Center, Portland. Quite possibly the best week of weather Portland has ever experienced. Crystal clear blue skies with snow-capped volcanoes everywhere you looked it seemed. A fairly amazing array of speakers no one had heard of, but were incredibly powerful.  First living person with Down's Syndrome to receive an honorary doctorate. And Sam Bridgman walked across the stage to get his degree. Which brought the house down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBkD0i8h-w

I look forward to 2016, Commissioning Week, and the Blue Angels flying over Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. My son hopes to be in the black top with two bars as a 2nd Lt. in the USMC. Only 2+ years to go.....

(Funny how the graduations have been better when not hung over.)



Re: Commencement 2014 - Hank 91 - 02-04-2014

(02-04-2014, 03:37 PM)GoodGrief link Wrote:[quote author=CrazedZooChimp link=topic=9503.msg83170#msg83170 date=1391535204]
I also just realized that my brother also had a news anchor as commencement speakers (his was Ted Koppel), weird.

Wasn't my year, but I heard that when a contingent started enthusiastically chanting, "TEDDY! TEDDY!" Koppel got big laughs by asking, "How'd you get the keg in here?"
[/quote]

That wasn't one of his commencement speeches. That actually happened during his speech at the Centennial Celebration in the fall of 1991.

Re: Commencement 2014 - Hulk01 - 02-05-2014

Scotty Reston gave ours.  He was fine.

The second best I ever heard was the one that I gave.  :)  Great fun for me; kids are great and i had some college stories.  Plus I promised to speak for 12 minutes and finished in 11:58.

But no graduation speech ever will topple number one: Conan O'Brien's at Dartmouth.  That game's over. 

Apropos of nothing - Mick - 02-05-2014

(02-05-2014, 07:26 AM)Hulk01 link Wrote:The second best I ever heard was the one that I gave.  :)  Great fun for me; kids are great and i had some college stories.  Plus I promised to speak for 12 minutes and finished in 11:58.


A good friend of mine is a former Stanford lineman, now an assistant district attorney.  He makes his opening and closing statements exactly 12 minutes, because that's what Americans are accustomed to...it's the time from commercial to commercial on network television, generally speaking.  He always laughs when defense attorneys drone on for an hour or more and lose the jury.

So you nailed it, Hulk....

Re: Commencement 2014 - zedcom - 02-06-2014

(02-05-2014, 07:26 AM)Hulk01 link Wrote:But no graduation speech ever will topple number one: Conan O'Brien's at Dartmouth.  That game's over.

Had never listened to O'Brien's speech at Dartmouth...definitely worth the 25 minutes! Thanks.

http://teamcoco.com/content/watch-conan-give-dartmouth-college-commencement-address

Re: Commencement 2014 - Hulk01 - 02-07-2014

Thanks for the add, Mick.  I hadn't thought of that--the 12 minutes between commercials.  I had this strong sense that 15 minutes was too long and nine minutes was too short, but perhaps growing up with television influenced that intuition.