A Graduate
Yesterday I wore the mortarboard and the red tassel, the black cloak and the orange College of Engineering sash and graduated with one of the two degrees in progress, in the magnificent Hill Auditorium. I have added two letters to my name. Mary Sue Coleman, the president of the University of Michigan gave an excellent speech welcoming us to the 'community of scholars'. I was not prepared for such honour. I was there in my sneakers, wearing a T-shirt banking on the fact that the cloak would mask my 'underdressing for the occasion'. It did to quite an extent, except that I required a safety pin to tie one of those things which I don't the name of. In the men's locker room your chances of finding a safety pin are equivalent to the chances of finding WMD in Iraq. Thanks to a shining damsel who gallantly produced a safety pin and I was then able to secure the damn thing. Mary Sue Coleman quoted Robert Henlein,
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects" (Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love). She added, " .. and graduate students."