Under circumstances, seniors forget pomp

Graduation is a time for students to celebrate their accomplishments, but it is also a time of anxiety and trepidation about what the outside world will hold. Sitting under the ominous gray skies at Monday morning's Franklin Field Commencement ceremony, family and friends might have been envisioning the assembled seniors' introduction into the harsh, cruel world . . . each graduate voyaging out into the restless seas of reality only to be tossed about like an errant beach ball. But at this year's ceremony, seniors turned such gloomy metaphors on their heads. Out on Franklin Field, a lone beach ball was tossed from senior to senior while, as a group, the restless graduates performed "the Wave." Seniors spontaneously performed the Wave at several points during the Commencement exercises, with each row of students sequentially rising and falling to create an undulating effect for their friends and relatives watching from the stands. They performed the stunt over and over again, until it became so well coordinated that spectators interrupted the official ceremony just to clap. But behind the lighthearted highjinks was plenty of the requisite pomp and circumstance. In the span of two hours, the University conferred thousands of degrees on undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, and handed out honorary degrees to nine other distinguished guests. In addition, hundreds of students and faculty members were singled out for special recognition. Ismail Mahomed, the first non-white South African Supreme Court justice, delivered the commencement address, charging students to use both the power and privilege of their educations to fight the on-going battle toward equality for all. He also criticized the current progress of the United States toward achieving this goal. "Let us be brutally frank," Mahomed said. "What you have done . . . is just not good enough." Performing "the Wave" was far from the only antic that took place as raucous seniors refused to go quietly into the real world. As President Sheldon Hackney conferred degrees on students, many graduates tossed their mortarboards into the air, released baloons or uncorked bottles of champagne previously hidden under their robes. At one point, a student launched a firecracker that whistled off, leaving a wispy trail of smoke. Although graduates had trouble containing themselves, Mother Nature did demonstrate some restraint. The gray skies held and graduation ceremonies were not marred by rain. This year's nine honorary degree recipients were Jon Barwise, Candice Bergen, Rupert Billingham, John Casani, James Comer, Natalie Davis, Chen Fu Koo, Ismail Mahomed and Arno Penzias.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.