Secretary of Agriculture speaks at Ivy Day ceremony

Provost Stanley Chodorow read the minds of many students sitting in Irvine Auditorium Saturday afternoon. "You may be asking yourself why would we invite the Secretary of Agriculture to speak at one of the nation's urban universities," he said in his introduction of Ivy Day speaker Dan Glickman. And, to the amusement of many audience members, he promptly answered this seemingly pertinent question. "Traditionally, a large part of our student body has been drawn from the vast potato fields -- of Long Island," he began. "Moreover, many of you are graduating from the Wharton School, which has a long promoted interest in soybean and wheat futures," he added. "It's no coincidence that Dan Glickman has served six years as chairman of a subcommittee on general farm commodities and as its predecessor a subcommittee on wheat, soybean and peach trees." After a more serious introduction, Glickman took over the podium and showed that he too could laugh at himself . "I think it was about 33 years ago that I either tried to get into Penn and applied, but was rejected, or I was told that my SAT scores were so bad that I shouldn't even try to get in," he began. "So I am honored that you either thought enough of me, or regretted not letting me in 33 years ago, to invite me here today." Glickman then added to the growing list of reasons why he is an appropriate speaker. "Some of you may not know that ivy is one of the leading agricultural commodities in this country," he explained. After entertaining the audience with his favorite chicken joke, Glickman proceeded to give the seniors some "gratuitous advice." But first, he assured the students that this speech would not be like his typical speeches. "Today, for the first time since I took the office of Secretary of Agriculture two months ago, I don't want to talk about the 1995 Farm Bill," Glickman said. "That will be something of a relief to me, and I know that will be a relief to you." In its place, he offered his top five list of adages by Ben Franklin, with his apologies to David Letterman, interspersing the Franklin quotes with humorous vignettes from his life. Glickman left his audience with a piece of sage advice. "Let me close by saying one final thing," he said. "Even he who sits on the highest throne, still sits on his own ass." Next on the Ivy Day agenda was an awards ceremony to recognize some of the outstanding members of the Class of 1995. This was followed by an Ivy Ceremony, led by acting Vice Provost of University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, senior class president Loren Mendell and co-captain of the Football team Michael Turner. The three led students to the area between Logan Hall and Van Pelt Library -- the site chosen by the Class of 1995. "We unveiled the stone, and then Pup and Loren planted the ivy in the tree right next to the button," McCoullum said. The spot is significant because "it is at the crossroads of Penn," she explained, calling it "an essential and important locus of student life on the campus." McCoullum added that the class had originally considered putting their stone in Houston Hall. "But my understanding was that they wanted to give that honor to a subsequent class, particularly with next year's 100th anniversary," she said.

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