U. Chaplain addresses seniors at Baccalaureate

It is the end of an era for the University's Baccalaureate Ceremony. University Chaplain Stanley Johnson has been a part of every Baccalaureate ceremony since 1961. But this year marked his last opportunity to address the senior class in this manner, since he is retiring at the end of June. Over 2,000 students and their families packed into Irvine Auditorium to take part in this hour long spiritual ceremony. But before the man who Provost Stanley Chodorow introduced as "as much apart of Penn as this space we are in" made his final speech, the audience was treated to multiple religious readings by their peers-- including one by graduating Wharton senior and Quaker Guard Jerome Allen. Then University President Judith Rodin spoke to the students about the meaning of the ceremony. "What we do here today can be as important as any other aspect of your four years at Penn," she said. Rodin added that "coming together to think honestly and creatively is really what a University is all about." And since the purpose of a Baccalaureate is for its participants to stop and think, Rodin concluded by sharing her thoughts with the audience. "I want you to know that you know that you will all be in my thoughts, as I hope Penn will be in yours," she said. Before giving the microphone over to Johnson, Chodorow expressed his disappointment that the Chaplain would no longer be easily reached for service. "But I know that although he won't be in his office, I will be able to find him at a Penn football or basketball game," Chodorow said. "And maybe even at a Baccalaureate or Commencement or two." Johnson spent most of his speech discussing the three major changes that he has seen during his tenure that "have made Penn a much different community than I once knew." These included a change in demographics, a new attitude among students and an increased level of diversity. "These changes are mirrored in the world," he said. Afterwards there was a mixed reaction from students who attended the ceremony. College senior Dan Hurwitz said he thought "it was pretty nifty." "I was surprised how choked up I got at the end of the Chaplain's address," he added. But other students felt the event left something to be desired. "I thought the Chaplain's speech was honestly way too long," College senior Adam Morgenthaw said. "But I thought Judith's speech was excellent."

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