Class asks fellow graduate to speak

Rather than paying for more education, Wharton undergraduates officially marked the end of their Penn career on Sunday, opening their way to making money in the business world. Over 600 undergraduate and evening school students marched onto the newly redesigned Franklin Field Sunday afternoon, while their families and friends filled the stands. Waving various objects, parents tried to make themselves noticed to the students as they marched into the stadium, hoping to take a picture of their fleeting sons and daughters as they walked to take their seats. After settling down for the ceremony, the students and audience were welcomed by Wharton Dean Patrick Harker, who lauded the performance of the undergraduates. "It is my hope that you will be leaders of depth and substance, inclusiveness and passion and commitment," Harker said. "You are the Wharton the world sees, you are the Wharton brand... you have the power to shape Wharton's reputation for better or worse," he said. Wharton Undergraduate Vice Dean Thomas Dunfee then addressed the crowd and joked that parents must be elated because they will no longer need to write tuition checks. On a serious note, Dunfee urged the graduates, in addition to seeking personal wealth, "to better the world in which you live in." The speaker this year was one of the graduates' own, Wharton senior Aaron Karo, creator of the popular e-mail letter Ruminations. Incorporating humor into his speech, Karo, who was chosen by the students to deliver the address, mentioned late nights studying and job recruiting as events that brought the class together. He also alluded to the "Wharton Curve," saying that some of his fellow classmates are "responsible for my B in accounting." After Karo spoke, Harker presented two faculty members -- Statistics professor Robert Stine and Finance professor Andrew Metrick -- with the David Hauck Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Various other student, teaching assistant and faculty teaching awards were presented as well. In a logistical feat, the 600 students then proceeded to line up by their concentration to walk across the stage and receive their degrees as each name was called.