Street opens new road to grads

When John Street addressed the Graduate School of Fine Arts Class of 2001, he did so as a mayor -- and as a father. With daughter Rashida Ng poised to receive her Master of Architecture degree, Mayor Street told the audience of 170 graduating students and their families that his remarks had to be brief, or "I'm not going to be able to have Rashida over any more." "Actually, maybe that sounds good," he joked, standing against the backdrop of Furness Library. Street drew upon the definition of the word commencement to call the graduating designers, planners and artists into action. "Today marks the ending of one phase of your education, and yet this event is called the beginning -- the commencement," Street said. "Yes, we are complimenting you on your achievements, but please remember we pay you the greatest compliment when we say that we expect great things from the Class of 2001." "We are counting on you to create a more peaceful and more loving and more just world than the one we have prepared for you," he said. But before the graduates set off to tackle the world's problems, the mayor suggested that Philadelphia would be a good place to start. Citing such challenges as 200,000 public school children that attend classes in woefully inadequate facilities and 10,000 prisoners who have a dire need for additional educational and vocational opportunities, the mayor told the graduates, "We need your ideas, and we need your ideals." Street said that such programs as his New Economy Development Alliance and the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative were already working to transform the city into "a place that young people like you would be proud to call home." And just to be sure, Street rolled out the red carpet. "Let me make this invitation official," Street said. "I invite each and every one of you to change Philadelphia from your school address to your permanent address." Street offered up one of his own role models to the graduates, the late civil rights leader Dr. Leon Sullivan, who fought apartheid in South Africa and who helped the needy in Philadelphia. "The lesson Dr. Sullivan taught me and the important message for you is simple -- one committed, talented and relentless person can make a huge difference," Street said. At the beginning of the ceremony, GSFA Dean Gary Hack told the students that they will need to "unlearn" some things picked up during their time spent inside Meyerson Hall. "They're going to have to unlearn how to work on moonlight savings time," Hack said. "The world, graduates, works on daylight savings time, so you're going to have to shift your days and nights." "You'll also have to unlearn the rhythm of 15-week projects -- not every project that you'll have in your careers will start and end in 15 weeks," he said. In fact, Hack, an urban designer, said that a plan he had prepared 10 years ago for the West Side waterfront in New York City was finally coming to fruition. Another father had his day in the spotlight as well -- Leonardo Espinosa, who graduated with a Ph.D. in energy management and policy. He was the bearer of a family tradition that included daughter Vanessa Zaragocin, a 2000 College graduate, and College junior Sofia Zaragocin. "We actually had a bet in my family as to who would graduate first -- my sister or my father," Sofia said, adding that "it's great to see my dad fulfill his dream." As for Street, Ng said that her father passed her test. "He didn't go over 15 minutes," she said. "I timed it."