Convocation to Open the Academic Year 2002-2003
August 29, 2002
IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER ACADEMIC YEAR TO BEGIN. ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, WHERE SO MUCH TIME, MONEY AND ENERGY ARE INVESTED IN EDUCATION, STUDENTS ARE RETURNING TO THEIR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. THE LATE SUMMER MIGRATION BACK TO CAMPUS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST IMPRESSIVE ANNUAL ANIMAL MOVEMENTS ON THE PLANET. BY PLANE, TRAIN, BUS, BOAT, SUBWAY AND AUTOMOBILE, ABOUT FIFTEEN AND A HALF MILLION MEN AND WOMEN WILL MAKE THEIR WAY FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER TO BEGIN A NEW YEAR OF SCHOOL.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE BEEN ON THE MOVE FOR AS LONG AS WE HAVE BEEN A SPECIES. ONE OF THE STORIES I READ OVER THE SUMMER DESCRIBED THE DISCOVERY OF A SEVEN MILLION-YEAR-OLD SKULL IN THE AFRICAN DESERT OF CHAD. A FRENCH-LED TEAM ASSIGNED IT TO AN ENTIRELY NEW GENUS AND SPECIES WITH AN APPROPRIATE AND EASY TO FORGET LATIN NAME. I REMEMBER THE COMMON NAME. IT IS TOUMAI AND MEANS “HOPE OF LIFE” IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE. ABOUT A MILLION YEARS OLDER THAN ANY PREVIOUSLY RECOGNIZED HOMINID, TOUMAI LIVED CLOSE TO THE TIME THAT MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS SAY THE HUMAN LINEAGE DIVERGED FROM THE CHIMPANZEE BRANCH. IT WAS ABOUT TIME I’D SAY.
THE STORY ABOUT “TOUMAI” IS RELEVANT TO NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY BECAUSE IT REMINDS US OF OUR COMMON, HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, BECAUSE IT VASTLY EXPANDS OUR TIME HORIZON FORCING US TO IMAGINE A DIFFERENT STORY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANKIND, AND BECAUSE THE FINDINGS UPSET CONVENTIONAL THEORIES AND THINKING. HUMILITY, IMAGINATION, AND THE COURAGE TO CHANGE WHEN WE DISCOVER SOMETHING WE HAVE BELIEVED IS WRONG ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THOSE WHO ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEIR “TOUMAI”- THEIR HOPE FOR LIFE – THE ACQUISITION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE.
THE FOURTEEN WEEKS SINCE OUR SPRING COMMENCEMENT HAVE PASSED TOO QUICKLY. DURING THAT TIME WE HAVE BEEN BUSY PREPARING OURSELVES FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL TERM. OUR BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS CREWS HAVE BEEN WORKING OVERTIME ON A VARIETY OF CAPITAL PROJECTS FROM THE NEW DORMITORY AND UNIVERSITY HALL ON 13TH STREET TO CLASSROOM, OFFICE AND STUDENT SPACES TO IMPLEMENTING WEB-BASED REGISTRATION AND ALVIN, OUR NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT GIVES STUDENTS ON-LINE ACCESS TO THEIR RECORDS. WE FINISHED A VERY SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING YEAR ON JUNE 30TH AND HAVE BEGUN THE WORK NECESSARY TO MAKE THIS YEAR EVEN BETTER. WE HAVE ALSO BEGUN A LIBERAL ARTS STRATEGIC PLANNING ACTION PHASE, WHICH WE INTEND TO COMPLETE IN THE SPRING OF 2003 WITH A SET OF DECISIONS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN OUR SOCIAL SCIENCE, HUMANITIES AND LIBERAL ARTS FOUNDATION AND CONNECT MORE CLOSELY WITH OUR ARTS AND DESIGN SCHOOLS.
NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING A PLACE WHERE STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HUMAN BEING. TODAY, THROUGH THE PRESENTATION OF THE DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY TEACHING AWARDS, WE RECOGNIZE EXTRAORDINARY HUMAN BEINGS WHO HAVE BROUGHT “TOUMAI” TO STUDENTS AT NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY. THIS YEAR'S RECIPIENTS EPITOMIZE WHAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE MOST VALUABLE ASSET OF ANY UNIVERSITY: TEACHERS WHO KNOW HOW AND ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH HELPING OTHERS TO LEARN. WE SALUTE AND THANK YOU FOR THE VALUE YOU HAVE ADDED TO OUR WORLD.
WE ALSO AWARD AN HONORARY DEGREE TO JUDGE BALTASAR GARZON, ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING ANTI-TERRORISM JUDGES. HE HAS RISKED HIS LIFE TO BRING JUSTICE TO THOSE WHO USE THEIR POWER TO TERRORIZE THE LIVES OF THE POWERLESS. NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING A PLACE WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN LEARN AND DEVELOP WITHOUT RIGID RULES OR SUPERFLUOUS CONVENTIONS THAT LIMIT HUMAN POTENTIAL. SINCE NOTHING SUBVERTS HUMAN FREEDOM MORE THAN TERROR, AND NOTHING SUBVERTS TERRORISTS MORE THAN THOSE WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO USE THE AUTHORITY OF THE LAW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF JUSTICE, I CAN THINK OF NO ONE MORE APPROPRIATE THAN JUDGE GARZON TO RECEIVE AN HONORARY DEGREE AS WE BEGIN THE 2002-2003 SCHOOL YEAR AT NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY.
FIVE YEARS AGO, WHEN THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT APPROVED OUR DESIGNATION AS NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY, WE BEGAN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING ONE GREAT UNIVERSITY. YET, WE MUST STILL BEGIN EACH DAY OF OUR WORK BY EMBRACING THE VALUES AND TRADITIONS OF OUR PAST: CRITICAL THINKING THAT EXPANDS THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DISCIPLINES WE CHOOSE TO STUDY; DETERMINATION TO PROTECT OPEN DEBATE AND CONVERSATION UNINHIBITED BY FEAR OF WHERE OUR STUDIES MIGHT TAKE US; COMMITMENT TO MEET THE UNMET EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY; AND A WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE IN THE GREAT, CONTENTIOUS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES OF OUR DAY.
A YEAR AGO I PARTICIPATED IN MY FIRST NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION. WE DID PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THINGS WE ARE DOING HERE THIS AFTERNOON: HONORING FACULTY, PRAISING THE WORK OF EMPLOYEES OF THIS INSTITUTION DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, AND CONSIDERING AN AMBITIOUS AGENDA FOR OUR ACADEMIC YEAR. TWO WEEKS LATER WE WERE STILL WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THE NORMAL ASSORTMENT OF CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS THAT FACE US EVERY YEAR, WHEN OUR WORLD CHANGED FOREVER.
ON SEPTEMBER 11TH STUDENTS HAD JUST BEGUN REGISTERING FOR CLASSES AT THE NEW SCHOOL WHEN AT 8:46 A.M. AN AIRPLANE CRASHED INTO THE NORTH TOWER OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. AT 9:03 A.M. A SECOND PLANE CRASHED INTO THE SOUTH TOWER. LESS THAN AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER BOTH BUILDINGS COLLAPSED. THE IMPOSSIBLE HAD HAPPENED. THESE TWO MAMMOTH STRUCTURES HAD BECOME TOUCHSTONES OF OUR EXISTENCE. WE HAD EXPECTED THEM TO BE THERE FOREVER, AND IN AN INSTANT, THEY WERE GONE.
GONE WAS A GREAT SYMBOL OF OUR “TOUMAI,” THE HOPE OF OUR LIFE. GONE WERE THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO ON THAT DAY SIMPLY DID WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF THEM: THEY WENT TO WORK. SOME WENT TO WORK AS FIREFIGHTERS, POLICEMEN, EMERGENCY RESCUE PERSONNEL OR EMPLOYEES OF THE PORT AUTHORITY. THEY DID WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF THEM, TOO, AND BECAME HEROES TO ALL OF US.
THERE WERE HEROES AT THIS UNIVERSITY, TOO, WHO FOLLOWED NO EMPLOYEE MANUAL WHEN THEY VOLUNTEERED TO MAKE THIS A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR OTHERS WHO HAD BEEN EXILED BY MURDEROUS VIOLENCE. WE BECAME A PLACE WHERE VICTIMS CAME FOR COUNSELING, TO SEARCH FOR THEIR LOVED ONES, TO RECEIVE COMPASSION AND KINDNESS. AT A TIME WHEN THE SURVIVAL OF OUR UNIVERSITY WAS AT RISK, WE GAVE TO STRANGERS WHO NEEDED US SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
FOR OUR YOUNG STUDENTS 9/11 IS THEIR PEARL HARBOR. HOWEVER, UNLIKE PEARL HARBOR WE COULD NOT RESPOND BY DECLARING WAR ON A NATION-STATE THAT HAD ATTACKED OUR NAVAL AND AIR FORCES IN FAR-OFF HAWAII. THE EXTERNAL FORCE WAS AN ORGANIZATION AND NOT A NATION-STATE, ITS INTENTIONAL TARGET WAS INNOCENT CIVILIANS RATHER THAN MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, AND ITS GOALS WERE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL, RATHER THAN THE ACQUISITION OF LAND, NATURAL RESOURCES OR POWER.
THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES RESPONDED WITH A CALL TO WAR. THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE HELP OF MANY ALLIES, FOUGHT A WAR AGAINST A REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN, WHICH HAD BEEN HOME TO THE ORGANIZATION THAT HAD DECLARED WAR ON US. THIS REGIME HAD USED FORCE TO REPRESS AND TERRORIZE ITS OWN PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN, ESPECIALLY WOMEN, WHO, FOR THE MOST PART, CELEBRATED THEIR LIBERATION.
U.S. POLITICAL LEADERS ENACTED NEW LAWS THAT RESTRICTED THE FREEDOMS OF U.S. CITIZENS, LEGAL RESIDENTS, FOREIGN STUDENTS, AND THOSE WHOSE NATIONAL ORIGIN MADE THEM SUSPECTS. OUR OPENNESS HAD BEEN USED AGAINST US, THE ARGUMENT WENT, AND WE HAD TO GIVE UP SOME FREEDOM IN ORDER TO GET MORE SECURITY IN THE BARGAIN. PERHAPS IN SOME CASES THIS IS TRUE, BUT I FOR ONE WAS PROUD WHEN STUDENTS AT EUGENE LANG COLLEGE RALLIED IN SUPPORT OF THOSE UNFAIRLY DETAINED BY OUR GOVERNMENT.
WE SIMPLY CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT BEGIN THIS SCHOOL YEAR WITHOUT REMEMBERING WHERE WE WERE AND WHAT WE FELT ON 9/11/2001. IF WE FORGET OR DO NOT MAKE THE EFFORT TO REMEMBER, WE WILL LOSE BOTH THE URGENCY NEEDED TO PROTECT AND DEFEND OURSELVES, AND THE VIGILANCE NEEDED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR POWER IS NOT MISUSED.
NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY IS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR MANY REASONS BECAUSE WE HAVE A PUBLIC AS WELL AS AN EDUCATIONAL MISSION. OUR EDUCATIONAL MISSION IS TO MAKE CERTAIN WE CHALLENGE AND HELP OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN AS MUCH AS THEY CAN IN THE HIGHEST QUALITY ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT.
IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AT EUGENE LANG COLLEGE AND THE GRADUATE FACULTY;
IN DEGREE AND NON-DEGREE ADULT LEARNING AT THE NEW SCHOOL;
IN ART AND DESIGN AT PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN;
IN CLASSICAL MUSIC AT MANNES COLLEGE OF MUSIC;
IN DRAMA AT THE ACTORS STUDIO DRAMA SCHOOL;
IN JAZZ AT OUR JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PROGRAM;
IN URBAN PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS AT THE MILANO GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND URBAN POLICY.
IT WILL BE A BUSY AND IMPORTANT YEAR FOR ALL OF US--STUDENTS, FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS--AS WE RESEARCH, DISCUSS AND PLAN A NEW UNIVERSITY-WIDE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING AND OFFERING OUR LIBERAL ARTS COURSES. WE WILL BE BUSY RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS OF OUR TEACHING AND ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM: NEW DEANS AT LANG COLLEGE AND THE DRAMA SCHOOL; A NEW VICE-PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT; DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AT THE GRADUATE FACULTY AND LANG COLLEGE; INTENSIVE PLANNING TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO ACCOMMODATE THE GROWTH AND COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES FACED BY PARSONS, THE NEW SCHOOL, AND LANG COLLEGE; AND CAPITAL PLANNING FOR THE DRAMA SCHOOL'S MOVE TO WESTBETH AND FOR MANNES COLLEGE.
THIS IS A PLACE WHERE OVER 30,000 PEOPLE A YEAR COME TO LEARN AND TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR LIFE'S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES. TO US THEY HAVE ENTRUSTED PART OF THEIR HOPE FOR LIFE. WE MUST NOT LET THEM DOWN.
NOR CAN WE LET DOWN OUR LARGER COMMUNITY--THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK. OUR HISTORY COMPELS US TO BE A PLACE WHERE CRITICAL THINKING AND INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATIONS CAN TAKE PLACE UNENCUMBERED BY INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE, AND TO BE A PLACE WHERE PUBLIC ISSUES CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AND DEBATED. THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF ISSUES THIS UNIVERSITY SHOULD ENGAGE, INCLUDING THE IMPORTANT ONES RAISED BY OUR HONOREE TODAY.
OUR NATIONAL LEADERS ARE MAKING A MISTAKE BY NOT RATIFYING THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT ON OUR BEHALF. UNQUESTIONABLY THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THIS ISSUE. HOWEVER, FOR THE MOMENT, ONLY ONE SIDE IS BEING HEARD AND THOSE ARE THE VOICES OPPOSED TO AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT. UNPOPULARITY CANNOT INTIMIDATE US. QUITE THE CONTRARY, THIS UNIVERSITY MUST GO WHERE OTHERS FEAR TO VENTURE.
SO, WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL. TO OUR TRUSTEES, OUR STUDENTS, OUR FACULTY, OUR STAFF AND OUR LARGER COMMUNITY, NEW YORK CITY, WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE CHALLENGE OF BEING BETTER THAN WE WERE LAST YEAR.
