-Source-Depauw University-
"My generation is exiting the stage. Your generation is taking it," civil rights legend and presidential adviser Vernon E. Jordan Jr. told graduates at his alma mater, DePauw University, this morning. In his address to the Class of 2018, Jordan offered, "I hope that as you leave DePauw, you choose the present, choose to be present, and present yourselves to one another -- your sisters and brothers and friends and fellow human beings -- with open arms. Because it is only when we come together and see each other that we can move forward."
After a forecast that threatened Sunday morning showers, the proceedings took place as planned outdoors in Holton Memorial Quadrangle. A total of 473 undergraduates received bachelor's degrees at DePauw's 179th Annual Commencement. The weather held off, save for a light rain that fell briefly as the diplomas were being awarded.
Today marked the third time Jordan, a 1957 DePauw graduate, has addressed a graduating class. Exactly 45 years ago -- on May 20, 1973 -- he spoke while serving as executive director of the National Urban League. Twenty years later he was back after serving as chair of the transition team of President Bill Clinton, his longtime friend.
"If this was a star wars franchise, this would be the third installment of a trilogy: The Return of the Jordan," he joked today. "I return because I love DePauw, because my heart bleeds black and gold. I agree with president John F. Kennedy when he called one's alma mater 'the second home of our youth' -- and since my earliest days on this campus, DePauw has been for me that second home." Read more
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