"We Are Responsible"
The Glass of 1952 Valedictory to the College
TODAY marks the beginning the launching of Dartmouth men into a greater experience in life than any which has yet transpired. Today our education does not conclude but rather it commences for learning is never a completed process, it endures a lifetime. And today marks our emergence into the world as men men who are now responsible to ourselves for the kind of persons we will be. Commencement by definition means beginning, and today there opens to each of us a great new world of experience which will comprise our lives. There is a challenge in this new world. The work of our parents and the work of our teachers is over. Their responsibility to us is terminated this morning, for education is only a means to an end. As President Dickey asserted last fall: Dartmouth exists to help us become better educated men, but only to the end that we may be better men. Dartmouth has supplied the means, now we as individuals must accomplish the end. The responsibility rests upon our individual shoulders. This is the challenge which falls upon us today the challenge of becoming better men. That is why today should be regarded as a beginning rather than a conclusion.
And today's Commencement should not be regarded with traditional sadness. To the contrary, it should be an occasion brightened by the satisfaction of a college education completed. It should be stimulated by the anticipation of future days. It should be an occasion tempered by humble thanks to those who have made the opportunity possible. The one who regrets is wrong, for he is looking back to something that has passed. Vision should be focused upon the future, toward the time that lies ahead. The degrees to be conferred this morning are merely symbolic of a preparation completed and the commencing of a new phase of life. We should face this new horizon as mature men with confidence and look toward the future, for in the future lies hope hope not only for us as individuals but for humanity.
Dartmouth has prepared us well. We came to Hanover in 1948 shortly after the clouds of war had been dispersed. We were a composite of former fighting men and youthful secondary school graduates. We came with energy and common desire to leam. And we came from all parts of the world and from diverse backgrounds. Dartmouth moulded us into a group and kindled our friendships. She rewarded our seeking minds with knowledge, and she developed among us a common bond that is as strongly felt as the beauty of the New Hampshire hills. More important she has constructed in each of us the firmament of rational thought. She has supplemented our energy of youth with a maturity of mind. During these four years the opportunities open to us have been many, and we have indulged with enthusiasm. During this period Dartmouth has been the catalyst in the process of growing up. And now we hope we have arrived as mature men men who are responsible. We do possess
a sense of responsibility to ourselves, our contemporaries, our country, and the world. If Dartmouth had created in us only this singular quality, she would have more than succeeded. And she has, for Dartmouth men are responsible men.
In addition to this sense of responsibility, we have also a feeling of optimism and gratitude. We came to Dartmouth anxious for knowledge, and we leave her anxious to make use of what we have learned. Awareness of the world's strife has not dulled our energies or our outlook. As we look ahead the Dartmouth graduating class of 1952 is ready and willing to take its place in society. We are deeply appreciative of our parents and teachers, and because of this we do not feel that the world owes us rather we feel that we owe much to the world. This changing, complex age in which we live is in urgent need of rational men. The need for responsible minds and optimistic hope is everywhere apparent. This can and should be our fundamental contribution. In this way we can do much to fulfill our responsibilities. In this way we may show that we are men in the finest sense of the word.
Pearl Buck recently described our age in rather cogent terms when she commented:
I am surprised to discover how many people feel that we are living in a dark age. To me this is an age so full of possibility and therefore of hope, that each morning I awake I wonder whether this is the day when enough men will choose the future which can bring to all peoples the peace and plenty now quite within reach.
Our promise must be to seek that future. Amid the natural beauty of the setting here today there could be no more fitting dedication a promise of individual effort to attain these ends toward which humanity must now aspire. We are at the beginning. We are well prepared. We are responsible. And we are optimistic. It is thus that we make our pledge to the future, and to Dartmouth: many thanks and farewell.
CLASS VALEDICTORIAN: F. Lee Coulter Jr. '52 of West Los Angeles, Calif., who delivered the farewell to the College on behalf of the seniors.
