Undergraduate and graduate students and their families, faculty and staff filled the University Chapel for Opening Exercises, the interfaith service that traditionally marks the beginning of the academic year.
Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman exited the chapel following the ceremony under the banner of a colorful kite and led by mace bearer Sandra Bermann, professor and chair of comparative literature. During her address, Tilghman encouraged new students to take a bold approach to their education and to make the most of opportunities.
At left: Honored for their academic achievements by Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel (back row, left) were (from left) Joshua Brodie, Catherine Kunkel, Amirali Shanechi, Jessica Gasiorek and Tamara Broderick.
Bottom left: After Opening Exercises, members of the class of 2009 participated in a "pre-rade" from the chapel through FitzRandolph Gate, giving them the opportunity to officially enter the campus to start their undergraduate experience and to be greeted by fellow students. The event is intended to foreshadow the P-rade of Princeton's annual alumni Reunions.
Photos: Denise Applewhite
Amidst the customary celebration marking the start of a new academic
year, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman asked the University
community to reflect on recent somber events.
"This is traditionally a festive occasion, in which we anticipate the
year ahead, filled as it is likely to be with the discovery of new
friendships, the understanding of new problems and new insights into
old ones," she said in greeting the audience at Princeton's Opening
Exercises on Sunday, Sept. 11. "However it is impossible to
wholeheartedly celebrate in light of the tragic events that have been
unfolding in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. The degree of devastation and the magnitude of the
human suffering is staggering and beyond my comprehension.
"As we gather on this beautiful and secure campus, we are mindful of
the thousands of students, teachers and faculty who are displaced from
their own beloved schools, colleges and universities, and our own
students from the Gulf Coast whose families have lost everything in the
hurricane," she said.
She welcomed the displaced students from universities and colleges in
New Orleans who are enrolling at Princeton. The University expects to
admit and provide housing for a number of these students by the time
classes start on Thursday, Sept. 15. "I hope that you will find at
Princeton a safe haven in which to regroup and move forward, as well as
to continue your education," she said.
Tilghman also noted that the Opening Exercises coincided with the
fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She encouraged
the audience to use the occasion as "an opportunity to recommit
ourselves to the principles of free inquiry and mutual respect that
represent our strongest answer to the forces of intolerance, to those
who would assert that differences -- be they racial, ethnic, religious
or philosophical -- are something to be feared."
The University Chapel was filled with undergraduate and graduate students and their families, faculty and staff for the interfaith service, which began with a procession of faculty and administrators in their academic regalia. Leading the group were people flying colorful kites on poles and playing African drum music. As part of the event, undergraduate students were recognized for their academic achievements during the previous year.
In her address, titled "Becoming a Princetonian," Tilghman focused on members of the freshman class.
"You are here not just to learn from this place and its faculty, but
from each other," she said. "And you are here not just to learn
together, but to live together -- to share experiences and form
friendships that in many cases will last a lifetime."
She explained to the class of 2009 that the goal of a Princeton
education is to prepare them to be leaders in the 21st century -- but
that does not necessarily mean becoming presidents and chief executive
officers.
"A leader is someone who has that powerful combination of
determination, intellect and strength of character to make a positive
difference in the world," Tilghman said. "A leader can be a teacher who
inspires students in a first-grade classroom to love learning, or a
doctor who cares for the indigent, or an engineer who devises a new
technology that connects remote African villages to the Web. What sets
leaders apart from others is their ability to get things done, to put
the needs of others before their own, and to accomplish both with a
finely calibrated ethical compass."
She reminded the freshmen of the University's informal motto,
"Princeton in the nation's service and in the service of all nations,"
warning them that "the Princeton ideal of leadership is not for the
weak of heart."
Tilghman encouraged the students to take a bold approach to their
education and to make the most of opportunities. "Princeton can be a
four-year way station between adolescence and adulthood or it can be
the defining years of your life, upon which you will look back and say,
as so many have before you, 'Princeton changed my life,'" she said.
She went on to describe the hallmark of a Princeton education: A
greater emphasis on developing lifelong habits of critical thinking
than on acquiring a large body of knowledge. While both are important,
she explained that having a "disciplined and curious mind" enables
people to acquire the information they need and to explore all sides of
an issue.
"There is too much empty rhetoric in the world today; this country and
the world need more individuals who can navigate the complex waters
around deep and fundamental questions of what it means to be human,
what it means to be a citizen of a country and what it means to be a
citizen of the world," Tilghman said. "We desperately need more
individuals who ask questions, listen to others, absorb information,
think and then, quite possibly, change their minds."
She told the students that they will be led on their Princeton journey
by faculty members who are leaders in their fields. "They will pose
questions that matter and teach you how to dig deep for the answers,
beyond the material in your textbooks and the wonderful world of
Google," she said.
Tilghman also encouraged the freshmen to take advantage of
opportunities outside the classroom, including with the more than 200
student organizations at Princeton. And she suggested that the students
look beyond those who "act and think like you" for friendships.
"Never again will you live with a group of peers that was expressly
assembled to expand your horizons and open your eyes to the fascinating
richness of the human condition," she said. "After all Dean of
Admission Janet Rapelye could have saved herself and her colleagues a
great deal of time and effort by admitting the first 1,223 applicants
who were class valedictorians, or the first 1,223 with double 800 SAT
scores, or 1,223 from the state of New York.
"The reason she took such care in selecting all of you -- weighing your
many talents, your academic and extracurricular interests, your diverse
histories -- was to increase the likelihood that your entire
educational experience, inside and outside the classroom, is as
mind-expanding as possible," Tilghman continued. "When you graduate you
will enter a world that is now truly global in perspective, and in
which success will require that you have a cosmopolitan attitude. You
must be equipped to live and work in not one culture, but in many
cultures."
Concluding her remarks, Tilghman echoed her address to seniors at last spring's Commencement ceremony.
"I hope you will acquire the spirit of Princeton and all that this
place aspires to teach you -- a determination to follow your passions
in service to the common good, a respect for tradition and for
progress, an openness to new ideas, the courage to stand up for your
beliefs and the rights of others, a global sensibility, and a lifelong
devotion to justice and freedom, all informed by the highest standards
of integrity and mutual respect. To do so, you will need to aim high
and to be bold."
The text of President Tilghman's full address is available online.
