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| The year's best US commencement speeches: from Hillary Clinton to Chance the Rapper | The year's best US commencement speeches: from Hillary Clinton to Chance the Rapper |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| The best college commencement speeches delivered to students graduating this summer featured the broad themes of empowerment, community service and empathy. At least, that’s what the brochures would have said. In sunshine and in rain, names ranging from Justin Trudeau to Mindy Kaling urged tomorrow’s generation of leaders to stand up to Donald Trump (explicitly or implicitly), stand up for themselves and stand up for each other in a divided country. And to buy a toilet plunger. | The best college commencement speeches delivered to students graduating this summer featured the broad themes of empowerment, community service and empathy. At least, that’s what the brochures would have said. In sunshine and in rain, names ranging from Justin Trudeau to Mindy Kaling urged tomorrow’s generation of leaders to stand up to Donald Trump (explicitly or implicitly), stand up for themselves and stand up for each other in a divided country. And to buy a toilet plunger. |
| Oprah Winfrey, media owner and personality, at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism | Oprah Winfrey, media owner and personality, at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism |
| If you can capture the humanity of the people, of the stories you are telling, you then get much closer to your own humanity. Pick a problem, any problem, and do something about it. Because to somebody who’s hurting, something is everything. | If you can capture the humanity of the people, of the stories you are telling, you then get much closer to your own humanity. Pick a problem, any problem, and do something about it. Because to somebody who’s hurting, something is everything. |
| Chance the Rapper at Dillard University, Louisiana | Chance the Rapper at Dillard University, Louisiana |
| I realized that all of us have a responsibility to be greater than the people who came before us. We have a responsibility to be … not as good as them, or live up to their example, but to actually surpass them, even when it seems scary. We have to overcome that fear and be greater than our role models. | I realized that all of us have a responsibility to be greater than the people who came before us. We have a responsibility to be … not as good as them, or live up to their example, but to actually surpass them, even when it seems scary. We have to overcome that fear and be greater than our role models. |
| Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, at New York University | Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, at New York University |
| We are not going to arrive at mutual respect, which is where we solve common problems, if we cocoon ourselves in an ideological, social, or intellectual bubble … To move forward … we have to do it together. Humanity has to fight our tribal mindset … If you want to bring people around to your way of thinking, you need to first show them that you are open to theirs. | We are not going to arrive at mutual respect, which is where we solve common problems, if we cocoon ourselves in an ideological, social, or intellectual bubble … To move forward … we have to do it together. Humanity has to fight our tribal mindset … If you want to bring people around to your way of thinking, you need to first show them that you are open to theirs. |
| Queen Latifah, musician, actor and producer, at Rutgers University | Queen Latifah, musician, actor and producer, at Rutgers University |
| Teach, volunteer, show up at PTA hearings, show up at the Boys and Girls club. Vote. March. Be a citizen. Because in a world of bots and bullies, divisions and distractions, we need more citizens pulling us together instead of trying to pull us apart. Give back to your home as the kind of citizen who builds bridges instead of building walls. | Teach, volunteer, show up at PTA hearings, show up at the Boys and Girls club. Vote. March. Be a citizen. Because in a world of bots and bullies, divisions and distractions, we need more citizens pulling us together instead of trying to pull us apart. Give back to your home as the kind of citizen who builds bridges instead of building walls. |
| Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| We need to stop harassment and hold both perpetrators and enablers accountable. We need to … stop racism and sexism, including the expressions of bias that become commonplace and accepted instead of rejected and fought … At Facebook we didn’t see all the risks coming, and we didn’t do enough to stop them … it’s hard when you know that you let people down. | We need to stop harassment and hold both perpetrators and enablers accountable. We need to … stop racism and sexism, including the expressions of bias that become commonplace and accepted instead of rejected and fought … At Facebook we didn’t see all the risks coming, and we didn’t do enough to stop them … it’s hard when you know that you let people down. |
| Benicio Del Toro, actor, at Mercersburg Academy, Pennsylvania | Benicio Del Toro, actor, at Mercersburg Academy, Pennsylvania |
| Everyone is going to draw lines for you, especially when they think you should have achieved something or proved something or become something by a specific time. It’s your job to cross them, to jump them … ignore them altogether. Don’t do something for trophies or medals. Do it because it will transform your life, or someone else’s. | Everyone is going to draw lines for you, especially when they think you should have achieved something or proved something or become something by a specific time. It’s your job to cross them, to jump them … ignore them altogether. Don’t do something for trophies or medals. Do it because it will transform your life, or someone else’s. |
| 'Don't let anything stop you,' Jimmy Fallon tells Parkland school graduates | 'Don't let anything stop you,' Jimmy Fallon tells Parkland school graduates |
| Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and presidential candidate, at Yale University, Connecticut | Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and presidential candidate, at Yale University, Connecticut |
| We’re living at a time when fundamental rights are under assault like never before. But we are also witnessing a sense of devotion to our democracy … we’re standing up to policies that hurt people … You will make mistakes in life, you will even fail … Take it from me … you need to be ready to lose some fights. What matters is whether you get up and keep going. | We’re living at a time when fundamental rights are under assault like never before. But we are also witnessing a sense of devotion to our democracy … we’re standing up to policies that hurt people … You will make mistakes in life, you will even fail … Take it from me … you need to be ready to lose some fights. What matters is whether you get up and keep going. |
| Anita Hill, lawyer and academic, at Rutgers University, New Jersey | Anita Hill, lawyer and academic, at Rutgers University, New Jersey |
| Promise me, whether in times of certainty and clarity or in times of chaos, that you will be the bravest self you can be, to confront the challenges of the world. When uncertain times call, promise me that you will embrace community and not division. And promise me, finally, that you will live with a commitment to equal justice under the law, today and throughout your entire lives. | Promise me, whether in times of certainty and clarity or in times of chaos, that you will be the bravest self you can be, to confront the challenges of the world. When uncertain times call, promise me that you will embrace community and not division. And promise me, finally, that you will live with a commitment to equal justice under the law, today and throughout your entire lives. |
| Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, at Duke University, North Carolina | Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, at Duke University, North Carolina |
| Fearlessness means taking the first step even if you don’t know where it will take you. It means being driven by a higher purpose rather than by applause. It means knowing that you reveal your character when you stand apart more than when you stand with a crowd. Be fearless. Be the last people to accept things as they are and the first people to stand up and change them for the better. | Fearlessness means taking the first step even if you don’t know where it will take you. It means being driven by a higher purpose rather than by applause. It means knowing that you reveal your character when you stand apart more than when you stand with a crowd. Be fearless. Be the last people to accept things as they are and the first people to stand up and change them for the better. |
| Jimmy Carter, former president, at Liberty University, Virginia | Jimmy Carter, former president, at Liberty University, Virginia |
| Everyone decides: “This is the kind of person I choose to be.” We decide whether we tell the truth or benefit from telling lies. We’re the ones that decide: “Do I hate? Or am I filled with love?” We’re the ones who decide: “Will I think only about myself, or do I care for others?” We ourselves make these decisions, and no one else. | Everyone decides: “This is the kind of person I choose to be.” We decide whether we tell the truth or benefit from telling lies. We’re the ones that decide: “Do I hate? Or am I filled with love?” We’re the ones who decide: “Will I think only about myself, or do I care for others?” We ourselves make these decisions, and no one else. |
| Mindy Kaling, actor and writer, at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire | Mindy Kaling, actor and writer, at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire |
| My superpower: delusion. This is something I may share with our president, a fact that is both horrifying and interesting. My point is, you have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real. For all I know the president just tweeted us into a war with Wakanda, a country that doesn’t exist. You have entered a world we have toppled and we are relying on you to rebuild it. [And some more advice:] you never need more than one pancake … and buy a toilet plunger before you actually need one. | My superpower: delusion. This is something I may share with our president, a fact that is both horrifying and interesting. My point is, you have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real. For all I know the president just tweeted us into a war with Wakanda, a country that doesn’t exist. You have entered a world we have toppled and we are relying on you to rebuild it. [And some more advice:] you never need more than one pancake … and buy a toilet plunger before you actually need one. |
| US universities | US universities |
| US education | US education |
| Oprah Winfrey | Oprah Winfrey |
| Justin Trudeau | Justin Trudeau |
| Sheryl Sandberg | Sheryl Sandberg |
| Benicio del Toro | Benicio del Toro |
| Hillary Clinton | Hillary Clinton |
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