Senior Speaker: Economics

A message from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences:

Each year, our graduating students in every major select a student to speak on behalf of their area of study. Because we are a large college, the time allotted to our ceremony does not allow for each speaker to appear on stage. However, these speeches have been recorded for your viewing pleasure. 

At its core, our College supports open and free inquiry and debate about the most weighty and consequential subjects that face us all. Each student was given a minute to speak on whatever topic they think will be meaningful to their peers. Some of the contributions are lighthearted, others are serious, and some may inspire some people and conflict with the values and beliefs of others. But that is the nature of free inquiry and debate: it should challenge us and make us think. We are proud of every one of our graduates, whether or not we agree with the views they express here. 

Transcript: 

In this room today, we stand together, all products of our own stories, but united in this
moment and in this place. We have come from different places, and we will go to
different places, but today we acknowledge and celebrate where we have been, what
we have done, who we are today, and what we collectively have to offer towards a
better tomorrow.

I’d like to invite you all to reflect on beginnings—who were you four years ago? Why did
you study what you did? What’s your story? We so seldom make the time and space to
reflect on ourselves, our relationships, our worlds, and so I ask that of us all today.

I chose economics for a pretty normal reason. I did not know much about the world or
my place in it, but I expected that economics would give me a way to do that. What I did
not expect was the beauty that I would find in drawing connections, in rigor, in
academic, professional, and personal exploration.

I now understand that everything is connected. No discipline exists outside of social
context, and SBS has equipped all of us with the tools and perspectives we need to
radically envision and advocate for a brighter future.

Not all is good. We live in a time with many, connected problems. Problems of justice.
Risks to democracy. And threats to our communities. But what we control is how we
react. We stand here today, with the collective ability and hopefully willingness to pursue
good. SBS students often take winding paths, but these paths are informed by a shared
pursuit of what is good, of what is true.

Where does this leave us now, in today’s social and political environment? I’ll say what I
know. What I know is that there will always be bad. What I know is that those in power
will always seek to modify formal and informal institutions in their favor. But what I also
know is that we have power, because wherever there are people there is power. Now
more than ever, it is so important to build deep and loving relationships—with friends,
with family, with community. Because together, we have power, and we should have
hope.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once reminded us: “power at its best is love implementing the
demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands
against love.”

Let us practice radical love for one another and pursue a just tomorrow.

Thank you.