Obama speaks at Wesleyan commencement
The presidential candidate, substituting for an ailing Edward Kennedy, urges graduates to take up community service. Mania sweeps the campus.
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. — Snipers crouched on roofs and Secret Service agents patrolled the field as the 2008 graduates of Wesleyan University stepped into their adult lives Sunday with a commencement speech they would not forget.
Under a clear blue sky, Barack Obama stood before the 737 graduating seniors and 120 doctoral graduates. Thousands of visitors who were blanketing a hill overlooking the ceremony rose to their feet in applause. Most had no connection to the school, and no tickets, but they cheered along with Wesleyan families and friends.
"At a time of war, we need you to work for peace," Obama told the graduates as camera crews captured the event. "At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again. That's your task, class of 2008."
Last week, no one here could have expected the graduation would turn into such a spectacle. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) had been the scheduled speaker. But when he was hospitalized last week -- and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor -- Obama, the Democratic presidential front-runner, was tapped to take his place. As the news spread across campus Thursday via instant messaging, blog posts, texting, cellphone and Facebook, people began selling their commencement tickets on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars.
Visitors from across the country arrived Sunday, carting blankets, umbrellas, folding chairs and picnic lunches. A teenager showed up in a "Dukakis" T-shirt, and others wore "Yes We Can" buttons. People lined up to snap photos next to a life-size cardboard cutout of Obama.
Graduates in red caps and gowns recorded the event on camera phones, amazed at the spectacle surrounding a school that rarely receives such national recognition.
"No other class is going to be able to live up" to this, said Tania Serrano, 22, who graduated with degrees in English and Latin American studies.
During the commencement ceremony, Obama passed along a message from Kennedy: "To all those praying for my return to good health, I offer my heartfelt thanks. And anyone who'd rather have a different result, I say, don't get your hopes up just yet."
Standing beneath a rainbow of fishtail flags, Obama told the graduates not to forget the world around them as they go on to build careers and families.
