Regalia, ritual and revelry

Beneath a perfect spring sky, the Class of 2004 walked down the Hill May 23, wearing traditional academic regalia and toting the latest technological gadgets—-camera phones—-to share the moment with family and friends.

The graduates were greeted by Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway, proud father of Zack, the first Hemenway to earn a KU undergraduate degree. The chancellor offered greetings to Zack and his classmates, ever mindful that mere words paled in comparison to the memorable ritual that has bound KU grads since 1924.

"The fundamental truth of the KU Commencement overpowers all," Hemenway said. "The walk is the ceremony. The speech is secondary, tertiary, to the walk itself."

Nonetheless, the chancellor also shared his hopes for the graduates and the lives that await them beyond the Hill.

"There is no political correctness here. We all struggle to make sense of a world very different from the world we imagined four years ago. We must decide who we are personally, and what we believe personally, because we know that there will be those who define us not by whom we are, but by what we are-Americans-and by what our country stands for.

"I hope that your KU education has taught you to avoid the potential for arrogance in our super power, to hold fast to the hope that the world can become a better, more peaceful place, no matter how remote that seems at present."