Purdue News

May 15, 1999 Purdue graduates reminded goodness requires work WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue President Steven C. Beering today (Saturday, 5/15) reminded new graduates that goodness and success are difficult, but attainable goals. Beering spoke to students in the schools of agriculture and liberal arts during the first of four commencement ceremonies this weekend on the West Lafayette campus. "Today we live in an age when it often seems that opportunism is our only compass," Beering said. "Morality is treated either as a quaint anachronism or as a matter of individual opinion." Beering said the questions of goodness in America are not new ones. In the 1830s, the French author of Democracy in America felt the young country was a good one despite the problems of slavery, child labor exploitation, displacement of Native Americans and alcoholism. "De Toqueville saw all these things and deplored them. Yet he concluded that the nation was inherently good, because he observed a striving for perfectibility by individuals and by institutions. Americans, he believed, clung to a kind of innocent belief that they could make things better, that they could climb to a higher moral ground," Beering said. "So, the question before us today -- especially for our new graduates -- is do we still live in a nation that is fundamentally good, an America that retains its confidence and its determination to make life better? "We should not be discouraged by difficult questions, formidable challenges or even senseless tragedy here or abroad. Every generation exercises its right to believe that it is the most sophisticated in history and that it faces the most complicated and ambiguous problems ever encountered by the human race. "However, it has never been easy to know what to do from either the practical or the moral standpoint. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, the struggle with these questions is part of the human condition. "The best weapon we have in this struggle is education. The mission of a university like Purdue goes far beyond preparing its graduates for productive careers. We hope we have done that for you, but a great education must include a moral foundation, as well as a structure of skill and knowledge. "As I contemplate the challenges that face you, our new graduates, I must recognize that you will have to struggle hard to make things better, either for yourselves or for the world in which we live. But when I consider the education you have received, the obstacles you already have overcome, and the character you have exhibited here at Purdue, I can only conclude that you will achieve both success and goodness. "For most of you success in your careers is in your reach if you are willing to work hard for it. Success in life -- however you define it -- also is yours if you are willing to make the effort." Purdue is conducting four graduation ceremonies in the Elliott Hall of Music today and tomorrow as part of the university's 177th commencement. Approximately 4,775 students -- 3,860 of whom are undergraduates -- are scheduled to earn degrees during the four ceremonies. Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371 Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page