Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough urges students to fight ignorance at home and abroad

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough warned the 325 members of Wheaton College's Class of 2002 not to be "a nation of spectators" and, citing Sept. 11, encouraged the graduates to choose work that will create and maintain a good society.

"Let's not forget that we're at war, and that our enemy is violently opposed to anything like freedom of thought or freedom of religion," McCullough said. "They are fighting for and believe in enforced ignorance...Someday, make the choice of doing something for your country.

"Let's not be a nation of spectators; be a nation of builders," McCullough said. Stating that Massachusetts' illiteracy rate is higher today than it was in the 18th century, he asked students "to choose to help those who haven't been given the choices you have.

"Life is the ultimate multiple-choice test," he said, calling frequently on the theme of choice. "We live in a land abundant with choices. Choose work you love; remain students all your lives; if you have 74 channels to choose from, you can make choice 75: turn the thing off."

Among the more than 600 alumnae/i who participated in the graduation as part of their Reunion Weekend were Laura Sargent Hartogensis, Emma Inman Lloyd and Elizabeth Parmelee, members of the Class of 1927. College President Dale Rogers Marshall honored them on their 75th reunion and thanked them for a lifetime commitment to the college.

McCullough included Parmelee's story in his commencement address. A descendent of America's first European settlers and a primary school principal for 40 years, McCullough lauded her dedication to education, "an essential American goodness."

Two members of the Class of 2002 won Fulbright scholarships. Anna Schulz, an international relations major from Trinidad, Calif., will study international water boundary management in Zambia. Brooke Bisson, an English writing and literature major from Yarmouth, Maine, will study Francophone folk music in Nova Scotia next year. Student Government Association president Frederick Marcks of Chelmsford, Mass., a graduating political science major, won the prestigious Truman scholarship last year.

Following Wheaton's commencement exercises, McCullough gave a symposium for alumni and guests on his book, John Adams, in the college's Cole Memorial Chapel.

McCullough is twice the winner of the National Book Award, twice winner of the prestigious Francis Parkman Prize, and now twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, most recently for his biography, John Adams. His monumental work, Truman, also received the Pulitzer Prize. McCullough has been an editor, essayist, teacher, lecturer and familiar presence on public television - as host of "Smithsonian World," "The American Experience" and narrator of numerous documentaries including "The Civil War" and "Napoleon." He is a past president of the Society of American Historians, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received more than 31 honorary degrees.

Joining McCullough on the dais were honorary degree recipients Andrew Wyeth, the American realist artist; Howard Gardner P'94, renowned psychologist at Harvard University, and Patricia W. Karter '77, co-founder of Boston's Dancing Deer Baking Co.

Wheaton is a highly selective college of the liberal arts and sciences with a student body of 1,500. It is a member of the Twelve College Exchange, which also includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Trinity, Wellesley and Wesleyan.

Attention: A transcript of Wheaton's commencement keynote address and high-resolution photos are also available online.