Former Irish President Mary Robinson challenges Wheaton grads to demand government accountability

[NORTON, Mass.] Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and U.N. Commissioner of Human Rights, challenged the 355 members of Wheaton College's Class of 2004 to gather the courage to bridge the many divides among people and nations and to demand that governments guarantee human rights.

''It's time we learned to bridge these divides,'' Robinson said. ''A billion people live on less than $1 a day ... we need to think not in terms of statistics but of individuals and families and their communities.... The governments of the world have committed to legal treaties, covenants and conventions that are to address these divides ... and what is needed is to hold these governments to accountability and that's where you, the Class of 2004, come in.''

Robinson spoke of the vital link between education and citizenship, and she frequently referred to the Wheaton curriculum and its emphasis on global connections as a model in preparing young students for global citizenship. ''This will prepare you well for the divided, unfair and equal world you will live in,'' she said.

''You've been given a great gift, one that several thousand million people on this planet will never experience,'' she said. ''One hundred and twenty million children will never go to school at all.... Leadership is about bringing others with you ... and each of you will need to rely on your own moral compass on the roadmap of your life.''

Among the more than 700 alumnae/i who participated in Reunion Weekend were seven members of the Class of 1934 to celebrate their 70th reunion and more than 100 members of the Class of 1954 to celebrate their 50th. Honorary degree recipients included Robinson and outgoing college president Dale Rogers Marshall, a noted political scientist and higher education administrator who presided over 12 years of extraordinary growth and success at Wheaton. The Class of 2004 presented Marshall with 12 roses to represent the classes that graduated during her tenure.

Wheaton students and faculty won eight prestigious national scholarships this year. Senior Adar Cohen of Peterborough, N.H., was one of 50 college students nationwide selected to receive a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship this year; the award will support a year of travel and research in Tibet, Turkey and India, where Cohen will examine expressions of national, ethnic and religious identity in Oriental rug making. Three members of the Class of 2004 won Fulbright scholarships to work and study abroad. Anna Kratky, a senior history major and women's studies minor from St. Louis, will teach English and study education issues in South Korea. Stefanie Olsen, an English major from San Francisco, will study Icelandic literature at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, and Erin Tapley, a double major (German and international relations) from Auburn, Maine, will teach English language and American studies to German high school students.

Other scholarship recipients include Jared Duval '05 of Fairlee, Vt., winner of the prestigious Truman and Udall scholarships, and Alex Dewar '06 of Portland, Ore, who also was named a Udall Scholar. Both students are active in politics and aspire to careers in public service. Assistant professor of German Eric Denton won a Fulbright to study visual culture and new media in Germany this summer.

Wheaton is a highly selective college of the liberal arts and sciences with a student body of 1,550. It is a member of the Twelve College Exchange, which also includes Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Trinity, Wellesley and Wesleyan.

Attention: The transcript of Wheaton's commencement address and high-resolution photos will be posted at http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/cr/cr2004 by 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 22.