Class Day Speech

Class Day Speech

by Harvey Sham, Sociology major

Learning, virtue, piety – the motto of Boston University. I didn’t know it, and I bet you probably didn’t know it either, but it exists. These three words are actually printed on banners at the entrance of the GSU. They seem pretty simple to define. Learning, well that’s just a student sitting in a classroom. We’ve all done that, and, believe it or not, learning has happened in these situations. Virtue is to have moral and ethical principles in what we do. We all know what it means to be a virtuous student – we read it in every syllabus in the section titled “Plagiarism” or “Academic Integrity.” Piety, well this one’s a little tougher; it relates to our faith and to our beliefs. Now, we can all define these words of the motto pretty easily, but stop and consider the extent of their meaning. What do these words actually mean to you? In the last days of senior year, I realize that these words represent all of my experiences at Boston University – just not in the conventional way.

I came to Boston University confident and ambitious – I knew my major, knew what I wanted to do after I graduated, and was ready to do what it takes. In high school, I ranked at the top of my class, played multiple sports, and did about 15 extracurricular activities. I thought I was special, and indeed I am in my own way, but it didn’t take too long for me to realize that every single other person at Boston University was just as smart and just as overachieving, if not smarter and more of an overachiever. At first, the thought of competing with sixteen thousand other students was overwhelming. But as freshman year flew by, I realized that these new challenges provide such an exceptional learning environment that pushes students to achieve. Because of the energy and passion at BU, I soon discovered that there is no single way to learn. Sure it can take place in the classroom listening to a professor, but it can come from students too! It can take place at multicultural shows or debates, at special lectures or theatre performances, or even at the GSU, where many of us have had team meetings and expected to do work, but instead spent the time eating and talking. But this is what’s exceptional about Boston University – learning doesn’t come from the traditional sources. A lot of it actually comes from ourselves.

Some professors believe that they are the only sources of knowledge – only they can be the teachers. But not at BU. The professors here have the mindset that they can learn alongside the students. One of my fondest memories here involved two sociology professors – Professor Yeager and Professor Coulter – both of whom I was taking classes with at that time. I had just left Professor Yeager’s office hours and was walking with him to class, when Professor Coulter came up and started talking about something we were discussing in his class. In the walk from Cummington to CAS, I was involved in a deeply perplexing discussion about the sociological significance of the finger-flex. I can’t really provide any more details…mainly because I’m not entirely sure what we were talking about. But this just goes to show how unique BU is in terms of where and how we can learn things – it’s not just in a classroom, and not just from a teacher. We can learn whenever we want, however we want, from whomever we want, but we must really want it, we must be determined, and we must always be students of life.

For spring break this year, I decided to participate in Alternative Spring Break. I remember waking up early Sunday morning, standing in the long line that started at 6am, sleeping in the Metcalf Ballroom, and just waiting. Monday morning at 6:30am sharp, I heard my coveted number called, and paid my entrance fee to Atlanta, where I would be working at the International Rescue Committee. Working with refugees at the IRC was life-changing. These people were persecuted and repressed, but they came to the United States hoping for a new beginning, and I actually had the opportunity to help them resettle their lives. I remember one little girl from Burma that I really bonded with. The first day, she was shy and cried when her mother left. But as the week progressed, she slowly warmed up to me. By the end of the week, I was teaching her colors and numbers using Lego’s and beads. It was moving to say the least, and it reminded me just how wonderful it can be to do the right thing. Honestly though, the best part about volunteering was that I did this with twelve other BU students, who were all as passionate and motivated about being there as I was. To us, helping people who have nothing and giving them hope that there is something, that’s doing the right thing. That is one of the greatest virtues I have ever learned.

To be honest, this is my first year that I have actively followed our hockey team. What a great year that I chose to become a fan. We won every single tournament we entered. During the championship game, however, there was a time when many of us thought “Are we really going to lose 3-1 to the University of Miami that is actually in Ohio?” For those of you who watched the game at home, I hope you didn’t turn off your TV’s too early. For those of you who were actually at the game, I really wish I could have been there with you. For those of us who watched the game at Agganis Arena on the big screen, here’s to free hot dogs and pizza. My friends and I, we never really left our seats because there wasn’t much to celebrate…at least not until nineteen minutes into the third period, when Zack scored our second goal. After that, the seats remained folded for the rest of the night. We couldn’t stop cheering, couldn’t stop hugging and hi-fiving, and even though there were some doubts, never really stopped believing that we could win. No, I do not consider hockey a religion, though some at BU might believe so – I mean, we do bow to Kieran Milan when he makes a save. But to me, piety means having faith or believing in someone or something. That night, the players, the fans, we never gave up, and we definitely believed.

Last fall, we all became a part of United States history. We saw the first African-American elected to the presidency. There were times when people doubted his experience, questioned his agenda, and quietly thought about the color of his skin. But on that warm November night, he showed everyone in the world what it meant to believe in democracy. I remember watching the results come in on the television with my girlfriend Lorie and her roommates Kristine and Lucy, and hearing cars honking and people shouting and cheering down Bay State Road. We all headed out in my car to follow the commotion, and the crowd drew us to Kenmore Square. That night, we celebrated. That night, hundreds of people from all backgrounds united in one voice. That night, thousands of students shouted for joy and cheered. That night, millions of Americans believed in change, and voiced their hopes for a better tomorrow. On that night, the Boston University community showed just what it meant to believe – to believe in a dream of a BU alum, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

Learning, virtue, piety, Our motto. What do these words mean to you? My experiences at Boston University have been incredible – what I have learned here, what I have taken in, would not have been the same at any other college. As a class, our gratitude extends to those who have cared and taught us. First, to our families, especially our parents, who have envisioned this day long before we ever did – we applaud and thank you. To our friends, who provide the extra support that we need, every day of our lives – we applaud and thank you. To our professors and our advisors, to the deans and administrators of this wonderful university – we applaud and thank you. Your guidance has been enlightening. Our families, our friends, our professors, these are the people that we learned from, these are the people that we share our virtues with, these are the people who believed in us.

And so, in closing, this is the lesson that I have taken as a culmination of every single experience at Boston University: “I have learned that the right thing to do is believe”. This is my motto, and it is an honor to be able to share this with everyone here. As long as we trust what we have learned and believe in ourselves, I know that we, the Class of 2009, have a bright and promising future. Thank you and God bless.