CC Class Day cheers Columbia identity, influence

Columbia College’s Class Day on Tuesday had an inward focus.

The speaker, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, CC ‘73 and Law ‘76, described his elated return “home.”

“This is a special place. This is hallowed ground for me,” Holder said, adding that the graduates are “going to rule the world.”

He spoke about his own Columbia experience before calling on the graduates to serve others. When he arrived at Columbia, Holder said he was not “wide-eyed.” After having grown up in the Bronx, he already had the blasé attitude characteristic of New Yorkers.

“What could Columbia surprise me with?” he said he thought on move-in day. “Then, I met my roommate.”

Over the course of several months, a series of Holder’s roommates dropped out, leaving him with a double to himself. Holder said he lived in Carman Hall 301A during his first year and quipped, “I couldn’t believe there was air conditioning there. What’s next, Mr. President, hot and cold water?”

Holder spent his years at Columbia against the backdrop of the political tumult of the late ’60s and early ’70s. He experienced the fallout of the infamous 1968 riots, the Vietnam War, and the “rise of black consciousness,” he said. Holder noted that he did not take any final exams until his junior year, saying, “we were on strike ... but by that third year we ran out of issues.”

Holder took part in the sit-in that led to the creation of the Malcolm X Lounge. “In the ultimate display of chutzpah,” he later asked the dean with whom he had negotiated in the sit-in to write his law school recommendation. “This being Columbia, he agreed.”

“You will now and always be brothers and sisters of the Columbia community,” Holder said, reflecting on the impact of his undergraduate years. A Columbia education comes with “an obligation to be a servant for the public good. ... I challenge each and every one of you to recognize that you are all public servants,” Holder said, asking students to define the term broadly. “Spread your knowledge and your good words.”

“This difficult time in our country must be an opportunity for you,” he said. “Your task is not to do well, but to do good.” He closed to loud cheers by saying “positive change is not only possible, it is inevitable.”

Salutatorian Mollie Schwartz also addressed the class of 2009, reminding her fellow graduates of a distinct Columbian pastime: debate. “At Columbia, we learn with one another,” she said. She pointed specifically to the “intense conversations” that abounded when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited campus in the fall of 2007.

Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger hosted Class Day for the first time, since his predecessor, Costantino Colombo—for whom a new senior award was named—left Columbia last summer. Shollenberger, Dean of Academic Affairs Kathryn Yatrakis, and Geoffrey Colvin, president of Columbia College Alumni Association, presented student awards, after which Quigley delivered his last ever Class Day address as dean after 14 years of service.

“Yes, it is true that the gates are closed,” he joked, referring to his portrayal in the Varsity Show as a demonic, power-hungry administrator who locks students up in the hopes of holding his reign on campus.

“Columbians get together ... to discover what we can be at our very best,” he said. He compared the class of 2009 to arrows flying towards the horizon, splitting in various directions.

After Quigley left the podium to a standing ovation, University President Lee Bollinger also thanked outgoing Provost Alan Brinkley for his service in that position and as his friend.

Kristen Kramer presented the senior fund, saying that there was over 90-percent participation in giving, and handed Quigley a scroll with the names of seniors who had donated.

The ceremony ended in a speech by Mark Johnson, CC ’09 and senior class president, who suggested that attending Columbia was tantamount to a “social experiment,” in which individuals are forced to engage with opposing personalities. “We have survived that social experiment.”

After a rendition of “Sans Souci” by the Clefhangers, an a capella group, graduates walked out to shake hands with Holder and administrators.

APPENDED: An earlier version of this article referred to the Clefhangers by an incorrect name.