Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
And now, with appropriate fanfare, the Class of 2013.
(music) And so, as we journey forth from this day,
may our gratitude ignite in us to use all that we have and all that we are for the common
good. (singing National Anthem)
President Gee: "As I look out on these 10,000 graduates dressed in their caps and gowns,
I have one thing to say: You look absolutely incredible! Your aspirations, your passions,
your community services, research, study abroad, internships, languages learned, novels read,
friends made, careers planned -- this is the living proof of the value of a college degree.
And more is yet to come. Later this afternoon, you will begin a wholly new chapter
as a graduate of The Ohio State University. You will join an alumni family that numbers
a half million strong. You will become a "Buckeye For Life."
Please join me in welcoming the charismatic, the visionary, the totally GQ president of
the United States of America. (music)
President Barack Obama: And so those of us fortunate enough to serve in these institutions
owe it to you to do better every single day. And I've been thinking a lot lately about
how we can keep this idea of citizenship alive in its fullest sense alive at the national
level not just on Election Day, not just in times of tragedy, but all the days in between.
And I think of what your generation's traits -- compassion and energy, and a sense of selflessness
-- might mean for a democracy that must adapt more quickly to keep up with the speed of
technological and demographic, and wrenching economic change. I think about how we might
perpetuate this notion of citizenship in a way that another politician from my home state
of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson, once described patriotism not as "short, frenzied outbursts
of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." That's what patriotism is.
That's what citizenship is. Archie Griffin: Today you are champions. This
graduating class of 10,136--one of the largest in school history--joining a half million
Buckeyes around the world. Wherever you go, know that there will be Buckeyes. I encourage
you to do what I was taught at Ohio State, and that is to pay it forward. Pay it forward
with your time and talents so that others can make their dreams come true.
(Carmen Ohio)