A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

President Simone, Chairman Buckingham, faculty members and staff, graduates and families, students and friends:

I am deeply honored to receive this Presidential Medallion. I am especially honored to receive it from R. I. T., the school rated by Yahoo! as the 14th "most wired" university in America. I'm so happy, I feel like I'm floating in cyberspace.

As a grandparent of 11, I would like to begin by talking directly to the parents and families. I know how much you have given to raise your child. As a matter of fact, I know almost exactly how much-at least $160,140.

That's how much it costs, on average, to raise a middle-class child through age 17 today-and obviously, that doesn't include college. Now imagine how much you'd have today if you'd invested that money in the stock market.

So graduates, please give your parents and families a great big round of applause to show your appreciation.

Money is much on the minds of today's college students, and it all has to do with "dot-com mania." In a recent poll, half of all students said they expect to be millionaires by the time they're 40. I suppose that means the other half expect to be billionaires.

Of course, all that is in the future. Tonight, you begin your life's journey. The journey will test you, and there will be times when you may want to cry out the motto of the Children's Defense Fund, which goes, "Lord, be good to me-the sea is so wide and my boat is so small." Remember at those times that a strong character, combined with strong relationships with others, will be your best compass. They will never steer you wrong.

A commencement is all about educational opportunity, and that is something we should never take for granted. Today, there are 125 million children around the world who do not have the chance to go to school. And even in our own country, we have struggled to give every child a quality education.

There is someone with us who truly understands this. Her name is Judy Heumann. She has a disability. When she was a child, school officials wanted to bar her from class because they said her wheelchair was a fire hazard.

But Judy fought hard to get her education. Today, Judy is an Assistant U. S. Secretary of Education and a champion of R. I. T.'s great National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I am proud to say that the NTID is largely funded by the U. S. Department of Education. The NTID is for the deaf, but it is not about being deaf. It is about giving every American a great education, and that's what this country should be all about.

On a related point, some of you may not know that a person who is deaf played a key role in the invention of e-mail. A man named Vince Cerf, a computer genius who grew frustrated when he couldn't telephone his wife, who was deaf, sent the first e-mail. So he helped develop e-mail to communicate with her.

This is a wonderful example of what we can accomplish when we come together as a people, and forget about racial, ethnic or physical differences. I have a simple phrase that tries to express this idea, and it goes, "Strong relationships matter."

But in America today, the forces that keep us apart can be powerful. A college dorm counselor recently said that students he knew communicate via e-mail even though they live next door to one another. No one is a greater champion of technology than I am. But e-mail should supplement face-to-face communication-it should not replace it. And let's recognize that "virtual" is good, but "actual" is better, and cyberspace can never replace the public space in a democracy.

So let us strengthen our connections with another and revive our sense of community. It's really simple: "Strong relationships matter."

One man who said this better than I can was a college professor named Morrie. He is the major character in Mitch Albom's best-selling book, Tuesdays with Morrie. Just before he dies, Morrie tells Mitch: "The way to get meaning in your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose...".

In many places in America, we are seeing a great revival of community spirit. But we still have a ways to go. One scholar who has studied this issue is professor Robert Putnam. He reports that Americans invite friends to their homes 45 percent less frequently than they did 25 years ago, and get involved in community organizations 50 percent less frequently.

Putnam says we must reverse this trend with what he calls "connectedness." "Connectedness" is so important, it can even save lives. He said that his studies show that a person's chances of dying over the next year are cut in half by joining one group, and cut three-quarters by joining two groups.

I agree that strong relationships really matter. In the years ahead, make sure to stay connected to your family, your neighbors, your church, synagogue or other community group. Reach out to those less fortunate and those who aren't connected at all.

And by all means, reconnect with education. Get involved in your local schools. Tell them you want to make a difference in the lives of young people. They'll come to you with open arms.

You can mentor a child. So many children are disconnected from adults that there's a tremendous need for this. No one stands taller than when he or she stoops down to help a child.

Help teach a class in a subject you know a lot about. Help a child learn to read. Help a little girl or boy boot up a computer for the first time. Don't try to save the whole world-no one can do that. Try to improve a single life-everyone can do that.

Your experiences here at R. I. T. have taught you more than how to make a living. They have taught you how to live. Now share your brilliance and your heart with others. And remember the words of an old friend of mine, the late Cardinal Bernadin, known as a reconciler and consensus-builder. He wrote "It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time given to us on acrimony and division."

Oh, yes, about that challenge to remember just one idea from my speech. I suppose you've guessed by now what I would like it to be: "Strong relationships matter." Thank you all very much.