Congratulations to the class of 2023!
Program: http://bit.ly/45tsSHI
Message from the Chair:
There is a story told of a wicked emperor in ancient times who went around terrorizing his subjects. On arriving in a provincial town, he would ask that all his subjects gather in the town square to be addressed by him. He had on a finger of his left hand a most beautiful and exquisite ring that shimmered with diamonds, opals, and other precious stones. He would stretch out his hand to the gathered folk and bellow in the most terrifying voice: “Which of you here has seen anything more beautiful and precious than this ring?” The cost of a wrong response was immediate execution, so few ventured an answer. Satisfied that he had asserted his unquestioned sovereignty, the wicked emperor would move on to the next provincial town to continue his tyranny.
One day, he got to a particularly quiet town and repeated his routine all over again. But on bellowing out his question in a most terrifying voice, a little 7-year-old girl could be seen jumping up and down in the midst of the gathered crowd shouting “Me! Me! I know the answer.” Her terrified mother would have none of it and did everything she could to restrain her daughter and pull her hand down. “You are going to get us all killed, you evil child of mine,” she mumbled threateningly under her breath. But it was too late; the emperor had already spotted the furor the girl was causing in the crowd and asked that they make way for the girl to come to him. The little girl, let’s just call her Little Red, skipped forward joyously, completely oblivious of the many glaring looks and whispered prayers from the crowd on every side. Stretching out his hand, the emperor bellowed again: “Young girl, have you ever seen anything more beautiful and precious than this ring?” “Yes,” the young girl said, quite plainly. “Remember, young girl, that if you give me a wrong answer, you and your entire family will be beheaded without ceremony,” he said. “I know something that is more precious than your ring,” she replied. The emperor was now overcome by curiosity. “What is it? Out with it immediately, I command you!” he said, with no small degree of irritation in his voice. “The thing that is more beautiful and precious than the ring on your finger, is the finger on which the ring sits.” Her wise answer elicited a spontaneous applause from the crowd, who had held their collective breath in complete terror of what might happen if Little Red gave a wrong answer. And they fell upon the emperor and his guards, disarmed them all, and declared the little girl the new emperor. All Hail Little Red, they all shouted. Hip hip! Hurray! Hip hip hip! Hurray! Hip hip hip hip! Hurray!
The knowledge that you have acquired in your years at Stanford is like that beautiful and precious ring. Impressive though that knowledge is, it is not as important as the self you have evolved to be the appropriate bearer of that knowledge. But that knowledge cannot remain inert. One of the unstated aims of our education is to generate a thirst for life-long learning. This means that nothing must be allowed to impede your curiosity not just about your areas of specialism, but about the world around you. For even though the world is full of pain, political cynicism, and darkness, it also contains everything that should ennoble us and give us hope for now and the future. And the choices that you make and what you do with the knowledge you have acquired should not be just for yourself, but also in the service of others. It should be in the service of your parents, your uncles and aunts, your siblings, your communities, and of everyone that has contributed in small and large ways to your education. But more importantly, your knowledge should also be used to help others to flourish. Wherever you go, the thing to always remember is that it is people that are our most important infrastructure. Many of you will acquire the material comforts of life that you deserve; some of you will have families; but all of you should dedicate yourselves to fortifying others in any way you can. For one person cannot flourish on their own; they can only flourish if they enable the flourishing of others around them near and far. That is ultimately the true value of this magnificent treasure that you carry with you and that will grow greater in worth as you invest in your self-perfection and in the service of others.
Congratulations to you all. And thanks.
Ato Quayson
Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at Stanford