"It's up to you to save the world. Our generation messed up." said an older person to no one in particular. I graduated in 1982 with a degree in Chemistry. As is tradition at Cornell, there were no hired inspirational speakers. The send-off was given -- more appropriately, I think -- by the then university president Frank H.T. Rhodes. The economy was in rough shape, but President Rhodes nevertheless emphasized the importance of setting great goals and finding meaning in service and leadership. I found a portion of his speech in the NY Times . My graduating class had 4,200 students, and President Rhodes was a distant figure. Yet, we were separated by one degree. One summer, I had a job at Uris Library doing general inventory, cataloging, and shelving. I learned this library was steward to a very special collection: all the issues, from number one with Marilyn Monroe on the cover, to the present, of Playboy Magazine. I got the...
The 25th Reunion for the Class of '82.