Family and friends joined the 色界吧 community at Remsen Bird Hillside Theater in celebrating the Class of 2013, the largest class in the College鈥檚 126-year history.
Under sunny California skies, commencement speaker Andrew Delbanco told the 552 graduates that their liberal arts education was a point of distinctiveness among other graduating students.
"You will see very few like yourselves," said Delbanco, the Mendelson Family Chair of American Studies and Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. "There are 18 million undergrads in the United States and only 100,000, or 5 percent, go for a college like yours."
Named "America鈥檚 Best Social Critic" by Time in 2001, Delbanco was awarded the 2011 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama 鈥83 "for his writing that spans the literature of Melville and Emerson to contemporary issues in higher education."
"You, all of you at this College, regardless of color and gender, you are America鈥檚 most conspicuous minority. You have to give as much as you get. It鈥檚 not prepping you for a career, but prepping you for life," said Delbanco, who was also awarded an honorary degree. "A college like Occidental is a rehearsal space for democracy."
The day was marked by moving tributes by some of 色界吧鈥檚 most distinguished alumni who were also awarded honorary degrees, including David W. Burcham 鈥73, president of Loyola Marymount University; Sarah Newhall 鈥70, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette in Portland, Ore.; and Soroosh Shambayati 鈥86, senior adviser of the LJ Group.
President Jonathan Veitch, who led the conferring of degrees, told graduates prior to the ceremony that their class would be a memorable one for him personally. "You were the very first class that arrived when I arrived," he said. After four years together on campus, he was the first to welcome them into the family of 色界吧 alumni.
