Convocation

Attendance was a bit skinny this year. The bookstore has a new policy that prevents you from renting your regalia for the entire year. Instead, you rent for each event and pay each time. Adds up to a lot more money, and people are being selective as to which event they will attend. Of course, for those who own their own gown, hood and hat, its not an issue. But for those of us who never bothered to purchase one (especially if we are still working on degrees!), it adds up.

Its always wonderful to see all our faculty come together to mark the beginning of the academic year. Bright hood colors decorate our serious black gowns, sleeves fluttering, flags flying. It is our moment to remind ourselves just why we do what we do before we get into the thick of it, buried in workloads and lectures and papers and all. Why do we come back year after year, always hopeful, always striving to do better, to make a difference?

Because we believe. We believe the next generation will have answers to address the broken pieces of past eras. We believe that this year's crop of kids will get farther down the road quicker than we did, that they will learn from the past and pave the way for the future. That all is not lost and there is hope.

Well, enough rose colored dreaming. For now, I am content to be part of something larger than myself, to be surrounded by a caring and positive community with all its foibles and characters and machinations. I already feel an urge to pray for these students, to want them to succeed, to encourage them to step up. It will be a good year. I can feel it. Great kickoff! Let us convote away.