Robert Gates speaks at Commencement

Robert Gates,U.S. Secretary of Defense, spoke of fond IU memories while giving his Commencement speech Saturday.

“As you know better than anyone, IU is a good place,” Gates said during his speech. “IU will always have a very special place in my life. By the way, I’m glad to see Nick’s is still going strong, serving hungry and thirsty students.”

Gates, who received his masters in history from IU, spoke of how he met his wife at IU in 1966 on a blind date, and how he talked with a recruiter from the CIA while he was on campus, which jump-started his career in American intelligence and defense.

He spoke of how IU led him into a life of public service and how the University can do the same for this winter’s graduates.

“Over this past decade, doing one’s duty has taken on a whole new meaning,” Gates said.

He spoke of men in this year’s graduating class who have served for their country, but he mostly emphasized the importance of this semester’s graduates’ roles in public service.

“Our country has been engaged in Somalia, the Balkans, has seen Sept. 11 and a war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “Evil people will always be with us, and they must be dealt with using courage and sacrifice. I ask you, Indiana University class of 2009, to come help us serve the American people.”

However, some were not pleased with the University’s decision to invite Gates to speak or that the administration decided to give him an honorary degree.

Alex Smith chose not to walk at graduation Saturday in protest of the Commencement speaker.

“I don’t want to take part in a ceremony with a man who’s tried to create an American empire with violence, and I don’t think we should ensue that in our graduates,” said Smith, who was holding a sign that read “I won’t walk with a warlord.”

A group of about 20 people making up organizations including the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition, Progressive Faculty and Staff Caucus, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, among others stood outside the south entrance of Assembly Hall to protest the University’s invitation and decision to award him with an honorable degree.

“I’m here because I think it’s a travesty of a University to give an honorary degree during war time to a war policy maker,” said David Keppel, a member of the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition.

However, many graduates were not bothered by the University’s choice to invite Gates to speak including Lauren Stall, who was receiving her degree in biology. She said she felt she could relate to Gates because he was an IU alumnus.

“He was very passionate about moving into the public sector,” said Matt Mason*, a graduate in finance who said he agrees with Gates’ policies.

“He was right about our generation having to step up.”

Following Gates’ address, IU President Michael McRobbie spoke of the changes IU has seen throughout the years and how IU graduates, which are represented in 50 states and 150 countries, are prepared for those challenges.

“Our world has changed dramatically even in the last 50 years,” McRobbie said. “But most of you today were not yet born ... President Barack Obama wasn’t even born.”

He emphasized the importance of global learning and understanding to today’s college graduates, noting that IU students have the opportunity to take courses in 70 languages and that IU ranks 11th in the nation for the number of students who study abroad. He also mentioned that this semester’s oldest graduate, age 67, and its youngest graduate, 20, are both international students.

“Our students recognize that their futures rest on their understanding of other languages and cultures,” he said.

McRobbie closed his remarks by saying that IU has prepared its graduates for the challenges to come and that “You are now the authors of that story of human progress.”