Governor Gregoire addresses students at WSU-Vancouver 2008 commencement ceremony

May 10, 2008

*As Written*

Good morning.

�President Floyd�Chancellor Dengerink�regents, faculty, parents, friends, family and graduates:

Congratulations! I�m honored to be here to share this important day with you.

It�s especially great to be here for just the second commencement at the new four-year Washington State University-Vancouver!

Congratulations to this university and community.

Southwest Washington finally has a four-year university, and I�m thrilled that working together, we all made it happen.

I�m hearing great things about this university � how it really is in a vibrant partnership with this community in so many ways�

�From computer science research between engineering students and Hewlett Packard�

�To collaboration between students and educators to shape early learning and other education improvements�

�To research and work between students and scientists to protect Clark County�s beautiful environment.

In short, I�m extremely pleased to see that WSU-Vancouver can never be called just an Ivory Tower. You are so much a part of the community -- and the community is so much a part of you.

So -- are all you happy graduates ready to celebrate?

I didn�t hear that. Are you ready to celebrate?

Just as I suspected!

And right now, I�ll bet you�re thinking that the Governor of Washington is the only thing standing between you and a graduation party!

But first let me say that I dearly love graduations. I�m a mother like many of you in the audience today, and we mothers do like rites of passage.

Graduation is a major rite of passage -- like baptism, or marriage, or having children.

And those rites are what families hold dear � just as we do old photos and old stories.

(Of course when my second daughter graduated from college, I also held dear the fact that our tuition assistance was a thing of the past too!)

So, take a second to breathe deeply.

Savor this moment.

You have done the work, you have kept the faith, and this race is run.

You have a degree from a great University, and it is an achievement you will have forever.

And to the many mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and other family members here today.

Thank you!

Thank you, parents, for raising good kids! Thank you for supporting them through the long college grind -- Maybe with tuition money if you could -- but always with love, I�m sure.

I suspect that at graduation ceremonies across the nation in the next month or so, there will be many graduation speakers advising graduates that �Individuality is the Key to Success�.

And they will do that while looking out at a sea of students dressed in identical caps and gowns.

Don�t get me wrong. Individuality is good.
But for my brief time with you today � and I promise you I will be brief � I want to talk about individuality in a different light.

I want to talk about individuality with a small �i��

�The kind of individuality that leaves our minds open to hear the views of others so we are able to find the values of their ideas.

Here is why this is important.

I think most people would agree today that public discourse on just about any subject you can name has become a little louder, a little coarser and too often � a little meaner.

Too often, I see people showing very little tolerance for ideas different from their own.

Too often, I see people refusing to even listen to someone with an opposing view, let alone acknowledge the other person may have something to contribute.

And, saddest of all, too often I see people with opposing views refuse even to sit down and search for common ground -- which is the first step to finding real answers.

And that, as students, is not the world you know here in the more civilized halls of learning.

During your education at WSU, you have been in a unique environment.

Embedded in WSU�s values are intellectual growth, love of learning and intellectual inquiry. The whole purpose is to help students learn to think clearly and reasonably.

And WSU has two other important values � diversity and character � to help students become better, more compassionate human beings.

I�d like to focus on all these values today.

WSU�s values call for a respect for all persons. WSU strives to be a community that makes room for all individuals, and protects their right to free expression.
Contrast that with the climate in the non-academic world today.

What we too often see today is extreme partisanship that discourages working across party lines to forge more balanced, realistic solutions.

What we have today are pollsters who make officials overly cautious, which stifles debate on hot issues.

What we have today are media consultants who parse words to the point that public statements say very little, and offer even less.

What we have today are skyrocketing numbers of professional associations -- which feel the need to win by not giving an inch on their issues.

And then there is this.

Here is what Joe Klein wrote in his book Politics Lost.

�A generation of Americans came to believe that political discourse consisted mostly of rabid hyperbole�

�Rush Limbaugh ridiculing Bill Clinton�Michael Moore ridiculing George W. Bush...�

�Or (talking heads) yelling at each other on The McLaughlin Group or Crossfire.�

Probably the most distressing thing in my mind is that too many Americans feel so sure they have the right political, policy, or philosophical answers that they simply shut out other people and their views.

Too many listen only to those who agree with them, or read the blogs only of bloggers who think what they think.

Tell me, where does that get us as a community?

Sometimes what passes for discourse is a pure lack of civility, but more often it is a refusal to engage or even listen.
As a result, we lose the chance to find common ground -- on which we can learn, grow, and start to find real, lasting solutions.

In the most extreme cases, I see people so locked in defense of their own views that they fail to see common opportunities.
Let me give you an example of that.

For years now we have been mired in a scientific debate about global climate change.

All of the debate has focused on one thing � can we scientifically prove our actions are creating global climate change or not?

Talk about a challenge, how do we prove, or disapprove something as big and global as climate change and the cause?

But as each side sat around making the case that the other side was wrong, they put off coming together to realize something right in front of their faces the whole time.

And that is, no matter what the science says, aren�t there some compelling reasons for us to reduce carbon emissions?

We can save gas � and especially today � we can save serious money.

We can wean our dependence on Middle East oil and create a safer world.

We can have cleaner air.

We can create new industries with green jobs.

We can create new markets for agricultural products.

Fortunately, here in Washington, we have moved beyond the paralyzing scientific debate.

In fact, I am working closely with some who do not share my belief that the climate is changing because of human activity.

And I think that�s wonderful!

I�m working with them and all kinds of people to make us a leader in the nation in production of alternative energy.

And businesses pioneering green technology are popping up across the state and they offer well-paying, green collar jobs.

But we could have gotten there sooner if we could have simply moved beyond the scientific deadlock -- agreed to disagree -- and moved on toward our common goal � a better world for our children and grandchildren.

Your education here at WSU has fostered a love of learning and taught you how to analyze ideas and how to reason.

Your education also has taught you to respect others and their ideas�taught you that you alone don�t have all the answers.

Your education, and probably your loved ones too, have shown you that when you keep your mind open � there is always more to learn even when you disagree with it.

Your education has taught you that the more you know � the more you know how little you know.

But now you�re leaving academia for a sometimes less thoughtful, less nuanced world.

And some of what passes for public debate today will tempt you to forget what you have learned.

Please, don�t forget! Please cling tenaciously to the need to be open minded and listen to others with different ideas.

We really need you!

Our communities desperately need thoughtful people who will think, reason, listen � really listen � find common ground with others, and then work with them to find the kind of solutions that help us and our children.

And employers desperately need employees who will do the same thing.
In fact, I would challenge you to allow your minds to close on just one occasion�

�And when is that? When the Cougars meet the Dawgs in the Apple Cup!

Be an individual! Be proud of your personal philosophy of life. But realize that it doesn�t mean you have all the answers or that you are always right and the other person is wrong.
President Lyndon Johnson once said, �There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve by ourselves.�

So thank you, graduates. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made to win degrees from WSU to provide for your families and improve your communities and your state.
Never stop looking for new ways to grow, learn and contribute.

Thank You