University School of Law Dean Margaret Paris believes thumbs will rule the future.
As she delivered the commencement address, entitled “How you will change the world,” at Summer Commencement on Saturday, August 18, Paris told a story in which she went to the supermarket and ran into Eden, an old high school friend of her 20-year-old son, Michael.
As Eden bagged her groceries, Paris asked him what he was up to and learned that an hour before, he found out he gained acceptance into a college program. When she got home, she shared the news with her son who already knew.
“How has this news traveled so quickly in an hour’s time?” she asked.
Michael had found out third- or fourth-hand on Instant Messenger.
Paris marveled at today’s technology and how it allows people to communicate so quickly.
“Your minds are well-educated,” Paris said in her 11-minute speech. “Your hearts are open. And your thumbs are connected to a whole network of people across the world. With your minds, your hearts and your thumbs, you will change the world.”
University education professor Diane Dunlap agreed. She particularly liked Paris’ anecdote about her son and his old friend. Paris caught Dunlap’s attention with her humor, but kept her attention with the message.
“She’s touching on something that’s right,” Dunlap said. “We’ve never been able to communicate person-to-person around the world so fast. It’s potentially pretty powerful.”
Paris spoke of “A Farewell to Alms,” in which Greg Clark, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, discussed the technological changes and cultural adaptations brought on by the Industrial Revolution.
With today’s technology and college degrees, “your earning potential has just been dramatically increased,” she told the 986 graduates. Paris said the latest alumni have the ability to tackle world problems, such as poverty, war, hunger, global warming and the overcrowding of cities. She added that today’s graduates, more so than previous generations, tend to judge people based on character, rather than appearance.
“Your generation is better positioned than any before to advance human knowledge significantly,” she said. “Your minds will be the best minds the world has ever known.”
Penny Church, who graduated with a Master’s degree in special education, enjoyed the commencement address.
“I especially liked how she talked about hearts, minds and thumbs; I thought that was very clever,” she said. “I thought she was fabulous, very inspiring and cute as a button.”
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