Graduating seniors typically make the transition from the college world to the working world with a commencement ceremony and a handshake as they receive their degrees.
Something is missing from that process, say a group of University students. Although graduation is a time for celebration, they want it to also be a time for students to consider how the things they do after college will impact the world.
Senior Leona Kassel said that’s why she and about six other students are working to bring the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility back to University commencement.
By signing the pledge, which was incorporated into graduation ceremonies at nearly 70 colleges and universities in 2001, students promise “to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences” of any job they consider taking.
The pledge began at Humboldt State University in 1987 and was once printed on the back of University of Oregon graduation programs, said alumna Mary Hudzikiewicz, who is coordinating commencement this year. About four years ago, commencement organizers stopped printing the pledge, though, because of lack of student interest, she said. The pledge will be part of graduation this year — but organizers are still working out how large a part, she said.
Kassel said she sees the pledge as serving “a dual purpose — one to start students thinking about the impact their jobs will have on the world and also to send a message to businesses that students are considering how their jobs will affect society and the environment.”
Although students working on the pledge campaign are still planning how they will make the pledge part of graduation this year, they expect to create wallet-sized cards inscribed with the pledge that students can sign, Kassel said. On the back of the cards will be a list of environmentally and socially conscious Web sites alumni can visit to reaffirm their commitment, she said. Students who sign the pledge will also receive a green ribbon they can pin to their caps or gowns.
Kassel said they would like to have the pledge cards and a letter explaining the purpose of the pledge included in graduation materials the University sends to students. They plan to distribute the ribbons and have additional pledge cards available at spring commencement ceremonies.
Support for the pledge seems to be growing nationwide. Dr. Neil Wollman, the national coordinator for the Graduation Pledge Alliance at Manchester College, said he expects about 100 colleges and universities to include some form of the pledge in their graduation ceremonies this year.
At Manchester College, the pledge is a formal part of the graduation ceremony, and students begin learning about it during freshman orientation. At other schools, the pledge may be a much more informal part of commencement, he said.
While judging the success of a pledge is difficult, Wollman said a survey of Manchester College graduates found that they are taking the pledge into consideration on their jobs. Even if only a few do, he added, that can be enough to change society.
“It takes a fairly limited amount of people to make a difference,” he said. “Sometimes just one person pushing something on a job … is enough to bring other people over,” he said.
For more information or to get involved with the University pledge campaign, e-mail [email protected].