AVReading

  Guidelines for Writing a Commencement Address The draft you write for consideration does not need to be a final version, but should give the panelists a clear idea of what you plan to say in your speech. The traditional commencement address has had content which reflects back on the class's experiences and also gives advice or guidance for the future. The tone should be one which inspires and motivates the listeners. Although the Commencement Address is directed at the graduating class, the message needs to be meaningful and appropriate for the adult audience present as well. Content, language, or style which parents or grandparents might find offensive is not suitable for a Commencement Address. Humor can be an effective minor element of a Commencement Address. The predominant message, and consequently the predominant writing style, should be serious, thoughtful and inspirational.   Format: This a general map of graduation speeches.  It is not required. Feel ...

  For many of those who lived through it, the outbreak of COVID-19 brought about a tremendous disruption to daily life.  Virtually all segments of our community were impacted in one way or another. And from this, we are beginning to recognize the many different ways that we took things for granted.  It took a major disruption to our lives to come to this realization.             When it comes to thinking about racism, it often takes an equally jarring event for the white community to become more aware of its prevalence.  For many of us, we were not really aware of the prevalence of police shootings and brutality within the black community until we read about Eric Walters, Michael Smith, and Philando Castille.  Our NFL games were disrupted by the silent protests of players who hoped to bring more awareness to the injustices.  For many of us, it took books like The New Jim Crow and do...