Getting an education is about gaining the tools we need to succeed in life. The greatest tool that I’ve gained from my time here is perspective, the desire to learn from people different from myself and to attempt to see the world through their eyes. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is that, in this democracy, apathy is not a choice. To choose to remain silent in the face of the atrocities being committed in the name of this country – in all of our names – is to condone those acts. Indifference kills more people than bombs do. If you don’t believe me, ask the people of Rwanda.
Live Loudly and Fiercely … Apathy Is Not a Choice
by University Medalist’ Lane Rettig at the Commencement Convocation at the University of California at Berkeley, May 10, 2006