Ceremonies

Commencement 2004

DEGREE DAYS: Students from the Class of 2004 celebrate on the Eastman Quadrangle (photo by Deron Berkhof).

Americans could have fewer choices for news and entertainment in the future if two disturbing threats to freedom of expression are not addressed, Rochester students graduating last spring were told by one of the entertainment industry’s leaders.

Barry Meyer ’64, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., told members of the College Class of 2004 that the number of sources for news, information, and entertainment has grown exponentially over the past few decades, creating a diversity of choice that was unimaginable when he graduated 40 years earlier.

But, he said, concerns about indecency—prompted by the halftime show at the last Super Bowl—and coverage of the war in Iraq are driving a politically motivated trend to limit freedom of expression.

“Doesn’t the American public have the right to have its emotions stirred by words and pictures, and isn’t limiting that right, in any way, a very risky and dangerous proposition?” he asked. “And this standard should apply to zealots from all political parties.”

The other trend, Meyer said, is the growing use of computer networks to trade copyrighted music and movies, an activity that has been so popular on college campuses, that some, like Rochester, have tried to develop alternative ways for students to get music online.

“Let me state it as simply as I know how: Freedom of expression isn’t ‘free,’” Meyer said. “The act of creating entertainment and information begins with an individual creator and an individual idea.
“This to me is a matter of basic morality, not technology,” he noted. “The protection of an artist’s rights to what he has created and owns must not be dismantled just because there are new easy methods of circumventing those laws.”

During the College ceremony, Meyer, a trustee of the University, received the Hutchison Medal, the highest award presented to alumni for their career achievements and service. He was one of several speakers who addressed students during ceremonies in May and June.

At the ceremony for the School of Medicine and Dentistry’s M.D. graduates, Nobel Prize–winning scientist Harold Varmus reminded students that while molecular science brings potential for better understanding of diseases, it may also may make “medicine more individualized, more complicated, and possibly more expensive.”

And at the Eastman School ceremony, mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle ’66E (MM) urged students to find their own voices as performers: “If I sing like Christa Ludwig, then I am a poor imitation of Christa Ludwig. But if I delve deep and make the songs my own I have the possibility—the possibility—to bring something unique to the performance. Sing with your voice; perform it your way.”

View a video of the College ceremony.

TEACHING AWARDS PRESENTED

During last May’s ceremonies, the University recognized several faculty members for their contributions as teachers and mentors:

Curt Signorino, assistant professor of political science and director of the Peter D. Watson Center for Conflict and Cooperation, received the G. Graydon ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Nontenured Member of the Faculty.

W. Jackson Hall, professor emeritus of statistics in the College and professor of biostatistics at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, received the inaugural award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education.

Arie Bodek, professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, received the University’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

Zvi Zeitlin, Distinguished Professor of Violin at the Eastman School, will receive the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching this fall at the school’s convocation.