As this is our last issue of the academic year, we at The Lawrentian would like to thank and congratulate all of the graduating seniors. Graduating from college is no small feat. It marks an entry into the daunting “real world,” and possibly an entry into the even more daunting “career world.”
We have all, at some point, benefited from the leadership or guidance of a senior. Seniors lead student organizations — including The Lawrentian — student committees and small ensembles. Seniors are captains of our varsity and intramural sports. Seniors lead others by example in and outside of the classroom. The knowledge of professors provides just half of our education at Lawrence; the other half comes from interactions with other students.
The Lawrence community that we all know and love exists as we know it only because of the students who have come before us. The graduating class of 2011 has made many small — and some large — changes to our campus, and it will be hard to say goodbye. Seniors have organized the first Student Initiatives in Sustainable Agriculture conference, directed student productions such as “The Tempest,” brought speakers like Ralph Nader to campus, earned recognition in Downbeat Magazine, founded The Rabbit pop-up art gallery — all while completing honors projects, normal academics and volunteering their time locally.
Next year just won’t be the same without the wise seniors we’ve come to love. Seniors will be off tackling new challenges, getting jobs, attending graduate school or maybe even traveling. As our seniors enter the “real world,” they will undoubtedly find many problems, inequalities and struggles. We hope that the graduating seniors will find happiness in whichever path they take, and will retain their passion for learning in all stages of life. We have confidence that our fellow Lawrentians will have the courage and the intelligence to bring new ideas and resolutions to the varied situations they will encounter.
We at The Lawrentian hope that the returning Lawrentians have been inspired by and have learned from the graduating class. We hope that in the 2011-2012 academic year we will continue to see many students involved in the same level of innovative and creative projects.