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[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC- "POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE" BY EDWARD ELGAR]
MARKEISHA MINER: Good afternoon. Please be seated. Welcome. Welcome to Cornell University. Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Guyogohó:no', the Cayuga Nation. The Guyogohó:no' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York State, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of the Guyogohó:no', dispossession and honor the ongoing connection of the Guyogohó:no', people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
It is now my privilege to introduce to you the Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, our presider, Jens David Ohlin.
[APPLAUSE]
JENS DAVID OHLIN: Thank you, Dean Miner. Welcome parents, friends, faculty, and most importantly graduates of the great Cornell Law School Class of 2022.
[APPLAUSE]
So there are only two rules about writing a graduation speech, be funny, and be short.
[LAUGHTER]
Unfortunately, I'm breaking both rules today. So I'm sorry.
[LAUGHTER]
This class, the Class of '22, has seen it all. You started law school before the pandemic, transitioned to online classes in March 2020, then hybrid classes in '21, then fully in-person classes in '22. That's quite a wild ride. Through it all you manage to maintain your shared sense of community and your commitment to excellence. You studied hard, read every single line of every case that was assigned. You did that, right? But you were also kind and generous to your classmates and you looked out for each other. So you've earned your day of celebration. and I hope you savor every minute of it.
If you'll indulge me, and since I'm dean you probably have to, let me talk very briefly about an area of law that occupies my time as a scholar and teacher if I promise to connect it to the occasion of your graduation from law school and the beginning of your career as an ethical attorney. We are witnessing in the world today critical threats to the international rule of law. I wouldn't necessarily call them unprecedented because the world has seen some pretty awful things before. But it feels like there are threats to democracy from all directions, and you could be forgiven for asking in all seriousness whether democracy and the rule of law will prevail in the long run. If they do, it'll be because good people like yourselves stood up for what's good and right, even if it made them unpopular or involved some level of personal sacrifice.
As you know, I'm a professor of international criminal law, and in the last few months there have been extreme violations of the international rule of law, the legal regime that governs the conduct of nation states. The modern foundation of my field was laid at Nuremberg when, as Justice Jackson famously remarked in his opening argument, "that four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury, stay the hand of vengeance, and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law, is one of the most significant tributes that power has ever paid to reason."
The international case that proceeded at Nuremberg was historically significant and set the stage for a subsequent round of 12 cases prosecuted before the US military tribunal sitting at Nuremberg. In each case, the US prosecutors selected a particular professional group for prosecution. In one case, it was physicians, doctors. In another case, it was the SS. In another case, it was industrialists, corporate leaders.
In my mind, the most important of these cases was called the Justice case. I love that case in part because the name is so striking, so bizarre really. Why was it called the Justice case? Weren't all the cases at Nuremberg about justice? Indeed, isn't any case before any court in any jurisdiction about justice? It's a little bit like calling a particular drug sold in a pharmacy Medicine with a capital M or calling a dish in a restaurant Food. Who would order that from the menu? I don't know.
The answer, of course, is that the Justice case was about lawyers, and in particular judges, who were responsible for using the machinery of the judicial system to implement the crimes of the Nazi regime. Of course, working for the Nazis was bad enough but there was a special kind of culpability for the lawyers and judges because they perverted, inverted actually, a system that should have pursued justice, and they used it to accomplish the exact opposite. They use the justice system as an instrument of state criminality.
In passing judgment on these judges and government lawyers who cloaked their crimes with the veneer of law, this is what the tribunal said of them. "They defiled the German temple of justice and delivered Germany into the dictatorship of the Third Reich with all of its methods of terror and its cynical and open denial of the rule of law. The temple must be re-consecrated. This cannot be done in the twinkling of an eye or by any mere ritual. It cannot be done in any single proceeding or at any one place. It certainly cannot be done at Nuremberg alone. But we have here, I think, a special opportunity and grave responsibility to help achieve that goal."
Now I turn to you as future generation of Cornell lawyers who will surely take on leadership roles in the legal profession in just a few years. The responsibility of safeguarding the temple is one that falls to each new generation of lawyers as they join this august profession. Each of you is now a guardian of the temple. This is a sacred responsibility. But I know in my heart that you'll bear this responsibility with honor, integrity, courage, and compassion.
I've seen you in the hallways of Myron Taylor Hall, in our great classrooms, out on assignment for clinics and externships. More importantly, I've seen you act charitably to your friends and collegially to your opponents in moot court and transactional law competitions. You've exemplified the best traits of the legal profession in thousands of personal interactions, large and small, every week. And what I've seen of you has burnished my faith in humanity and the possibility of this humble profession of ours to protect our sacred temple. You'll make us proud.
And speaking on behalf of my colleagues on this stage I can tell you that we are so incredibly honored to say that we were once your professors, that in some small way we taught you the law, and now we can't wait to see the amazing things that you'll do with it.
We often say that Cornell lawyers are supposed to be lawyers in the best sense. I get asked for a definition of this phrase all the time and I can't really provide one because it's undefinable. But if anyone wants a definition for a lawyer in the best sense. I'd show them a picture of each of you, all 347 of you. You're the best this legal profession has to offer. Congratulations on your remarkable achievement. You deserve every ray of sunshine on this great day. Thank you and good luck.
[APPLAUSE]
Now we will hear greetings from student government, represented by Ayesha Umana Dawud, member of the Cornell Law School Student Association Board and President of the Cornell Law School LLM Association, who will introduce our student speakers. Please join me in welcoming Ayesha.
[APPLAUSE]
AYESHA UMANA DAWUD: To whom it may concern, we made it. We are all workers, thinkers, fighters, gazers, storytellers, and survivors. These are the words on the entry walls of South Africa Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and these are also incredibly accurate words to describe this group of lawyers.
After a year of pandemic, I arrived at Cornell University. Suddenly humanity emerged again in all its dimensions. Surviving ceased being our primary objective. Behind the smiling and tremendously modest faces of my fellow master's of law colleagues, the countries of our world revealed. Law firm partners became students again. Judges did not write the opinion anymore, but sat from the audience's side in classrooms. And litigators left the courtroom to learn from a new system and improve their oratory.
Congratulations, Class of 2022. We were all looking for something and we found it. All too probably not what we initially were looking for. Within the diversity of a country of immigrants we found our path at Cornell Law School. Professors guided our steps in a new country, a new tribunal, and for most of us, a new life. Our colleagues opened to us the doors of their homeland and let us work with them as we are working together today. Underneath the gowns we are wearing, our histories, cultures, heritage, and now the lessons learned at Cornell all shape our existence and pave the way for our future.
Not everything is perfect. Inequities still exist, language barriers, economic disadvantage, and structural discrimination. However, our goal should remain unchanged, being lawyers in the best sense, building our own meaning, sticking to it, and above all, being true to our set of beliefs.
I am confident our following elected speakers will do it. No, we will be hearing from two of our graduates this afternoon. Both of them elected by us, their classmates, to speak today. One represent the Juris Doctor class. The second represent our Masters of Law program. Speaking first will be our JD graduate, Sandile Magagula.
[APPLAUSE]
Sandile is President of the Cornell Law Student Association. He's also a Jessup International Moot Court regional champion.
[APPLAUSE]
And was treasurer of the Black Law Students Association.
[APPLAUSE]
He received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. After graduation he will join Latham and Watkins in its Washington, DC, office. Please welcome Sandile.
[APPLAUSE]
SANDILE MAGAGULA: Before I begin my speech, I want to take a moment to recognize my family and all of the families and loved ones in attendance today. Without all of you, none of this would be possible. You Were there for us when we were struggling through 1L and thriving in 3L. There's an African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, and based on the amazing people I've met in the class of 2022, I know they all had amazing villages. So could the class of 2022 please rise and give your loved ones round of applause.
[APPLAUSE]
Now, to the class of 2022, we've been through three years, two group meetings, and one pandemic. And through it all this class never stopped showing its ability to persevere through anything. I remember the day in 1L where we got the email that the university would be shutting down, and I think most of us thought it'd be two to three weeks before we'd be back. At that time I didn't know if we'll see a possibility I would not see many of you until our 3L year.
Despite this lost time, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. While we had a tremendous challenge in trying to pack a last year of fun into our 3L year, the class of 2022 is never one to turn down a challenge. Whether it was reclaiming our rightful spot at Kilpatrick's karaoke, testing the limits of an open bar at Barristers, or late night drinks in the moot courtroom, we made sure that our last year would not be easily forgotten.
While graduation is a time for celebration, in writing this speech I had a lot of time to reflect. I remember when I found out that I was admitted to Cornell Law. I was first overcome with feelings of excitement. Slowly this excitement began to turn to doubt. I'm from a small town in Eswatini where most would never envision themselves attending an Ivy League law school. I worried that I did not belong here, that I would not be able to make it at such a prestigious institution. In my first week of orientation I found out that this feeling had a name, imposter syndrome.
I do not think these feelings would have ever passed if not for the support I received from my classmates. The sense of community we have here is what allowed me to believe that this is where I was meant to be. The advice I received before coming to law school was to keep my head down, make Law Review, and be in the top 10% at the end of my 1L year. Those of you who know me know I did none of these things.
I've never been in an environment where I felt so encouraged to veer off the written path, and I know this feeling is not unique to me. I've seen my classmates at numerous times step out of their comfort zone and do things not because they were considered the conventional thing to do but because they were compelled to pursue their passions.
When I graduated from undergrad, I remember the speaker saying we would change the world. But these words were never more daunting than they are today. We are moving into a career where we will defend, uphold, and fight to change the laws as they stand. While this might feel like a massive weight on our shoulders, I want this class to know that they've already changed the world and the lives of countless people, whether it be through the work of the Tenants Advocacy Practicum defending tenants in Ithaca from eviction, the Asylum Clinic recently winning asylum for their client, a mother and survivor of domestic abuse, The First Amendment Clinic successfully arguing a precedent setting appeal in front of the Fourth Division, and most recently the International Human Rights Clinic successfully staying the execution and re-opening the case of Melissa Lucio. These are just a few of the numerous inspiring stories that I have heard over the past three years and is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion that this class possesses.
While at many points in our law school career we have been told that law school does not really prepare you to practice law, I would argue, based on the cases I just mentioned and the numerous others not mentioned, that this journey has prepared us for the next phase of our lives. However, I would say the most important thing I learned in my time at Cornell is not how to be a lawyer but what type of lawyer I want to be. I have to thank the many faculty members, including Muna Ndulo, Celia Bigoness, William Niebel, and Sheri Lynn Johnson, and numerous others who have shown me how they approach every client with compassion, what it means to take time to get to know their clients, and how to tirelessly advocate on their behalf.
I will forever be grateful for the lessons I have learned while I Cornell and I will be forever indebted to the Class of 2022. I will miss the sounds of Uriel shouting, "Let's Go!" as soon as walking into any room. I will miss fancying Spencer in a tank top once the Ithaca weather has made it clear that it's jacket season. I'll miss the disappointed look on Mariah and Marissa's face when they realize I only invited them over to help me with my blue booking. And most of all, and probably because we lost a year of it, I will miss the informal conversations we had in the hallways of Myron Taylor.
While this is the end of our law school career, I have no doubt that we'll be crossing paths again. The legal profession is a small profession, and the best network we could have going into it are the people sitting here today. We have built a community that extends beyond the walls of Myron Taylor and will extend it to the next chapter of our lives. So for the last time, congratulations to the 3L class, and for the first time, congratulations to the alumni Class of 2022.
[APPLAUSE]
AYESHA UMANA DAWUD: Thank you, Sandile. Our LLM speaker is Xiaoming Hu. Xiaoming earned his Bachelor of Law from South China Normal University in Guangzhou, China. During his LLB he also participated in Jessup International Moot Court. At Cornell Law Xiaoming has served as LLM representative for the Briggs Society of International Law and a research assistant for the Legal Information Institute Women and Justice Collection Project. After graduation he plans to practice in his home city of Guangzhou. Please welcome Xiaoming.
[APPLAUSE]
XIAOMING HU: Thank you. Thank you very much. Dear Dean Ohlin, Dean Miner, faculty, staff, family, friends, and my colleagues, a very good afternoon. It is an honor to be here today to speak on behalf of the LLN Class of 2022 at Cornell Law.
I would like to begin by thanking all my colleagues for giving me this opportunity. We are a diversified community with connections and friendship. I would also like to show my gratitude to the Cornell faculty and staff. Despite adversities, you gave us the opportunity to dive into on-campus experiences and non-urban enjoyment. Although I would need to admit that the best word to describe this year is bittersweet, due to many obstacles.
I would argue that this is the most glorious one in my life so far and maybe in foreseeable future. I remember on the slope day when I was walking home through the long and winding but also bumpy Oak Avenue with warm street lights. I realized that here is my wonderland. I believe maybe it's also yours. Just like the relationship between Hemingway and Paris. If you are lucky enough to have lived in Ithaca as a Cornellian for one year, not to short to prevent you from diving into the wonderland, or too long to isolate yourself from the external world, which could cause mental issues.
Then whenever you live for the rest of your life, this small town stays with you. Because we all deserve the high honor, or an A plus, in our compulsory class, Introduction to The Enjoyment of Life. This course could be rather helpful for us to live with love and empathy.
However, I would be very reluctant to disagree with the view that is pricey, is expensive, particularly when you compare the menu board at the law school cafe and the college town cafe closed in 2020. Was inflation. I'm also wondering if investing money into your own education satisfies the [INAUDIBLE] test. With the law school being travel under Section 12A2 because of the table of estimated cost on the program's website. So is anyone want to be the class counsel, please call me. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
I should be grateful for my colleagues working in the Women and Justice Collection as LII led by Professor Hackett. We are not only defending the rights of women, but also defending our civilized society. I should also thank the members of the Briggs Society of International Law. I truly appreciate the insights provided in the class Western Legal Tradition by Professor Cousins from Northwestern, who is now at Princeton. She facilitates me with important updates on my many common law system governing myself.
I would like to conclude the thank you part by expressing my gratitude to all my friends, family members, and colleagues, including the people joining me to celebrate the only goal I scored as a footballer for Cornell Law soccer team, which is actually our only goal. They are my friends, Ms. Ellen Cheng, Ms. Iris Lee, big brother of Mansuan, Mr. Jasper Hsieh, and Chief Justice Allen. And my teammates, Mr. Hos Villazon who loves Colombia coffee, Mr. Asif Acadai from Pakistan, and Mr. Abdullah Oran from-- well, I searched the directory and I'm sure that your home is not in Ithaca.
My trip as a spring breaker to the United Kingdom was disrupted by the Goth Act, which is rather disturbing. I'm still yearning for the intriguing English South Coast recommended by Professor Bowman. Nevertheless, if I do have the opportunity to board a flight to London Heathrow, I have no idea whether the destination show on my boarding pass will be airstrip one.
Recently, I keep questioning myself if it is still appropriate to turn my blind eyes to an adjective starting with the letter C in Article 38, the Statue of the International Court of Justice. Yes, it civilized. But as Justice Breyer said in his retirement speech, "Don't be cynical, young lawyers. We can shape our communities." I have devoted myself to advocating for changes in railway regulations in China, which could be critical for the working class to live and commute with comfort and dignity. Even my undergraduate dissertation was concerning railway regulations, which did very well in pledges and chat because no law expert cares about railway regulations. I think I'm the first one.
My voice has been heard. The National Railway Administration in China is now changing the rules for pay-as-you-go ticketing, which is rather commuting friendly, a huge step forward. Yes, we can make the difference. So in an era of prosperity, absurdity, and uncertainty, here are the key takeaways of today. Treasure our enjoyment, protect our loved ones, and safeguard our communities. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [SPEAKING CHINESE]
[APPLAUSE]
JENS DAVID OHLIN: Thank you to all of our wonderful student speakers. It's now my pleasure to introduce the faculty speaker selected by you, the graduating students. Professor Charles Whitehead is the Myron C. Taylor Alumni Professor of Business Law, and has taught countless students business organizations, securities regulation, and other corporate law courses. And more importantly, he's a great guy, and I'm just as eager as you are to hear his words of wisdom. Chuck, the podium is all yours.
[CHEERING]
CHARLES WHITEHEAD: Hi. Dean Ohlin, faculty colleagues, friends and family, and most of all, members of the Cornell Law School JD and LLM classes of 2022, thank you for your invitation to speak. I was touched and honored to be asked to speak today. It's a teacher's greatest privilege to address a class as it stands on the world's doorstep. In a very real sense, the world lies before you today. It's exhilarating to contemplate the great things that all of you will do.
The completion of your law school education, as I know you know, is no small feat. It's the culmination of years of accomplishments and successes, of which you, your families, and your loved ones and friends should be especially proud. Today has a particular significance.
For many, today is the first step in a transition from the world of academics to the world of practice, taking with you years of learning, dedication, and hard work, and applying them to the real world outside these doors. My colleagues and I have had the privilege of watching you gain new skills and knowledge and of learning from you. But now for the first time your work will affect others' lives rather than simply your own grades.
So in this last law school lecture, what is it that I can say to you that may help you along the way? Let me impart three thoughts, things that I've learned over the years that may be useful as you embark on your own careers.
The first is, don't be afraid to ask why. Like me, you'll be hesitant to ask but you'll worry about what others will think. Don't be. It's the best way to learn the practice of law, to better understand what it is you're doing and supposed to be doing.
Now as a second year associate I was tasked with working on a public stock offering by a waste management company, basically a very large garbage collector, primarily based in New Jersey. Without going into a lot of detail, think the Sopranos go to Wall Street. During a coffee break, I happened to be alone with the issuer CEO who carried a very large onyx walking stick that he sometimes swung around like a bat. He really didn't like lawyers and he didn't talk a lot.
Now I had noticed that beginning about 10 years earlier the company had grown significantly. And not wanting to appear too naive, I took the opportunity while we were alone to ask the CEO why the company had grown so fast. And since it was only the two of us he answered. "Well," he said, "what I did back then was go to the towns where we weren't picking up the garbage and I would follow our competitors garbage trucks to see what they were doing."
"Well, good," I thought. "He's conducting due diligence, seeing what his competitor's were doing and what he could do better."
Then the CEO said, "I would wait near the garbage truck while the guys collecting garbage were out, sometimes going behind a house to pick up the garbage."
"Well, that's great," I thought. "He's checking how well the operators were working, what sort of customer service he would need to provide."
And then the CEO said, "When the guys collecting garbage weren't around, I would throw a crowbar into the back of the garbage truck. So when they brought back the garbage and compacted it, the crowbar would rip out the insides of the truck. Now it takes a few months to fix one of these trucks, and people still need to have their garbage collected. So because their truck was now out of business, our guys would swoop in to pick up the business. That's how we grew so quickly."
Needless to say, this created some issues for the offering. It's the only prospectus I've ever seen that included criminal activity as one of the investor risk factors.
But what did it teach me? Always be prepared to ask why. It's a good way to understand what it is you're doing and to become better at whatever it is you decide to pursue. And like me, you may be surprised at what you learn when you do ask why.
Second, realize that you will make mistakes. The trick when this happens is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from the mistake, and then move on. Now as a summer associate I was assigned to a deal where a large Italian company, our client, was buying a US target. It was tense. A lot of back and forth with lawyers for the other side who were from a very well known, very prestigious Boston law firm. We met in New York to get the materials ready for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. Everybody else then went home. I had to finish a memo and so I returned to the office.
A few hours later, the phone rang. It was a partner vacationing in Europe who told me that our Italian client had called the deal off and I should stop the SEC filing. So I called the financial printer where the filing package was supposed to be, only to find it had been picked up by a paralegal from the Boston law firm, a guy named Joe, to take to Washington. So what should I do?
Well, I remembered from law school my obligation to represent my client zealously. So with zeal I called our Washington office and asked them to send two of the biggest, baddest messengers to the SEC to do whatever was necessary to waylay Joe, who the financial printer described as a short balding man who smoked a cigar, and then to call me when they did. Off went the messengers and I returned to my memo.
About 30 minutes passed and the phone rang again. The partner in Europe, but now telling me the deal was a go, and so I should let the filing occur after all. Now at that point, there was no way to reach anyone. Remember, this was well before cell phones. So I figured I'd wait for the messengers to call from a payphone and then let the papers get filed. Fifteen minutes passed and the phone rang a third time.
"Mr. Whitehead," the messenger began, "we've got Joe, but I should tell you Joe is really angry."
The messenger put Joe on the line. "Who the hell is this?" Joe asked. "Well, my name is Chuck," I began. "Let me explain."
And Joe cut me off. "I really don't care," he said before unleashing a tidal wave of swear words. Now I wasn't too troubled. Joe was blowing off steam. But then he began to shout, "Get me Steve West," and a few of the other of the senior partners at the law firm where I was working.
Ah! It dawned on me. Joe may not be a paralegal. And it turned out he wasn't. Joe was the Boston law firm's senior managing partner who had meetings in Washington that day and had decided to do the filing as a favor.
So what does this tell me about your careers? Well, as I said, you will make mistakes as lawyers. We all do. What may be less obvious is the value they hold. Learn from your mistakes. Gain from them a better sense of perspective, of judgment.
You could argue I simply did what I was told, although I'm pretty sure it did not include manhandling Joe. But as painful as the lesson was, it had a value. It taught me to pause and reflect on a problem, no matter how urgent it appears, not simply to react to it. And that lesson has stayed with me since. As importantly, it reinforced a lesson I grew up with. Treat every Joe or Josephine with respect whether they are the paralegal or the senior managing partner.
A third and final thought to impart today. The world is much smaller than it may seem to you. What you do today will affect where you are and what you're doing 10 and 15 years from now.
A few years ago I was invited to a dinner with a group of lawyers who had become the CEOs of large public companies. To my right was the CEO of Marvel Comics, and to my left was a very quiet person whose name I did not initially catch. So imagine. All right, how many times are you sitting next to Captain America's boss? So we had a great conversation.
But during a lull in the conversation the guy to my left leaned over and quietly said, "I don't think you remember me, do you?"
Honestly, I had no idea who he was.
"Well," he said, "about 20 years ago you and I were both associates on the same deal. I was on the issuers side. You represented the underwriters. It was a complicated offering. The documents were a mess. But our client wanted to get to market right away. It turned out you did a similar deal a few weeks earlier. And so you called me up on the side and quietly offered to send your documents to us to. Use our client loved us and we use the documents again on later deals."
That's when I remembered I had sent him the documents. Although the truth was I was really busy at the time, thought it would make my life easier if we all used papers that I was already familiar with.
He said, "I never forgot this, and it really helped me out. So I'm now the CEO of the company that does all the cartoon cel work for all the major TV shows, including the Simpsons and South Park. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
Well, needless to say, I got a really cool original Bart Simpson cartoon cel delivered to me the next day.
The point here is that the world is a small place. The people around you right now, your classmates, your friends, your colleagues, and others you meet along the way, will stay with you throughout your careers and lives. Nurture those relationships and you'll get a lot more out of them than a Bart Simpson cel.
So three basic thoughts as you commence your careers that I and my colleagues are certain will be great. First, always ask why. Know what it is and why you're doing it. Second, pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes. If you're like me, you'll have plenty to learn from over the course of your lives. And third, treat others with respect. Know that in this small world what happens today will affect what happens tomorrow in ways you cannot imagine.
The fact is, for many of you none of this is news. You've gotten this far in your lives because of your hard work and the strength of who you are. I've had the chance to get to know many of you, and it would be hard to assemble a more caring, decent, and thoughtful group of people. Life will be full of choices and experiences, and some of them will be quite messy. In the midst of those choices, preserve your sense of who you are and who you want to be, and always be honest with yourself about what you're doing and why you're doing it.
Dean Ohlin quoted President White, who set as the law school's goal the production of well trained, large minded, morally based lawyers in the best sense. There's a lot of ambition packed into that short phrase, but I do think it describes the education that Cornell has imparted to you. And as importantly, it reflects who you are and how you will succeed in your future lives and careers. My colleagues and I hope, indeed we expect, you will all do great things. May each of you thrive as you have here at Cornell. Congratulations again, and please keep in touch.
[APPLAUSE]
JENS DAVID OHLIN: Thank you, Chuck. As impressive as all of our speakers have been this afternoon, we now come to what I suspect will be the highlight for most of the people in this arena, the formal recognition of our graduates. At this time, I'd like to turn these proceedings over to our Dean of Students.
MARKEISHA MINER: I'll ask our graduates to please come forward. Thank you, Dean Ohlin.
We will begin this afternoon with our candidates for the degree of Master of Laws. [READING NAMES]
Dean Ohlin, following are the candidates for the degree of Master of Laws in Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship.
[READING NAMES]
Dean Ohlin, the following are the candidates for the degree of Juris Doctor and Master of International and Comparative Law.
[READING NAMES]
Dean Ohlin, following are the candidates for the degree of Juris Doctor and Master en Droit.
[READING NAMES]
And Dean Ohlin, the following are the candidates for the degree of Juris Doctor.
[READING NAMES]
Faculty, administration, family, and friends, please join me in congratulating the Cornell Law School Class of 2022.
[APPLAUSE]
JENS DAVID OHLIN: Congratulations to all of you. Before we conclude these proceedings let's have one more round of applause, this time for the family and friends present here today.
[APPLAUSE]
I know I speak for all of you graduates when I say that here in this arena with us this afternoon are family members and friends who offered you more support and encouragement through your years as law students than we could possibly quantify. As we celebrate the enormous accomplishments of our graduates, we celebrate as well all who helped to make such accomplishments possible. So a well-earned round of applause for them again.
[APPLAUSE]
Please stand for the singing of the Alma Mater. The words appear on the last page of your program. Once we conclude the Alma Mater, please remain standing while the faculty recess out of the arena, and then please join us back at the law school courtyard for a reception to celebrate our wonderful graduates.
[SINGING - "FAR ABOVE CAYUGA'S WATERS"] Far above Cayuga's
waters, with its waves of blue, stands our noble Alma Mater, glorious to view.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater. Hail, all hail, Cornell.
Far above the busy humming of the bustling town, reared against the arch of heaven, looks she proudly down.
Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater. Hail, all hail, Cornell.
[CHEERING]
[MUSIC - "STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER" BY JOHN PHILIP SOUSA]
[MUSIC - "FAR ABOVE CAYUGA'S WATERS"]
