Students | May 24, 2012

Jacqueline Rossi's speech at Harvard College Class Day 2012

Humorous student speech at Harvard College Class Day 2012

As the theme of her Ivy Oration, one of two humorous student speeches given on Class Day, Jacqueline Rossi ’12 used a twist on the inscription from Harvard Yard's Dexter Gate: not "Enter to grow in wisdom," but "Enter to grow in weirdness."

Rossi questioned whether wisdom is all it's cracked up to be, using several famous names as examples: "Take Sir Isaac Newton—he was surprised when an apple fell on his head while sitting under an apple tree? ...And if Mark Zuckerberg didn't invent Facebook, he still wouldn't have any friends."

She encouraged a definition of wisdom that includes making mistakes: "They make your life the joke that everyone can laugh at, just like Buddha's belly or Steven Pinker's haircut." This way, "after enough mistakes and unrelenting laughter, you'll find yourself as an old, wise Harvard graduate who made the world a better place just by being yourself."

You might also like

Protesters march holding signs in a public square with buildings and trees in the background.

Harvard Graduate Workers Begin Strike

In the second walkout in six months, union leaders call for better pay and benefits and a stronger grievance process.

Ornate black iron gate arch with a nameplate, surrounded by green leaves and blue sky.

Harvard College Applications Surge 15 Percent

Of 1,648 students in the class of 2030, 39 percent will pay no tuition.

A group of protesters holding signs marches past a gated entrance on a sunny day.

Graduate Student Union Schedules Strike

The work stoppage will begin October 27, unless a final bargaining session next week yields an agreement.

Most popular

Keri Russell gestures while speaking at a panel discussion in front of a blue backdrop.

Keri Russell Calls ‘The Diplomat’ a Love Letter to Public Servants

A Harvard Kennedy School event looks behind the scenes of the Netflix drama.

A woman jogs on a path beside a boy riding a bicycle, surrounded by trees.

To Promote Healthy Habits in Patients, Start with the Doctors

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

Bronze statue of a seated figure holding a book, with a campus setting in the background.

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Explore More From Current Issue

Collage of three photos of an athlete in a triathlon: one swimming, one cycling, one running, in sports attire.

Alumni Profiles

The Harvard triathlete and coach says she helps normal people to “do extraordinary things.”

Delicate green cocoa pods and small white flowers on a tree branch, surrounded by soft greenery.

Research

Harvard researchers investigate climate’s impact on cocoa crops, innovations in nasal vaccines, and links between pain and skull marrow.

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

Alumni

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.