New Student Convocation 2023

August 31, 2023

Chancellor Conway, Vice-Chancellor Mena, Deans, student leaders, and most importantly, our newest Scarlet Knights, good afternoon!

Whether you are moving onto campus or commuting from home, I know that these last few weeks have been busy. You've been saying goodbye to high school friends, going on one more run to Target with your parents, writing down the passwords to the family streaming services, or deciding whether it makes more sense to trust Waze or Google Maps as you figure out the shortest path between Starbucks, Dunkin, and campus—all equally important things.

Amid all of these distractions you may have missed that this past Monday marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. That day in 1963 has been memorialized as a moment when the nation took a major step forward in realizing the bold ambitions declared in our founding documents that this was a country in which all people were created equal. And no matter where you call home—whether you hail from somewhere overseas or come from a place as equally exotic as northern or southern New Jersey—I am confident that you are all familiar with that moment in his speech when King began to talk about his dream. He dreamed of brotherhood, oases of freedom and justice, friendships blind to racial difference, and a future in which people would be judged on the merits of their humanity. 

In the sixty years since King tried his best to uplift the nation, liberal and conservative activists have invoked his language to suit their respective political agendas. Some have used his words in their calls for a stronger social safety net that would support our most vulnerable populations. Others have claimed that the speech demonstrated that King would have been opposed to the nation's affirmative action programs. I'm not engaging either interpretation today, but I want you to think through how it could be that the same passages could be used to advance such different agendas. Might there be more than one way to understand King's great speech and this famous march?

The answer is yes. 

The fact of the matter is that the event has been sanitized in order to be more acceptable to those who prefer to shy away from more challenging truths. To cite but one example, while the paragraphs where King invokes his dream are some of the most quoted in this country's archive, when one looks at the whole speech, one discovers a radically different tone in its early moments. There, King spoke with anger and frustration about the promises made and broken by the United States. He spoke as well about his refusal to be content until these broken promises were made true. In his words, the nation could not afford to be satisfied "until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Powerful words. Important words. But words that have so often been lost in the historical record because, as a country, we seem to be happy to acquire just enough to get by. You are at Rutgers to do more than that. You are here to learn, to wrestle with ideas that are as yet unknown to you, to find your voice, and most importantly, to listen. 

Now, what's so important about listening? It is not that I want you to sit back and keep your thoughts to yourself. Quite the contrary. I want you to speak up. But when you speak up, I want your comments to be informed. I want to know that your ideas have been tested against others'. I want to be reassured in the fact that you have looked at the matter before you, examined the nuances, asked if there are other perspectives to consider, and only then drawn a conclusion. This is what listening is all about: you listen in order to become a better speaker and a better thinker.

Life at Rutgers is going to mirror life beyond Rutgers. I am quite confident that no matter your political orientation or your views of the world, you are going to find yourself confronted by ideas or speech at the university that you find unsettling and perhaps offensive. While this will make for a difficult experience at times, the best way I know to get beyond that difficulty is to listen, examine, test, and then prove why that idea or that speech is wrong. For me, this is how we elevate ourselves out of the muck and mire that defines this political, social, and cultural moment: listening and then speaking. 

I am emphasizing this issue and approach because, as a nation, we have things out of order right now. We are very good at speaking; and lamentably, we are exceptional at yelling. Our listening skills, however, are unimpressive. What might we become as a community if, before we speak, we dare to listen? What might we become as a nation if we hear what someone else has to say before offering up our own opinion? Just so I'm clear on the matter, listening is not acceptance. Listening is educative. It is how we gather up information; it is how we conduct research in order to make or disprove a case. And at the beginning and end of every day, this is why this institution exists. My job, the collective job of everyone on this stage and all those we represent, is to provide you with ideas—some will inspire you, some will upset you—but we do so with the expectation that you take them, disassemble them, and reshape them into something new and, hopefully, important. 

During the first week of classes, I will send my annual welcome message to the university community, affirming Rutgers' commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. When you receive it, please take a moment to read it for it speaks to values that are "fundamental to our university, our society, and our nation."

In August 1963, Martin Luther King spoke about values that he felt were fundamental to the nation. Those values were captured in his dream, yes, but there were passages in his speech highlighting unkept promises that, when brought to light, offered some hard truths about this country's commitments to these values. As King imagined a better future for this country, he also recognized the choice about how to proceed was up to its citizens.

As you do the work of becoming acquainted with Rutgers, I am hopeful that you will identify areas where we excel and that bring you joy, even though I imagine that there will be moments when we fall short. In those latter moments, you, too, will have a choice. If you are spurred to action, I simply encourage you to first take the time to do your research, unearth the facts, and examine the nuances. In other words, listen to all sides of an argument and then make your decision. This is your job as a student, and if I may be so bold, as a citizen. 

Welcome once again to Rutgers, a university with grand traditions, a place of exceptional accomplishments, and the home to the most inspiring students in the nation. I fervently hope that the coming years are fantastic. More than anything, though, on this very special day, thank you for listening.