Colorado College | Bulletin

	Commencement 2004: 573 March into the Future
	By Judi Larkin Photos by Tom Kimmell

The sun shone brightly on majestic Pikes Peak Monday, May 17, 2004, as the Class of 2004 marched into commencement. At ceremony’s end, mortarboards flew through the air as the newly minted graduates celebrated the successful completion of this phase of their collegiate careers. Of the 573 degrees granted, 549 were bachelor of arts degrees and 49 were master of arts in teaching degrees.

Author and journalist Eric Schlosser delivered the keynote address entitled “Success.” In his remarks he stated, “I hope that all of you can come up with a broader definition of success, a much more complex and nuanced view of what you want out of life, one that includes compassion and tolerance and humility, one that rejects violence and chooses war, always and only, as a last resort.” Schlosser authored “Fast Food Nation,” which used Colorado Springs as its primary model, and “Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market.”

In her remarks, senior class president Sally Gasper told graduates, “We came together from different places, studied different subjects, challenged ourselves in different ways. As we go out into the world, we can remember what we learned at Colorado College, not only from each other, but also from the various disciplines we studied.” After reminiscing about four years of good times, professors, the Block Plan, and life at college, Gasper went on to express, “As we graduate we have a new opportunity to consistently reflect on those experiences and see how they influence the world we are about to enter and how they interconnect with each other. This education was a gift to so many of us and I know we will see how it changed our lives and continues to do so as time goes by.”

President Richard F. Celeste conferred honorary degrees to JoAnn L. Vogt, judge, attorney, and former CC German professor, and Eric Schlosser, author and journalist. For the second year, the entire graduation ceremony was broadcast live on the Web and a video can be viewed by visiting the Colorado College Web site, www.ColoradoColleg.edu. Also featured on the Web site are photos of the commencement and write-ups about some of the “best and brightest” of the Class of 2004.