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Take me to The Graduation Pledge Alliance web
site!
Grads nationwide are taking
The Graduation Pledge of social,
environmental consciousness and action
Thousands of graduates from more than 100 colleges and universities
across the nation are taking the Graduation Pledge and pinning a small
green ribbon on their gowns at commencement. The ribbon may be small,
but it speaks volumes about the character and conviction of those
displaying it.
Seniors take the Graduation Pledge to declare that in their future jobs
their concerns extend beyond how they personally benefit:
“I pledge to explore and take into account the social and
environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve
these aspects of any organizations for which I work.”
The Graduation Pledge is coordinated nationwide by the Graduation Pledge
Alliance, hosted at Manchester College under the direction of Professor
Neil J. Wollman since 1996. (The Pledge began in 1987 at Humboldt State
University in California.) Students take the Pledge at both small
liberal arts colleges, such as Macalester, and in the Ivy League, such
as University of Pennsylvania. And the Pledge has now spread abroad, as
nearby as Canada and as far away as Australia.
Graduates who voluntarily sign the Pledge have turned down jobs that
seemed outside their morally comfort zone and work to make changes in
the workplace. On the job, they are starting recycling programs, working
to remove racist language from training manuals, striving for gender
parity in high school athletics, and convincing employers to refuse a
chemical weapons-related contract.
Jamie M. Riedeman of Indianapolis took the Pledge and wore the ribbon
when she received her bachelor’s degree in 1999 and her Master’s of
Accountancy from Manchester College in 2000. “To be socially
responsible, you need to take a step back to see what you have and not
carry an attitude that you deserve things,” said Riedeman, controller
for Associated General Contractors and accountant for non-profit
organizations. “There are so many organizations and non-profits out
there,” she said. “Someone needs to make sure they are spending those
gifts wisely.”
Dana Nixon of St. Louis, Mo., took the Pledge when she received her
bachelor’s degree in biology from Manchester in 1996. “I knew I was
driven toward service,” she said. “Once your eyes are open to injustice,
they can never be closed.” Her activism has included petitioning against
the expansion of Indiana’s highway systems.
William Benysh, a biology-chemistry teacher for Wabash (Ind.) Community
Schools, took the Pledge in1989. The Manchester College graduate says he
is confident in its message. “I feel now the Graduation Pledge was a
great statement of optimism and an acceptance of the responsibility of
adulthood,” he said. “I took those words seriously. It's strange to
think back on the impact that the Graduation Pledge and the mind-set
that I had at the time has had on me. Social and environmental
responsibility is a way of life I have chosen.”
For more information about the Graduation Pledge Alliance, visit the
web site at
www.graduationpledge.org or contact Dr. Neil Wollman at
260-982-5346,
njwollman@manchester.edu
Manchester College offers more than 45 areas of study to 1,075 students
from 29 states and 33 countries. As part of its complete liberal arts
catalog, the residential college offers nationally acclaimed accounting,
pre-med and peace studies programs and a master’s degree in accounting.
For more information about Manchester College, visit the web site at
www.manchester.edu
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