Web Exclusives: PawPlus

July 6, 2005:

Advice from Princeton alumni for 2005 graduates

“Your parents want you to make them proud. And you should. But you’ve got to do it yourself. And to do it yourself, you may have to ignore their advice. Do what you love before you figure out how much love will cost you.”

– Author Michael Lewis ’82 at Tulane University, May 21.

“The pursuit of truth helps keep us from the pursuit of each other, and keeps democracy dynamic. And we may be coming to realize that, as we increasingly strain the physical limitations of our planet, the horizons of our cherished ideal of freedom can still remain infinite only in the life of the mind and spirit.”

– Librarian of Congress James Billington ’50 at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, May 19.

“You will work hard and do well. You will make a home for yourself. You will be a part of the system. And it is a great system, despite all its flaws – there is no better engine for prosperity. It is imperative, however, that you question the system.”

– New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer ’81 at the State University of New York College at Oneonta, May 21.

“All of our lives, we have been taught by teachers, preachers, and parents that selfish is bad and selfless is good. I question that teaching very much. If you cannot take care of yourself, you cannot take care of anyone else.”

—Progressive Corp. Chairman Peter Lewis ’55 at Cleveland State University, May 14, as quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.