a few more years shall roll

was bono’s response when he was granted an honorary doctor of laws from the university of pennsylvania. it’s been a busy few days so i haven’t had a chance to write about the famous rock star graduation speaker we had at penn on monday morning.

i knew it was going to be a good day on monday when i went to get my morning coffee. now, this is not just because i love coffee (which i do), but rather, because on my way back to the office, i saw a large group of people in academic regalia standing near the ben on the bench. i looked a little more closely and saw, in his black cap and gown and blue sunglasses, bono.

the graduating class at penn marches five or six blocks from one end of campus to the other to start the commencement ceremony. they are led by the academic procession and bagpipers. . i stood at the spot where the parade officially begins and snapped a few shots of the dignitaries . . . this one came out a little blurry:

graduation is held in franklin field, an historic stadium, where U2 actually played a few years back.
i watched the procession, then hoofed it to the stadium and ended up getting some nice center seats so i could get a few good shots. there was some rousing applause for bono when he arrived–he seemed to be enjoying himself.

his speech was excellent; he was funny, down-to-earth, and challenging. he did not use the fcc banned word. instead he said they had taught him a lesson , and the only four letter word he’d be using that day was p-e-n-n. he laughed at the academic community for choosing a rock star as the commencement speaker: “God forgive me, actually God forgave me, but why should you?”

if you don’t know, bono started an organization called data which stands for Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa, and calls people to recognize the emergent situation in Africa. bono spoke with great eloquence about the ungodly poverty, the “stupid poverty” that exists when we (especially we americans) have the resources to stop it. i have to say, i was deeply moved and impressed by his humility and his unwavering conviction and his refusal to speak niceties in the face of crisis. i can’t do justice to his speech, but will post a link as soon as i can find one.