WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary kicked off the fall semester with its traditional Opening Convocation to celebrate the start of the academic session on Wednesday evening.
The annual event at the Sir Christopher Wren Building officially welcomes all entering William & Mary students.
Following a performance of the William & Mary Hymn and the National Anthem by The William & Mary Choir, Dakota C. Kinsel, President of the American Indian Student Association, read the Land Acknowledgement.
President Katherine A. Rowe then spoke, welcoming the Class of 2028, noting it represented 33 different countries. Using a sport she said she discovered when she first arrived at college — Ultimate Frisbee — she likened the self-refereeing, or spirit of the game, to that of William & Mary.
“We follow the spirit of our commitments to each other. We are here for the basic joy of play and study, the delight of community, of teaching and learning together, and we’re committed to being intentional about that every day,” she said.
Rowe cited the philosopher Hannah Arendt, calling on incoming students to think about what they are doing, and reminding them that learning from each other is why they are here. And she asked students to be “second-day reponders.”
“Give yourself grace to be second-day responders. To find out more. To ask questions. We debate fiercely, and we hold space open for that debate because we recognize that honorable people may deeply disagree with each other, and that’s in those disagreements that we grow in understanding,” she explained. “At William & Mary, we do not dox each other. At William & Mary, we do not cancel each other. At William & Mary, we think for ourselves, and we take incredibly seriously the charge to be curious and come to our own conclusions based on evidence. William & Mary students do not like to be told what to think, and that is something that we honor and are deeply proud of.”
“Democracy in this pluralistic Republic is in our DNA at the alma mater of the nation we build on that legacy together, and all of us have a chance to leave this university better than we found it by doing this — together. That is how we compete together. That is how we win together. That is our spirit of the game,” she concluded.
Rowe’s welcome was followed by opening remarks from Provost Peggy Agouris, before Matthew S Hwang, President of the Class of 2025, led the unfurling of the Class of 2028 banner. The banner will be on display at the Wren Building for a week before moving to the Sadler Center.
Celebrated cardiologist and musician Dr. Cleveland “Cleve” Francis Jr., a W&M 1969 graduate, then took the stage. He told of getting off the train in Williamsburg in 1967 with just a suitcase, a Bible, a notebook of folksongs he had written, and his guitar to pursue a master’s degree in biology. Having never been outside Louisiana and one of just seven black students on campus, he spoke of how he found a home at First Baptist Church, and how his mentor, Victor Liguori, inspired and encouraged him to pursue his music.
And he related how he would spend his time looking for ghosts. Explaining he had been born with a membrane covering his face known as a caul, or a veil, and per Louisiana folklore, he thus has the ability to see ghosts, he told of standing on the steps of the Wren Building looking for the ghosts of Native Americans, the first settlers, the first slaves brought to America. Ghosts of the Revolution and the Civil War and those who fought to be treated equally.
“It was here inspired by all the great ghosts I just told you about, that I would continue to write my own story and dedicate my life to learning, healing, teaching, and music. I would also forever champion the principles of equality, that Thomas Jefferson espoused so many years ago,” he said. “You could say that I have spent my life not with a caul, but with a calling.”
“Just as I did on the steps of this great building, find a moment to look far beyond where you are right now, and allow your creative imagination to place your life and your calling within the context of history,” he added.
Following the ceremony, the official party led a special procession for new students in attendance through the portico of the building to the other side, where current members of the faculty, staff and student body welcomed them with sustained cheering throughout the nearly half-hour-long processional.
A campus-wide celebration in the Sunken Garden followed the event.
