Remarks at the Michigan State University commencement ceremony in East Lansing, Michigan

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 8, 1995

President McPherson, Governor Engler, Ambassador Blanchard, distinguished Members of Congress and State officials, members of the board of trustees, distinguished faculty, honored guests, family members, and most importantly, members of the Class of 1995, I'm honored to be your speaker today and to be back on this wonderful campus, the site of one of the great Presidential debates in 1992.

I have fond memories of Michigan State. And I was sitting there thinking of all the uses to which I might put my honorary degree. Maybe I will get more respect in Washington now. [Laughter] Regardless, now I know who I'm supposed to root for in the Big 10.

Speaking of sports, I want to take a moment of personal privilege to offer my very best wishes on his retirement to your distinguished basketball coach, Judd Heathcote.

And as a person who never, ever, would have had an opportunity to be here today, doing what I am doing, I want to thank President McPherson, the present and past Governors of Michigan, and all others who have supported the remarkable set of educational opportunities for young people in Michigan, especially in higher education. The tuition guarantee program to keep tuition increases here to the rate of inflation for 5 years is a standard I wish other universities all across America would follow.

I also hope that other States will follow the example of the Michigan Education Trust and of Michigan State in entering into the direct loan program, which will lower the cost of college loans for young people and improve their repayment options so more people can afford to go to college and stay there until they get their degrees.

I also want to say that I am deeply honored to be joined today by another Michigan State alumnus who spoke from this platform last year, my friend and fellow Arkansan, Ernest Green. He was one of the Little Rock Nine, a brave group of Americans who staked their lives for the cause of school integration and equal opportunity in education in my State almost 40 years ago. He made the right choice at the right moment in his life. He is a good model for you, and I hope you will do the same.

As I was reminded by your president and others when we gathered just a few moments ago, the last sitting President to address this assembly was Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. There were fewer than 100 graduates in the senior class then. But it was a time not unlike this time. We are on the edge of a new century; they had just begun a new century. We are on the edge of a new era; they had just begun the dawn of the industrial age. Like us now, they had many, many opportunities but profound problems. And people were full of hope mixed with fear.

But President Roosevelt and his generation of Americans were optimistic, aggressive in facing the challenges of the day, and determined to solve the problems before them. They launched the Progressive Era, using the power of Government to free the market forces of our country from the heavy hand of monopoly, beginning to protect our environment for future generations, to keep our children out of sweatshops, to stand strong for America's role in the world.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Americans of his generation made the right choices at the right moment. They met the challenges of the present, paved the way for a better future, and redeemed the promise of America.

Our journey as a nation has never been an automatic march to freedom and opportunity. In every generation there has come a point of challenge in change when critical decisions are made by our people to go forward or turn back, to reach out or turn inward, to unify or divide, to believe or doubt.

Today, we stand at the end of the cold war and the industrial age, at the onset of the global economy and the information age. Throughout all 219 years of our Republic, times of great change like this have unleashed forces of promise and threat, forces that uplift us and unsettle us.

This time is not different. You are walking into a future of unlimited possibilities. But more than half your fellow citizens are working harder, spending less time with their children, and earning about the same they did 15 years ago.

You can look forward to bringing your children into an exciting world, freer of the dangers of war and nuclear annihilation, but the dangers here at home are still profound. Too many of our children are not bern into stable families. Our streets are still too violent. And new forces threaten the order and security which free people everywhere cherish.

And so, my fellow Americans, it falls to your generation to make your historic choices for America. This is a very new and different time. But the basic question before us is as old as our country: Will we face up to the problems and seize our opportunities with confidence and courage? It is our responsibility to make that choice again.

Because you have a fine education, with all its power and potential, when you leave this stadium your responsibility to your families, your community, and your country will be greater than ever before. With your lives fully before you, you too must once again redeem the promise of America.