All School Meeting Address, May 4, 2016, Phillips Academy

Posted on May 4, 2016 by John Palfrey

All School Meeting Address (Excerpt)
May 4, 2016
John Palfrey, Phillips Academy

[…]

I was in North Carolina recently, at Duke, and I talked with a recent graduate from the class of 2014. He just loved Andover and told me how much he missed it. I asked him what he missed the most about it. He told me he really missed ASM – he missed coming into Cochran Chapel and having time, with all of his classmates, to reflect. I hope this ASM might have that effect, too, for all of you […].

The message I had in mind today was to celebrate two things at once: diversity, on the one hand, and free expression, on the other. These are both values that we hold dear at Andover and that we hold dear in America, and in many other countries around the world. They are not all that easy to hold at once, sometimes, but it is very important that we try.

—

When I was in law school, I had two groups of friends. It just worked out this way, but one group of friends was very liberal and the other group of friends was very conservative. One thing I really admired about my law school was that there was a broad range of opinion, both on the faculty and among the student body.

But it was a funny experience. I would have lunch, most days, with my liberal friend group, after, say, Property class. We’d inevitably talk about the cases we were reading – it’s sort of a first-year law student disease, which is that you can’t stop talking about the cases – and at some point, someone would say something like, “I can’t believe what that conservative kid said about the judge’s opinion.” And another person would say, “Yeah, I can’t believe how conservative this place is.” Almost on a daily basis, the lament would be about how conservative the law school was.

Then, in the evening, I’d be hanging out with my study group. This group of students was by and large conservative. The kids were equally smart and equally hard working – they just saw things from a very different angle, through a very different lens. I found studying with them to be electrifying, actually, and a real challenge – in a great, intellectual way. At some point during the study group session, usually in a tiny windowless room in the library, one person would say, “I can’t believe what that liberal kid said about the judge’s opinion.” And another person would say, “Yeah, I can’t believe how liberal this place is.” Almost on a daily basis, the lament would be about how liberal the law school was.

When I first noticed this funny pattern, I thought to myself, “how sad!” Both groups felt somehow not supported in their political views, alienated by an orthodoxy that they perceived within the institution – that it was “not easy” to be liberal, or “not easy” to be conservative.

I don’t know for a fact, because I haven’t asked all 1100 of you, but I would guess that a roughly similar dynamic exists at Andover. I do know that some of you have told me that it is hard to be at Andover if you come from a family that has not gone to boarding school in the past, or from a family that pays a smaller portion of the tuition than another family does. I have heard from some of you that you find it hard to be at Andover and to express the challenges of coming from a particular culture or race or heritage or place on the gender spectrum or sexual orientation, and especially so if your particular background has been marginalized or has historically had less power in American society. I have heard from others of you that it is hard to be a person of faith at Andover, that your fellow students – and even sometimes your teachers – don’t act with respect when you talk about your beliefs. I have heard from some of you that this culture is not supportive of athletes, especially those who are white and male. Others of you have said that if you are a legacy at Andover, people wonder if that’s how you got in – and that you are made to feel less worthy.

I’ve been thinking about this problem for a while, and I’ve come to see this pattern in a different way. Instead of seeing a problem – this place is too conservative or too liberal, too supportive of legacies or too supportive of those who have come to boarding schools more recently, too supportive of athletes or too supportive of artists – I see it as an opportunity. I choose to see it as the glorious promise of diversity and of learning in a liberal arts environment.

This morning, what I’d like to tell you all is that I credit that you are feeling these things. I want to say, for the record, that the entire game-plan for Andover is to have you here together. I want also to say how much I appreciate you in all your diversity, and as individuals. And I want you to be able to share your views in serious, respectful ways that make our community smarter and stronger. I want you to lean in to our diversity and to make it a strength.

—

I suppose there might be those who look at me on this stage and dismiss what I am saying. Easy, you might think, for you to say. It is easy to have a lot of power and privilege. And it is easy to spout high-minded ideals when it is your people who have, for the entire history of this school and this country, written the rules.

And to a degree, you would have a point. I stand before you clear in the knowledge that I come from a place of privilege: I have ancestors who came on the Mayflower and on the Abigail to America. I have ancestors who were slaveholders and ancestors who were abolitionists. Members of my family have gone to boarding schools for the entire time that there have been boarding schools in America. When I was in high school and in college, I committed myself to competing at athletics at a high level. There’s absolutely nothing I loved doing more at your age than competing with my teammates for my school – I am proud to be an athlete. As your head of school, I have the microphone, today quite literally, the ability to shape the dialogue and to set the agenda at this school. So yes, it is quite true: I stand before you with the deck stacked in my favor. Put another way: I’m aware that I was born on third base and that I didn’t hit a triple to get there.

But that, I hope and trust, is not the sum total of what you see when you look at me, or at your neighbor beside you in the pews of this chapel. More important, I hope that you see a human being – someone with hopes, fears, dreams, and daily struggles. I hope that you see someone who cares, loves, and respects other people.

And that, Andover, is really what I want to say this morning. I appreciate each one of you. I’m grateful to each one of you for who you are and what you bring to Andover.

I appreciate the activists. There are those who have taken up causes from the right and from the left. There are those who have gotten engaged in this year’s presidential campaign and those who have been inspired by Jane Goodall and Ai-jen Poo. There are those who have sought racial justice and sexual justice and social justice of myriad stripes. Sometimes your activism takes me or the school’s administration as your target. I love that all these things exist on our campus, and I extend my respect to all of you, regardless of your political commitments and beliefs. So long as you are serious and respectful in what you do and how you do it, I celebrate your activism in all its forms.

I appreciate the artists. I appreciate the visual artists and the performing artists. I appreciate those with enormous skill and those who merely apply what little skill they can muster – and, when it comes to the arts, I’m very much in that latter camp, myself. I am inspired by your play with instruments and voice; I am inspired by your acting and dancing, your stage-production and lighting. Our community is vastly richer for your talents and your efforts.

I appreciate the athletes in the room, and that means essentially all of you. One of the great things about Andover is that there are students who undertake athletics for the purpose of staying fit and well. And there are those who are athletes with the goal of winning championships and playing in college and beyond. I am psyched for you when you hit walk-off doubles to win a game in the fizzling rain – whether on the softball field or the baseball field — and I am proud of you when you pull hard but come up short. I love your sportsmanship, your teamwork, and your enthusiasm. Go Big Blue!

I appreciate everyone in this room for your academic strengths – and by that I do mean everyone.

I appreciate all those who commit themselves to a life of non sibi through community engagement – and I hope that will mean everyone, for the rest of your years. Finis origine pendet.

I appreciate those of faith, and those who choose not to express their faith.

I appreciate those who are all of those things, or any number of them.

It doesn’t matter to me whether your family has just come to the United States, or if your forebears came to this country, or if no one in your family is from the USA. It doesn’t matter to me if you hold one passport or two, and whether neither one says “USA” on the front.

My call to you is to appreciate one another. This is diversity. We have it here, in all its many forms. That means acting with tolerance and respect. It means avoiding saying the hurtful things about the backgrounds of other people – and if you do say something hurtful, it means saying you are sorry. While it may be legal to say hurtful things to other people, it is inconsistent with our community values. We can do better than to belittle one another – in any way. That’s what I got from listening to Ai-jen Poo and to Jane Goodall this past month in this chapel – what’s the point of acting other than with love and forgiveness and kindness toward one another?

My call to you is to speak and act with respect to one another, and also to tolerate views that may seem deeply wrong to you. Actually, I’d go one further. I’d urge you to seek out those with views distant from your own and see what you can glean from hearing about them. Sure, you may simply come away convinced that you were right all along.

Nothing good, in human history, has come of societies retreating to homogeneity or to demagoguery. It can be tempting, for all sorts of reasons. But it’s not a good idea. And we, here in this intentional community – we can do better.

—

I hope that we might agree that we want Andover to be a place where everyone on this campus can strive to achieve their dreams. I want Andover to be a place where everyone can strive to be their best selves. I want Andover to be a place where we support one another as we all pursue our dreams – where we don’t cut one another down, but rather support one another, in our words and in our actions. This is a choice, Andover, and it is a choice that I know you can make.

I want to bring you to your feet, Andover – to encourage you to Rise Up, as Andra Day says in her song – to rise up to achieve your own dreams, like Serena Williams and like the Relay for Life team here on campus a few weeks ago, and to commit to support one another as we all pursue our dreams here at this school.

Thank you.

Introduction of George H.W. Bush at All School Meeting, Phillips Academy

Posted on September 30, 2015 by John Palfrey

This morning, President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush surprised our student body by joining us for All School Meeting in Cochran Chapel at Phillips Academy. The All School Meeting featured Mary Kate Cary and the film she produced, “41 on 41,” about the life of President Bush.

Good morning, Andover.

This morning we gather to reflect, as we often do, on Phillips Academy’s motto, non sibi: not for oneself. We have many role models among those who have gone before us at Andover. Some of them have generously presented at All School Meetings, sharing with us in this chapel their stories of what it was about their time at Andover that motivated them to live a life embodying the non sibi credo. Last year Dr. Vanessa Kerry ’95, founder of the non-profit SEED Global Health, encouraged you to consider how you might make a difference. Next month author Julia Alvarez ’67 will talk about how she employs storytelling to ignite awareness and activism for humanitarian causes.

Today, in celebration of non sibi, we welcome Mary Kate Cary who has created a film assembling the voices of 41 people describing an Andover alumnus who has dedicated his life to public service in a remarkable career spanning seven decades, in multiple roles, culminating in serving in our nation’s highest office. That alumnus is George Herbert Walker Bush, Andover class of 1942.

As a White House speechwriter from 1988 to 1992, Mary Kate Cary authored over 100 domestic and international addresses by President Bush. She is a member of the advisory board to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. She has remained in close contact with the President, collaborating with him on book projects, including Speaking of Freedom, a collection of the President’s favorite speeches. Mary Kate is a contributing editor and columnist at US News and World Report and a regular political commentator on National Public Radio. Still a speechwriter, she works with a variety of political and corporate clients and has taught speechwriting at Georgetown, American, and Texas A&M Universities. Mary Kate’s relationship with the President gave her unique insights as the executive producer of the film 41 on 41. The film captures the words of the President’s family and colleagues to portray George Bush’s deep commitment to service and leadership and his generous capacity for friendship and humor.

Before Mary Kate begins her presentation, I’d like to welcome some special guests who have joined us today:

• President Bush’s sister, Nancy Ellis, mother of Alexander Ellis, Andover class of 1967

• Dick Phelps, Andover class of 1942, the President’s close friend and baseball teammate at Yale

• Dick’s wife, Sally Phelps, mother of Andover alumni in the classes of 1973 and 89, and grandmother of Matthew Jacobs ’14

In addition, we have the privilege of welcoming to the chapel this morning one of the 41 storytellers featured in the film. In fact, she is the chief story teller. Please join me in welcoming to the stage of Cochran Chapel, Mrs. Barbara Bush, and her husband, the 41st President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, Andover class of 1942.

—

Welcome back, President Bush, and thank you, Mrs. Bush, for joining us here today. We are honored by your presence – and by the lifetime of good choices you have made to serve others, in the spirit of non sibi.

George Herbert Walker Bush, you arrived at Andover as a twelve year old boy and graduated six years later as a young man, immediately immersing yourself in service to your country during World War II.

During your Andover years, you demonstrated a commitment to leadership, involved in community service and student government, serving as a proctor and captain of the soccer and baseball teams. You won your first Presidential election here – you served Andover as Senior Class President. You were known as “Poppy” Bush, renowned for your ability to rally others and to encourage your peers to engage in The Big Ideas of the Day. As President of the Society of Inquiry you organized lectures on world affairs and religious topics.

During your senior year, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, you and your schoolmates heard the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The following June, on your 18th birthday, you deferred your acceptance to Yale and instead were sworn in to the Navy as a Seaman Second Class. The following year you became the nation’s youngest Naval aviator and served with distinction in the Pacific arena, flying 58 combat missions, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery.

After the war, you earned your degree from Yale Phi Beta Kappa, embarked on a career in the petroleum sector, and entered a life of public service in 1966. You have served in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives, from Texas. Other leaders recognized your acumen and people skills, appointed you as Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. You were elected Vice-President in 1981 and, in 1988, became the 41st President of the United States.

Throughout this illustrious career, you remained loyal and close to Andover. You served as a trustee from 1963 – 1979 and then as honorary chair of Campaign Andover, the most successful capital campaign in independent school history when it closed at $208.9M in 2003. In recognition of your public service and global leadership, you received Phillips Academy’s two highest honors: the Claude Moore Fuess Award in 1981 and the Andover Alumni Award of Distinction in 2012.

During your Presidency you offered inspired leadership during an era of great change in the world order: the unification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. You led efforts to improve global wellbeing through the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, to improve environmental wellbeing through significant amendments to the Clean Air Act, and to personal wellbeing through the creation of the American with Disabilities Act.

You consistently encouraged American citizens to inspire and mobilize each other to take action to change the world through “service to neighbor, service to nation.” In your words, ”What government alone can do is limited, but the potential of the American people knows no bounds.” You called your fellow citizens to action as volunteers. Your vision for “a thousand points of light” lives on through the foundation of the same name. You twice joined with former political opponent, now friend, former President Bill Clinton to lead major humanitarian fundraising efforts in response to natural disasters after Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

In 2010 President Obama awarded you the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, citing your life as a “testament that public service is a noble calling. His humility and decency reflects the very best of the American spirit.”

Mr. President, you reflect the very best of Andover’s non sibi spirit. Today we have seven Bush scholars among us. These students were chosen for their outstanding character and leadership potential. Their Andover career is underwritten by a scholarship fund set up by the trustees to “honor and encourage the example George Bush’s life represents – a model of civic commitment, loyalty, and social responsibility embodying the best of both America and Andover.” We thank you for your example – a life of non sibi – and for the inspiration that you provide to every new generation of Andover students.