Commencement 2015

Commencement 2015

Photo by Richard Howard

Photo by Richard Howard

On May 29, the yellow class of 2015 stood and waved copies of We Should All Be Feminists by award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, their commencement speaker, as she took to the podium to deliver her address. After admonishing the students for nearly making her cry, she spoke movingly and personally about her family, her decision to drop out of medical school to become a writer, and, of course, feminism.

“I had begun to ask myself what it really means to wear this ‘feminist’ label so publicly. … I thought it was a very good thing that the word ‘feminist’ would be introduced to a new generation,” Adichie said. “And I was startled by how many people saw something troubling, even menacing, in this. It was as though feminism was supposed to be an elite little cult, with esoteric rites of membership. It shouldn’t be. Feminism should be an inclusive party. And so, class of 2015, please make feminism a big, raucous, inclusive party.”

Videos of the commencement festivities may be viewed by clicking here. More commencement photos may be found in the Gallery section of magazine.wellesley.edu.

You Might Like

Post a CommentView Full Policy

We ask that those who engage in Wellesley magazine's online community act with honesty, integrity, and respect. (Remember the honor code, alums?) We reserve the right to remove comments by impersonators or comments that are not civil and relevant to the subject at hand. By posting here, you are permitting Wellesley magazine to edit and republish your comment in all media. Please remember that all posts are public.

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.