Washington, D.C. - The following are U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s remarks as prepared for delivery to the class of 2006 at Mills College in Oakland, California:

President Holmgren, members of the faculty, relatives, friends, and students of the class of 2006, it is an honor to be with you today for this celebration.

As a mother, I know this is a bittersweet day for many parents. Today, you look back and remember how far your child has come—from the time of their very first word, to the time they said “Mom, Dad—I love you,” to this moment when you long to hear the words: “Mom, Dad, I got a job.” 

For all of the students here today, graduation day is a time to celebrate—you have received a top-notch liberal arts education that has prepared you for the challenges that lie ahead. You are done with finals, done with 3 am nights in the library, and done with $90 textbooks. That is, of course, unless you go to graduate school, in which case these years at Mills were just a warm up.

But today is a day for celebrating your remarkable accomplishments.

I have to admit, commencement addresses are much harder than speeches on the floor of the Senate. Yes, the audience size today is about the same as CSPAN 2. But I feel more pressure to pass on some sage advice in this situation.

I know that I should probably tell you all that the world is your oyster, that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, and that the only limits are those you set upon yourself. And I really do believe that. But to end it there would be doing you an injustice because there is more to it.

And that is because you will not shine as brightly as I know you can until America regains her luster. Right now, that luster is diminished, but with hope and commitment to change, I am confident it can be restored.

First and foremost, we need 2006 to be a year of change in Iraq—a year when the Iraqis take responsibility for their own security and their own future, and American soldiers can begin to come home to their families and their friends.

I want an exit strategy from this war because I can’t stand the thought of losing even one more of our brave young men and women. But I also want an end in sight because I believe we are bogged down, and it is time to refocus our attention on what is happening within our own country. Remember this: a strong America begins at home, in neighborhoods like yours, in schools like this, at the workplace, and around the kitchen table. And when we get it right, your path will be smoother, and your future brighter.

You know, I love being a United States Senator. Representing the state of California in the highest legislative body in the world is just about the greatest honor I could imagine.

But that doesn’t mean my line of work is easy.

When I was first running for office—for a seat on the Marin County Board of Supervisors in 1972—the attack on me was focused on abortion, because I had been on the Board of Planned Parenthood. And I was surprised by that debate, because I really thought that in my county of Marin, this was a non-issue.

But it was an issue, and even after Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, it is still an issue. I never imagined that I would be in the Senate more than 30 years later having to author legislation to write Roe v. Wade into law and fighting to keep anti-choice forces from chipping away at that fundamental right. But it’s happening. States like South Dakota are passing laws outlawing abortions with the hope of bringing another challenge to Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court. Slowly, subtly, it’s happening. Can you imagine—the South Dakota law even makes abortion illegal in cases of rape and incest. 

Then there’s our environment. I never thought that 30 years after President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency, I would be fighting to ensure that our fundamental clean air and clean water laws aren’t rolled back. But that is what I am doing every day.

I never thought that scientists around the world would tell us that global warming is causing irreversible damage to our earth, and our government would just ignore their warnings. But it’s happening. 

And I never thought that more than 60 years after the end of World War II, there would be another genocide taking place while the world did little. After Auschwitz and Dachau, we said “never again.” But more than 180,000 innocent people have been murdered in the Darfur region of Sudan since 2003.
 
History repeats itself, and old battles are fought again when we forget the sacrifices and struggles of those who came before us. That is why it is so important that each and every generation understands our history and commits to defending the progress we have made.

We must be committed to defending a woman’s right to choose, so that we never return to those dark days when women died and were rendered infertile as a result of back-alley abortions.

We must be committed to protecting our earth and our environment so that future generations will be able to enjoy America’s abundant natural beauty in its purest form.

We must be committed to stepping forward as a leader on human rights, because crimes against humanity, such as those occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan, are crimes against all mankind.

We must not be paralyzed and stuck in a war that was initiated on false pretenses and continues on false hopes.

And as we continue to fight this global war against terrorism, we must never lose sight of the liberties and values that make this country great. If we start compromising the rights and freedoms upheld by the Constitution because we are afraid, if our government begins spying on our telephone conversations without any reason to do so, then the terrorists have already won—because we will have lost the essence of America.

These are great challenges we face. But these are all challenges we can meet.

You know, there is an old folk song I often quote called “Pass It On.” Don’t worry, I’m not going to sing it. But I want to read you the chorus:

Freedom. . .freedom is a hard won thing.
You have to work for it, fight for it, day and night for it
And every generation has to win it again!
Pass it on to your children.
Pass it on.

As you begin this exciting journey into what we parents call “the real world,” I hope that you will strive to lead a life that honors those who came before you. Learn from their mistakes and their wisdom, because there are still hard battles ahead. Remember, every generation has to win freedom again.

Class of 2006, I know you are up to the challenge.

Thank you, and congratulations to all of you.

PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Dallinger
Communications Consultant
925.788.9131