Grads told to help preserve democracy
Graduates of the Class of 2018 at SUNY New Paltz on Sunday were encouraged to preserve democracy by not buying into fake news coming from an apparent Russian propaganda campaign.
James Ottaway Jr., president of Ottaway Newspapers, raised the urgency during his commencement address, saying there is a responsibility for people to avoid taking a shallow approach when reviewing information that comes by way of social media.
“Be a lot more careful about sharing with all your friends on Facebook news stories from sources you do not know or trust,” he said. “They may come from Russia with evil intent.”
Ottaway added that graduates should participate in election campaigns “for both parties.” He also said they should consider running for public offices themselves.
“You have a special privilege of graduating from this distinguished university,” he said. “That gives you a special civic responsibility to help your country repair the damage that has been done to our democracy by our present generation of political leaders.”
People should not shy away from engaging in countering statements made in small conversations, he said.
“As educated citizens of our free society, we all have the responsibilities and skills to seek the truth and research the facts on public issues in debate,” he said. “We should contradict family members at the dinner table, friends at parties and public officials when they are making false statements and impossible promises, or wild exaggerations to support their positions.”
Valedictorian Reem Ahmed said students have already become acquainted with the effects of a changing society, adding that they need to work toward making the world better for students in future graduating classes.
“Let’s fight to build a country where students in high schools and colleges ... can walk across their campus without the fear of being shot,” she said. “Let’s fight to break down walls, shatter glass ceilings and ... bring communities together.”
The commencement was part of a two-day event to confer degrees on nearly 2,600 students. The colleges’s liberal arts and sciences were recognized Saturday, while ceremonies on Sunday were for the schools of business, education, fine and performing arts, and science and engineering.