But you should also recognize that some things are rightly beyond your knowledge and your control. It’s your job to humble yourself, learn from the world, and serve others. You’re imperfect, and you always will be, on this side of paradise. Graduates, the world you enter is a wonderful place, but it has its dangers. Despite what some say, there are wrong answers, and these wrong answers will ruin your life.
Henry Long 2025 Class-Elected Commencement Speech
I believe that what makes CMC different from other schools is our tight-knit community – I want to take that out of proportion. College needs to be more than a set of classes, preprofessional network-maxxing, and building up a resume for the future. The people we meet, the experiences that we share, and the connections that we make are absolutely vital if we want to succeed in the other aspects of school. I’m Weitao, the friendly, energetic, chalant FOB guy from China who greets you every time you see me.
What You Need to Know About the Soon-to-be-Launched Data Science Major
Standing with our fellow institutions of higher education is not a declaration of partisanship. It is a reaffirmation of our principles, values, and unyielding dedication to academic freedom. Staying silent while the Trump Administration lays siege to higher education will not protect us.
- A quick glance at CMC’s FAQ’s on Institutional Statements reveals that CMC does not issue institutional statements due to a 2023 Board of Trustees decision to adopt the principles highlighted in the University of Chicago’s Kalven Report.
- The CMC First-Year Class President (FYCP) sits on the Executive Board of ASCMC and serves as a representative of the Class of 2029.
- Humility and wonder are the beginning of knowledge, not the end.
- As the semester ramps up and the Class of 2029 settles into college life, a familiar fleet of banners hang outside Appleby Hall.
- The FYCP manages a budget of $3,000, which they can use to plan events and foster community within their class and across CMC’s student body.
- Despite what some say, there are wrong answers, and these wrong answers will ruin your life.
We could talk about policy, the food at Collins, or even just do homework in silence. Finally, I want every single meeting related to my presidency to be open-doors. The words of my classmates matter, and I want them to not only be heard but also implemented in the impact I make for my class. As the semester ramps up and the Class of 2029 settles into college life, a familiar fleet of banners hang outside Appleby Hall. The First-Year Class President campaigns are in full swing, and six eager candidates are vying for the opportunity to represent the newest cohort of CMC students, promising events, food, community, and memories. CMC’s neutrality on recent government interference in higher education is a far cry from the responsible leadership we preach.
Henry Long 2025 Class-Elected Commencement Speech
- Even more remarkable than reality itself is our uncanny ability to understand it.
- The class of 2025 elected Henry Long to deliver remarks on their behalf at Claremont McKenna College’s 77th Commencement Ceremony on May 17th, 2025.
- It protects the academic freedom of students and faculty and facilitates the open and constructive dialogue that CMC has made so central to its identity.
- This year’s findings also noted that, nationally, 71% of students believe that it is acceptable to shout down a speaker and 53% believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is too sensitive for open discussion.
- For instance, Scripps is said to have experienced “0 controversies” in 2025, which neglects prolonged debate and controversy over the Motley’s closure in October 2024.
As your FOB president—Funniest On Ballot, Freshest On Board, or Free Office Boba—you’ll get humor, energy, and inclusiveness. Even if you don’t rank me #1, I’ll always be here to hear you out—whether it’s ranting about classes, policies, dining hall food, or the meaning of life. But without the strange correspondence between our minds and reality, none of this research would be possible. Science would be defunct, education would be a farce, and this College as we know it wouldn’t exist. Moreover, CMC is said to have “deplatformed” commencement speaker Salman Rushdie as its singular controversy, when the motivation behind Rushdie’s withdrawal remains unknown. These discrepancies may suggest that FIRE strongly weighs subjective student experience, or at the very least, receives much of its information from the FIRE-College Pulse surveys.
Due to increasing student demand and the use of data analysis in different fields, CMC plans to implement a new data science major by the fall of 2020 or 2021. The faculty committee will present its first proposal to the curriculum committee in the spring of 2020. The committee, which consists of professors from various departments, has proposed a 12 course major with classes in math, statistics, probability, computer science, and ethics. To fulfill the capstone requirement, the major would also require students to participate in a clinic in addition to completing a thesis. FIRE’s ranking is based upon their speech code ratings of “Red,” “Yellow,” and “Green” for each school’s policies, indicating the degree to which each policy promotes expression through clarity, content neutrality, and other measures.
This year’s findings also noted that, nationally, 71% of students believe that it is acceptable to shout down a speaker and 53% believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is too sensitive for open discussion. In response to such concerns, Mark Huber, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, explained that CMC is intentionally constructing the data science major to distinguish it from the computer science major. However, there are areas of overlap, such as the requirement to complete clinic. Ideally, students majoring in data science and computer science will participate together in clinic projects during their junior year.
What You Need to Know About the Soon-to-be-Launched Data Science Major
Now, the right response to the grandeur of the world is wonder, awe, and—dare I say it—humility. Now I know a word like that is hard to hear on a day like today. You’ve worked so hard and learned so much, and yet—in the last analysis, your paltry human wisdom amounts to nothing. Socrates said something like this—so did St. Paul—and they both got killed. Some will argue that the best response to the vastness of the unknown is to be larger than life, to be greedy, to grab what you can. cmc markets review If you’re larger than life, you’ll always be squinting to see.
But beyond that, I want to use funding EXACTLY how our class wants me to. To accomplish this, there’d be survey links at every function to get immediate feedback for improvement. I want to set up “office hours” or fireside chats at Beckett’s Fireplace on a weekly basis where I can talk individually with any of my classmates.
Don’t let the drudgery of your office job, the mundanity of your daily routine, the intensity of your political loyalties, or the vapidity of your Instagram feed distract you from the enchantment of the world. There may also be significant oversights in FIRE’s 5C rankings. For instance, Scripps is said to have experienced “0 controversies” in 2025, which neglects prolonged debate and controversy over the Motley’s closure in October 2024. Pomona is also said to have had “0 controversies,” despite the occupation of Carnegie Hall, also in October 2024.
From athletes to artists, scientists to lawyers, north quad to south quad, internationals to locals—I’ve listened to and laughed with you. Connecting with diverse people is my biggest joy, something I’ve done across 40 countries (Antarctica, I’m coming for you next). The CMC First-Year Class President (FYCP) sits on the Executive Board of ASCMC and serves as a representative of the Class of 2029.
The 18th century Romantics called this concept “the sublime.” They found it in the splendor of nature and the vastness of the unknown. From time to time instances will arise in which the society, or segments of it, threaten the very mission of the university and its values of free inquiry. In such a crisis, it becomes the obligation of the university as an institution to oppose such measures and actively to defend its interests and its values.
This article is not a call for partisanship or an end to institutional neutrality. In 2018, George Roberts ‘66 P’93 donated $25 million to expand data science education and computing education. With plans to hire new professors specializing in data science, CMC currently has the faculty and resources needed to launch a data science major. “The data science major will allow students to be a player, an expert in data science,” said Peter Uvin, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, to stress the distinctive purposes the data science major would serve. CMC students deem the new data science major as “very admirable and a necessary step for CMC to remain a leading national liberal arts college,” according to David Roman ‘22, a current public policy major with a data science sequence. CMC’s grade of 79.86 is the highest score of any of the colleges rated by FIRE.
Survey data is also obtained in partnership with College Pulse—a community-based survey platform—to accompany the speech code ratings in the ranking process. For the 2026 report, 68,000 students were surveyed from January 3 through June 5, 2025. In terms of the differences between the data science major and sequence, Uvin believes that “the major is heavy on math, statistics, and probability. However, the sequence offers students familiarity with data science.” In other words, CMC intends the sequence to be interdisciplinary, as students must also complete a major. While the data science major is intended to make students experts in that realm, CMC will continue to offer the data science sequence but plans to change its name to distinguish it from the major. CMC cannot claim to value open inquiry, academic freedom, and responsible leadership if it stands silent while those principles are challenged.
These incidents, if considered, could have dropped the colleges’ points in FIRE’s subcriteria. According to FIRE’s featured section on CMC, the college now ranks in the top ten in self-survey components for “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” “Openness,” and “Self-Censorship,” among others. However, CMC’s score only rounds up to a “B-” letter grade. Claremont McKenna College claimed first place in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s 2026 Free Speech Rankings on Tuesday, while Pomona College clocked in at 247th of 257 colleges. The other Claremont Colleges’ placements spanned between the two, with all but CMC earning an “F” grade.
Third, efficiency means keeping things simple and effective. Instead, I’ll focus on small, tangible wins—like improving campus life with simple, practical changes that matter day to day.