A welcome from President Cruzado

“The thing that drew me to Lafayette as a subject—that he was the rare object of agreement in the ironically named United States—kept me coming back to why that made him unique. Namely, that we the people have never agreed on much of anything.”

                Sarah Vowell

It is a great honor to be invited to submit a guest column to our student newspaper which—established in 1895—is one of the oldest and proudest institutions at MSU. Moreover, it is an immense pleasure to start by saying: Welcome to a new academic year at your university! We’re so glad you’re here!

One of our most beloved traditions at MSU is Convocation, the formal welcome of the incoming class, where we focus on the start of the academic, intellectual and personal journey of first-year students while also anticipating their graduation from MSU. 

This year, we’re delighted to feature bestselling author and MSU alumna Sarah Vowell in a livestreamed online event at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27. Sarah is a nationally recognized author of seven nonfiction books, including “Lafayette in the Somewhat United States,” our chosen book for this year’s Convocation. She is a New York Times contributing opinion writer, where she occasionally explores the mission of public education, as in her Aug. 13 column. Interestingly, Sarah is the voice of Violet in both “The Incredibles” films. Sarah graduated from Bozeman High School in 1988 and then from this proud house of Blue and Gold in 1993 with a degree in modern languages and literatures. 

In her book, Sarah explores the American Revolution from a different perspective: the contributions of the Marquis de Lafayette, a teenage French aristocrat who — at 19 years of age — chose to leave the joys of his family, his country and his language to fight for the ideals of liberty espoused by the Continental “insurgents.” Availing herself of humor and a keen eye for irony and sarcasm, Sarah provokes profound introspection as to how “this polygon of civilians, politicians, and armed forces begging to differ” became a unified and victorious nation, against all odds. Through it all, Lafayette embraced the American ideals with such energy and devotion that moved Thomas Jefferson to state, “He made our cause his own.”

It is a great read for our times and an excellent reminder that we are ultimately made out of good stock: of people who were able to surpass incomparable vicissitudes and to confront adversity with a spirit of unity and a sense of destiny so strong that it crossed the oceans and inspired strangers to fight under a new flag and a revolutionary banner: that all of us are created equal and endowed with the rights to be alive, to be free and to pursue happiness. This is who we are. 

The challenge of our times that we are called to defeat is of a very different kind: It is a pandemic that has provoked great losses and fundamentally altered our way of life, the routines and joys that we once knew and thought to be inalienable. But, like in one of the best chapters of our history, this challenge presents us with an unsurpassed opportunity to pull together in the same direction, to sacrifice for bigger and better things for the benefit of a greater number of people, rather than for what might be convenient for a few or even for ourselves. With some great men and women in the past we can repeat, “We are here, Lafayette!” and today we can embrace the ideals of a better world for all and make them our own. This is who we can be.

The Convocation livestream is just the first in a series of events Sarah will be doing with her alma mater throughout the semester. Other events will include appearances as a guest lecturer in sections of University Studies 101 courses. Her story gives voice to what happens when talent and courage meet access to a land-grant education. Her creativity is going to make this a Convocation unlike any other! 

Inspired by Sarah’s book and by our history, let’s commit to a successful semester that will make us feel proud. 

I know you will rise to the challenge, Bobcats, because that’s what Bobcats do.