If you scanned the audience at last Wednesday's convocation you couldn't help but see red—red fringe, red feather boas, red glitter, red antennae, red pompoms, red garters, red sneakers, red hair—and yes, even a dyed-red dog. Seniors, who donned caps and gowns for the first time, not only made themselves known by their class color, but via constant whoops and cheers that began even before they entered Gettell Amphitheater and continued throughout the ceremony.

Dean of Religious Life Andrea Ayvazian opened the festivities by reading 'The Good News," a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist teacher. Taking the podium next was President Joanne V. Creighton, who began her convocation address by welcoming newcomers to the MHC community and welcoming back "all old-timers."

Discussing progress made on construction projects during the summer and what lies ahead on the building front, Creighton said she hoped that viewing the finished projects in virtual reality on the Web would "help you to endure the temporary mess." Mentioning the Blanchard Campus Center expansion and renovation that will commence in May, she encouraged the community to look over the architectural and landscape plans on the Web.

Addressing a topic near to everyone's hearts, the president discussed efforts that have been made to expand parking on campus. One hundred new temporary parking spaces have been created, she said, and other parking areas have been reconfigured, such as the space around Kendall, and the Gorse lot, to accommodate more cars. "In short, it is an exciting time of renewal of our campus," said

Creighton, who noted, "This work grows out of the campus master-planning process that began last year and continues this year. As part of that process this year, we want to consult broadly with the community and to develop, with your help, a plan for long-term stewardship of the campus—its buildings, grounds, environmental sustainability, its exciting potential as an environmental laboratory."

Creighton also alluded to the cosponsorship by the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Center for Environmental Literacy of a campuswide theme, landscape and architecture, describing the focus as "a stimulating topic in and of itself but also because we hope it will help to inform the discussion about our own campus."

After a performance by the Mount Holyoke College Glee Club, Nicole Townsend '02, president of the Student Government Association; Yvonne Nicholson, senior administrative assistant in the English department and head of the Staff Council; Donal O'Shea, dean of the faculty; and Becky Wai-Ling Packard, assistant professor of psychology and education, offered greetings.
Noting that convocation was "a time for great advice," Townsend offered her classmates some. "Don't stop dreaming," she said. "Societies change and will continue to change, they undergo periods of difficulty and they wonder what the future holds—these societies need dreamers. Our societies need dreams, for they cannot evolve without a vision. If nobody ever dreamt of flying like a bird, we would never have invented airplanes. If Mary Lyon never dreamt of a women's college, she would never have created Mount Holyoke. Dreamers are the architects of the future. Our changing society needs them, and they need you."

Nicholson advised students to become acquainted with the College's employees and not to think of them merely as "anonymous people, stamping out your books at the library, mending that stubborn closet door in your dorm room, or retrieving that last minute paper that your computer has eaten and won't print." Noting that the staff is "as diverse in our interests and backgrounds as the student body," she described MHC employees as interesting people who are artists, dancers, singers, musicians, magicians, and world travelers and who are active in their communities and places of worship when not working at the College. “Get to know us, we are very friendly and we are here for you," Nicholson said.

O'Shea inspired the crowd with a discussion of time and leadership. “First-years, you have 17,601 hours of College left. Seniors, you have 4,409 hours left. I leave it as an exercise for sophomores and juniors to figure out how much time they have left,” the mathematician began. O'Shea added that "a course takes up what, thirteen weeks? Say three hours of class time? Thirty-nine hours? Say six hours outside of class per week. Thirteen weeks times six hours per week equals seventy-eight hours. All told, that's 117 hours. Piece of cake. Seniors, by this calculation, you could easily fit in twenty classes this semester. Lots of time for extra math and lab science courses. You don't want to do this, however. Why not?"

O'Shea explained why not: students with crammed schedules have less time and more stress. "I think that some of the lack of time comes from the expectations you have of yourselves," O'Shea said. "We talk about leadership and about making one's mark. This in turn produces all this anxiety about needing to lead and being heard over the crowd; trying to fill out one's résumé and get others to notice. I think you can give yourselves a break if you remember that to lead is to serve. And, at root, service is about caring. To care about something, or someone, or some group, not because of what they do for you, but just because you care." He told students to think not of leadership, but of vocation. “College is about trying [vocations] on, figuring out how you can serve and about what you care. About any potential vocation, you should ask yourself three things. Does it give you joy? Are you good at it? Does it serve others?"

At the conclusion of his speech, O'Shea advised students, "Take that time for yourself. Think of it as an investment to be ultimately repaid to those who need you most. Don't fill it up with a mad whirl of activity. Look not to lead, but to finding what you love, what you're good at, and how you can serve. Take time to reflect and time to stretch intellectually." He also asked them to stay open to the world and to begin by befriending a new faculty member.

Wai-Ling Packard delighted the audience with remarks that focused on getting into the right mindset for the new year. Packard said that as an educational psychologist, she studies the motivated mind, and she has learned that "something positive, and sometimes sassy, happens to our motivation when we allow music, dance, and energized images to enter our minds." She advised students that they should be "in the mood to learn—that is, you have to be in the right mindset." People get into a motivated mindset in different ways, Packard noted. "I surround myself with energy. I watch clips from dance movies—I mean, really cheesy dance movies—and listen to their theme songs. It is as if I have my own very special soundtrack playing in the background as I begin each new day." After describing her concept of Wai-Ling (her middle name, which means a strong bell) as "a sound that emanates from [her] soul," she noted that she "takes this image of Wai-Ling to heart. I listen carefully to the sound from deep within me, and touch others so I can hear it echo around me, as it amplifies into the outside world. To keep myself fine-tuned, I choose special theme songs to assist me in getting into the mindset for what I want to have happen; in essence, I create my own soundtrack for the dance movie that is my life." She told students that as they try to get into the right mindset this year, they should listen to their inner Wai-Ling. "It is not so hard to do,” Packard said, “but it does require a bit of imagination, and some practice."

After Devaki Nambiar '02, chair of the Student Judicial Board, led entering students in the MHC honor code pledge, and Jordana Harper-Ewert '03 and Lauren Snead '02, cochairs of the Multifaith Council, offered closing remarks and a "welcome" in about twenty different languages, including pig Latin, the crowd adjourned to Skinner Green for the well-attended convocation picnic.