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| The People's Graduation: Cathedral of St. John the Divine |
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Hundreds of students, faculty, parents and guests gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on May 16 for a "People’s Graduation,"after Columbia University cancelled its on-campus commencement. They heard 93-year-old Reverend Herbert Daughtry urge young people to commit their lives to a great cause, and expect to sacrifice for it. Offering prayers along with Jewish and Muslim clergy, Daughtry quoted Dr, Martin Luther King Jr. ---"if you haven't found a cause for which to die, you haven't found a cause for which to live." Daughtry added, “they will call you names, but the idea of
freedom cannot be destroyed.”
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| Rev Herbert Daughtry Sr. |
The Cathedral made
its sanctuary available to all — including students who had been arrested,
suspended, and evicted for protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. Some came to continue their protest, others
just to experience something like a college graduation. The mood was celebratory. Cathedral Dean
Patrick Malloy greeted the gathering, saying the church wanted to welcome a
full range of people and opinions. A
parade of speakers then lambasted the university for misrepresenting and
punishing the protesters — and praised the students for starting a movement
that spread around the world.
Lacking the power to hand out degrees or diplomas, the ceremony ended with a song, adapted from the biblical Book of Ruth:
“Where you go I will go
my friend,
Where you go I will go ---
your people are my people
your people are mine
Your people are my people
our struggles align.”
Copyright 2024 by Tom Phillips
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