Convocation Tears down Barriers By Edward Fuller Opinion Editor seventh annual convocation ceremony ceremony ceremony emony at the Alder began with witha a thunderous cannon volley Members of the faculty entered the amp- amp in regal academic attire altire Then the A Bagpipe Band led a procession procession procession sion of students who carried various national nation nation- al flags lags Marjorie Carson who is Vice President of Academic Services greeted the crowd on hand and gave public recognition to lo outstanding outstanding outstanding out out- standing members of the faculty President Frank Budd welcomed all in attendance to lo year of providing higher education to lo people in our ty He stressed the permanence of this educational educational educational edu edu- institution and the need for students to lo take lake immediate advantage of the tun unties ties available to lo them at al t Student Body President Sim Aguirre attested that the quality of the instruction at al had given him great respect for the college Shari who is president of the faculty senate gave words of encouragement to lo students and members of the faculty embarking on a new scholastic year that will willbe willbe willbe be marked by change Carson introduced Kathy Buckley to lo the audience as the guest speaker for this years year's convocation Buckley told lold the audience stories and jokes from her personal experiences She commanded the stage in a comedic performance performance performance mance that interspersed your in-your-face humor with earnest tamest imploration for people to lo appreciate appreciate appreciate the potential that lies within themselves and others whether they have disabilities or not Buckley spoke of many other obstacles in inh h her r lif life that she had managed to lo ov overcome which included having been misdiagnosed as asa asa a retarded child molestation by her father having been run over by a jeep and how she I survived a bout boul with wilh cervical cancer Buckleys Buckley's high regard for teachers was clearly evident near the conclusion of her speech Her voice became strained and her eyes moist when she told the crowd how important teachers had been in helping her gain self respect and in overcoming her hearing hearing hearing hear- hear heary y ing impairment Convocation concluded with wilh the grade class of Rosslyn Heights Elementary School singing We Are Arc The Young and andI I Love ve In Any language They won the audience over with wilh their exuberant spirits especially when they used sign language and various foreign languages to express some of the lyrics that they sang Convocation ended with wilh a collective hang hangas as streamers and fireworks filled th the ii above the i