Muhammad Ali joins 1,127 undergraduates and 716 grad students in Tuesday ceremonies
By: Nick Norlen
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee and get your degree.
Princeton University held its 260th Commencement on Tuesday, awarding degrees to 1,127 undergraduates and 716 graduate students, and conferring honorary degrees to seven individuals, including boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Mr. Ali was recognized for his humanitarian efforts outside the ring, including goodwill missions to Afghanistan and North Korea.
University Orator Rajiv Vinnakota introduced Mr. Ali.
"Acclaimed throughout the world as the most gifted, most imaginative, most audacious and most courageous of heavyweight boxing champions, he has long been revered as one of the great athletes of all time," he said. "Unwavering in his moral commitments, he has fought tenaciously outside the ring for freedom of conscience, for equality and justice, and for the dignity and emancipation of all people."Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 20 years ago, Mr. Ali only remained on stage while the honorary degrees were presented.
And although most of the approximately 7,000 guests who attended the ceremony in front of Nassau Hall rose to their feet to cheer "The Greatest," the day belonged to the students.
President Shirley Tilghman congratulated the class of 2007 during her speech.
"As you walk, skip or run through the FitzRandolph Gates today, as educated citizens of this and many other nations, I hope you will carry forward the spirit of Princeton," she said. "And I expect you will continue to do as you have done here to aim high and be bold."
And while Tuesday’s closing procession was the last time many graduates would pass through FitzRandolph as Princeton students, it was not so for Valedictorian Glen Weyl.
"It has … been inspiring over the last several months to hear from my classmates the range of noble callings that await the class of 2007 beyond FitzRandolph Gate," he said in his speech. "Hopeless nerd that I am, though, I will remain behind that gate, as a graduate student entrapped by the lure of the academic world Princeton opened."
An economics major from Los Altos Hills, Calif., Mr. Weyl is a year away from earning his doctorate, and will return to Princeton next year to complete his dissertation.
During his address, he talked about how Princeton changed him.
"Princeton forced me to ask questions and think about ideas far beyond my personal experience," he said. "Though Princeton is often called an orange bubble, my experiences here brought me closer to great problems and motivated me to engage with the world more powerfully than I could have dreamed."
Earlier, President Tilghman recalled her prediction during the class of 2007’s opening exercises more than four years ago that "time at Princeton would fly by at warp speed."
Even though she took a year off, 21-year-old Ying Gao she said her Princeton career indeed went quickly mostly because she was "busy the whole time."
She earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, and plans to pursue a master’s degree in engineering at Stanford University.
But the Quadrangle Club member had time to gather plenty of memories along the way, she said.
"A lot of it was outside of class just a lot of social activities with my friends, and I think the eating clubs contributed to that," she said.
J.R. deLara, 22, earned his bachelor’s degree in politics, and plans to attend the London School of Economics to pursue a master’s degree in political theory.
He said his four years as a Princeton student some of which were spent abroad in the Czech Republic and Bangkok, Thailand didn’t go so fast.
"I thought it was a long four years. Because I felt like I had many different kinds of experiences. I spent a semester abroad. I spent time abroad for Princeton in Asia, and of course all the opportunities on campus," he said. "It was a good experience."
Stephanie Grace used the same exact phrase.
Although the 20-year-old, who was awarded her bachelor’s degree in sociology, graduated in just three years, she said she was able to savor her time at the university.
As for what makes Princeton special, she said, "It’s how much everybody loves this place. When I came to visit on the … campus tour, there were random students shouting out, ‘Come here! Come to Princeton!’" she said. "And then, you know, you have 20,000 alumni back for reunions. It’s insane."
Graduate student Dave Franco, 25, said those reunions were a big part of his Princeton experience.
On Tuesday, he was awarded his master’s degree in chemical engineering, and he’s going to start a job with the Department of Energy in San Francisco in two weeks.
But before that, he’s taking "a well deserved vacation," he said. "First I’m going mountain biking in Canada."

