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Darton grads are set loose

• Darton College graduates are advised to remain engaged and continue seeking knowledge.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — Though Darton College’s hundreds of graduates were mostly quiet Tuesday as they marched from one end of campus to the other, snaking around buildings and curbs in a single-file, the gymnasium where supporters awaited was loud with with holiday music, chatter and the occasional hoots.

As most of the college’s 275 summer and fall graduates entered the Cavalier Arena to the tune of Gustav Holst’s “Pomp and Circumstance”, friends and family stood and searched for their students, each clad in black cap and gown.

Darton College President Peter Sireno shared with the students something that the ceremony’s featured speaker would expand on.

“You will discover,” Sireno said at the start of the 7 p.m. ceremony, “that Darton College has served you exceptionally well.”

Having experienced nearly 30 years ago what the 2007 class experienced Tuesday, Darton College alumnus Hal W. Fulmer backed up Sireno’s comment with the remark that “almost on a daily basis” he draws more upon his Darton experience than on interest and dividends.

Fulmer, a 1979 Darton graduate and assistant provost-dean of students at Troy State University, wove what he referred to as “the three Es” throughout his brief speech.

Education, he said, paraphrasing the Greek philosopher Plato’s thoughts on ignorance as expressed in “The Republic,” “takes you out of the cave, and you won’t ever be able to go back into the cave.” Knowledge, Fulmer said, has “value in and of itself.”

Economics was Fulmer’s second “E.”

The most recent study, in 2002, he said, shows that a high school graduate will earn $1.2 million during a lifetime, while a those with a bachelor’s degree will earn $2.1 million.

“Those of you who come in tonight without a degree and leave with one are richer,” he said.

Fulmer said that to be engaged keeps the mind growing.

“Be curious, read and challenge,” he advised. “Be involved. Be interested. (Ask) ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ ”

“Be educated and engaged as you confront the enemy of apathy and disinterest,” Fulmer said.

He encouraged the graduates to track the evolution of their thinking by keeping a list of the six people they would most like to invite to a dinner party.

“I have sat where you sit,” said Fulmer, who earlier in the evening pointed out that his Darton graduation was held in a dining hall. “The message was the same: ‘Go out, be educated and be engaged.’ ”

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