Photos by Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
New graduates of The Evergreen State College watch their instructors march in Friday's ceremony.

Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Evergreen graduate Stephanos Tsakistos marches in Friday's procession with a balloon tied to his dreadlocks. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree after studying political economics.

Kesey

Kent Treptow/The Olympian
Terry Ortega (right) embraces her friend, Rose Marie Shinner, immediately after Shinner received her degree Friday at The Evergreen State College.

Evergreen grads hear Kesey

21st-century students get 21st-century call to action

ALMA D. SHARPE, THE OLYMPIAN

"This was declared the college for all hippies. ... I can see they were successful." -- Ken Kesey

THURSTON COUNTY -- It almost made no difference what Ken Kesey had to say to the 30th graduating class at The Evergreen State College on Friday, June 15, 2001 -- they would have loved it regardless.

Graduates, their families and friends welcomed the renowned author and cultural icon of the 1970s with such loud applause and whistles that they cared little when he told them he was missing the last few pages of his speech.

His visit to the campus and the commencement address he delivered where welcomed by eager fans, many of whom carried tape recorders and cameras and donned the colorful tie-dye attire true to Kesey's generation.

The man remembered for his "Further" Volkswagen bus spoke to the graduates about their duty to work toward solutions to the social problems that have led to such modern tragedies as the 1998 fatal school shooting near his home in Springfield, Ore.

"It's going to have to be the kids that bring it all to a close," he said.

It was a call to action for 21st-century graduates, devoid of the carelessness that may have once appealed to Kesey and those of his generation.

And it wasn't lost on him that many of the graduates who selected him as their commencement speaker have adopted the brand of idealism born in his heyday.

As has become traditional, some graduates wore colorful knitted caps instead of the traditional graduation hat. Along with their gowns, many sported comfortable leather sandals.

Kesey said he remembered his first visit to Evergreen in 1971, shortly after the founding of the college.

"This was declared the college for all hippies, one place so they could keep an eye on them," he said. "I can see they were successful."

From Kesey's anti-violence message, the graduates took what made the most sense to them as a mission following graduation.

"I think it's a good idea, that it's up to us stop the violence," said graduate Naomi Litvin.

Cosseta Stroud, who graduated with an emphasis on health services, said she felt compelled to turn to her faith as a Jehovah's Witness for solutions.

"I will continue to put my faith in the powers that be to stop the violence," she said. "To me, the real solution is the spiritual one, which is in the kingdom of God."

For others, arriving at graduation itself was enough of a mission. And it was a completed one.

"It took me 18 years to graduate since I left high school. I have two children, I went through a divorce, and my father died in December," said Yvonne Almonte Aguon. "It's a big deal for me to get here."

Alma D. Sharpe covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-4226.

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Evergreen State College.

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