It is the last day of classes and as graduation quickly sneaks up on seniors, many have begun to think about their life beyond Tufts. But two members of the Class of 2006 are working to ensure that their fellow graduates bring the Tufts philosophy with them as they leave the Medford campus.
Seniors Negar Razavi and Karen Lin are the co-coordinators of the Graduation Pledge. The national project, an alliance of colleges and universities, is now in its fifth year at Tufts and simply reads: "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work."
"It's a national project," Razavi said. "But universities integrate the pledge in ways that fit best with their school. At Tufts, we are asking graduating seniors to sign it before they leave Tufts and enter the 'real world.'"
"The pledge here at Tufts is part of a national and international alliance of colleges and universities who want to show that their students care about issues of social and environmental responsibility and will continue to care after they graduate," Lin added.
The Graduation Pledge was started at Humboldt State University in California in 1987. Since 1996, however, its national alliance efforts have been headquartered at Manchester College in Indiana.
In 2001, The Pledge was brought to Tufts by students from the Peace and Justice Studies program. It only gained popular support at the University, however, this past year.
"By signing the pledge, we are not asking students to follow a specific career path," Razavi said. "Instead, we believe that they should take whatever job they want, but try to make a positive social and environmental impact with that job."
"In other words, you can take the job on Wall Street, but start a recycling program in your office or help bring fair trade coffee," she explained. "You can work in a restaurant and still do something positive such as a food drive."
Lin and Razavi were quick to add that they hope the Class of 2006 will leave a lasting legacy with the Pledge.
"We are hoping that the Class of 2006 will leave an amazing and important legacy by being the first class to really rally behind the Graduation Pledge," Razavi said. "We are looking to get as many of our classmates to sign the pledge as possible."
"Hopefully, the Pledge will become more than just a list of signatures," Razavi added. "We hope that by creating this network we can reach out to one another over the years and continue to try to encourage each other to make positive contributions to the world around us, and to sometimes make the hard decision to follow the path that we know is right, as opposed to the path we think we're expected to follow in life."
Lin and Razavi hope that the Pledge will not only lead to more socially and environmentally conscious individuals, but also have a larger impact on those not taking the Pledge.
"It can be important on a personal level for each student to pledge social and environmental responsibility," Lin said. "But we are also interested in making a collective statement to the rest of the Tufts community and beyond that the Class of 2006 do care and do plan to carry forth this consciousness in their lives after getting their degrees from here."
"We obviously can't hold anyone accountable for their word, but we do believe many students here have already made similar promises to themselves, and this is just another way to share and celebrate those goals with a larger community," Lin added.
Both coordinators agree that the message of the Pledge corresponds with the message and philosophy of Tufts as an institution.
"The message of the Pledge definitely emphasizes the active and responsible citizenship that this institution attempts as a core value and because we still have milestones ahead of us, this pledge can serve as a reminder that students will continue to strive for better choices wherever possible," Lin said.
"Tufts often emphasizes the importance of 'active citizenship', and we as students are encouraged to go out and help our communities and those around us," Ravazi said.
"What this pledge does is reinforce this message and asks all of us who are leaving Tufts to continue being active citizens. It is not a political statement. It is a commitment to trying to bring positive changes in ways that resonate with our understanding of the world," she added.
The symbol for the Pledge is a green ribbon, which are being distributed to students at Commencement this coming May. "We hope [students] will educate their family and friends about the commitment they made through the Pledge," Lin said.
Seniors can sign the pledge at: http://ase.tufts.edu/pjs/pledge.html.
