Tuesday, 5/20/97 Students receive degrees in commencement
program LAW SCHOOL: The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at ceremony,
honors grads
By Gregory Mena Daily Bruin Contributor On a warm afternoon,
children were playing and climbing on tree branches in Dickson
Plaza. To keep cool, their parents fanned themselves with paper
programs and listened to speeches. Random students also stopped to
listen in the annual ceremony held in Perloff Quad. On Sunday, 13
students received their Master of Law degree and about 300 students
earned their Juris Doctor degree at UCLA’s School of Law
commencement. "Inherent in our degree is the power to make change,"
Teresa Magno said, as she addressed her graduating class. Magno,
the class president, joked and talked about her experiences at the
UCLA law school. It took exactly "two years, eight months, and 26
days" to complete law school, according to her calculation.
Following Magno’s address, Mark Melo sang a song between the
traditional commencement speeches. He delivered a tune popularized
by the Beatles, "In My Life." The audience supported Melo’s a
capella effort with a round of hand-clapping. The Rev. Jesse
Jackson addressed the graduates, highlighting trends in the
recently-released UCLA law school admissions data. The numbers show
marked decreases in minority admissions for 1997. "The effects of
Prop. 209 are already obvious," he said in a statement. Jackson
also discussed the issue of "character." He used two examples to
show that people can cross boundaries of race and circumstance to
show good character. He pointed out that the men who saved Reginald
Denney from his beating were African American males. Also, he said
that the person who filmed the Rodney King beating and turned it in
to the public was a white man. At the conclusion of his speech, the
graduating class presented him with a class T-shirt which he
proudly put on over his robe. After Jackson’s speech, Dean Prager
announced "the moment that you all have been waiting for," parents
sprang up from their white chairs to see their family members
receive their colorful hoods. The purple of the hoods represents
the discipline of law. The blue and gold represents the University
of California. As the candidates were announced, parents and family
members echoed the graduates’ names with shouting and some people
sent airhorn blasts. Other parents remained silent and looked on
with stoic approval. "It feels so wonderful now that it is over,"
said Austin Murray, father of Austin Murray II who combined a
Master of Business Administration degree with his law degree. But,
the ceremony for many graduates did not mark the end. "Tomorrow, I
begin studying for the bar," said William Wetz, a law school
graduate. "The most surprising aspect of my degree is to find out
how useful it is," Wetz said. Related Links: UCLA School of Law