Jodi Kantor '96 Delivers a Powerful Keynote Address to over 1,000 Graduates at Columbia College Commencement 2025

Kantor, a noted Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, urged students, against all odds, to strive to be authors of their own career choices.

 

     In preparation for her address, she did what every competent journalist does: she interviewed many of the seniors of the graduating class of 2025 and found so many felt that their educations were marked by facing one crisis after another  (covid caused sequestration and social distancing as they entered the campus in September 2021 and then as juniors in May 2024, the NYPD cleared the campus which was then closed down.) 

     Kantor continued: “You asked how can you stop feeling tossed around by storm winds building fulfilling careers and reestablishing yourselves as authors of your own lives.”

     She recounted her own excruciating experience while writing for the Columbia Spectator

and how she was “kicked off’ along with another writer after the latter accused her of harassment-- as the story was published as front page news. Her hopes and aspirations to become a journalist were instantly and seemingluy irrevocalbly dashed.

      Two years down the line, she began law school thinking that would be a satisfying career for her. But one night at 3 AM  during her first year, she had an epiphanic experience in which realized she really wanted to be a journalist– “being in the text of a document flipping words around.”  So, she abruptly decided to change careers and dropped out of Harvard Law School. 

   "That was the moment I became the author of my own life.”    

   Well, the rest is history as you watch her entire 20 minute address on tape and listen to the introduction delivered by the 2025 Class President, Rohan Mehta. (click here) 

  (Not a day goes by in her career that she does not go from existential crisis to existential crisis.)

 

  Don’t sell yourself short, she continued. She urged students to carry a small memo pad and for the first few months to jot down on a daily basis which actions you like and which you dislike..  Write down personal reactions to people you meet.  Be honest with yourself and avoid putting the monetary rewards as the sine qua non in your choices. “Do not just do the most lucrative thing.  Do not blur the distinction between meeting financial stability and craving enormous wealth.”   

 

She concluded her exhortation with a suggestion that as you choose your career keep in mind two major considerations: Need and Craft. Choose avenues that have great needs and balance that with your own skills to craft the changes you wish to bring about. “Remember you are not statistics or political props in anyone’s play.”

If you wish to see the entire Class Day Graduation Ceremony from the Parade of Students and the Parade of Alumni, including  presentation of all awards and speakers,  click here.       

 

    

National Poetry Month with Walt Whitman's Elegiac Poem "Oh Captain, My Captain"

Commemorating National Poetry Month, established in 1996,  has been a proud ritual of mine for the past ten years. 

The last 100 days here in America have spelled 'disaster'  as 260,000  federal employees have been laid off.  American businessmen, both large and small have paused their investment strategies due to the uncertanty caused by the erratic and sporadic tarriffs. 

 The global economic system, built on established trade practices, is in turmoil. 

  Economic stagnation is a likely result. 

 Our 'ship of state,'  our new government has been floundering on a turbulent unpredictable sea and I thought it appropriate to turn to Walt Whitman (1819-1892) for inspiration. The poet wrote the verse below just after Abraham Lincoln was assasinated on April 15, 1865 and months before General Robert E. Lee formally concluded it with the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah on November 6, 1865.  

  Our  Civil War claimed the loss of about 700, 000 lives.

   It lasted from its start April 12, 1861 until the last skirmish on November 6, 1865.

   That is a total of 1,669 days, paling the first 100 days of this government. 

   Our  constitution, the time honored fabric of our Union,  was sundered by the secession of eleven Southern states.

   It was metaphorically driven to sea where though pummeled by rough seas (the secession followed by war) was arighted  by the steady hand of its Captain.

  In this powerful reading of Whitman's timeless classic piece, metaphoric language is strong at play.  The severed Union at war with the Confederacy is symbolized by the Ship of State.

Abe Lincoln, Our 16th President, 1809-1865

The Captain, much bewailed and mourned with the shores a-crowding with bugle trills, bouquets and ribboned wreaths as his vessel sails safely into port is our heroic President Lincoln who lies fallen at the helm.

 The Ship is now anchored safe and sound. This is the optimistic message of the verse. 

 It is my fervent hope, that after listening to this reading, all responsible US citizens and our government leaders will be "by the better angels of our nature" (from Lincoln's first inaugural address) come to our  better senses to revitalize our sacred union.

 

July 4, 2024: Sadly Our Hard Earned Democratic System of Government is on Life Support; July 23, 2024: There are Bright Signs of Recovery

 July 4th, has traditionally been a day of celebration in our household.

As a child growing up, we would proudly display an American flag in the front of our East Tremont (Bronx) home and my parents instilled in their children how proud they were to be a part of the American dream.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Courtesy of Getty Images Creator Alan Thornton 

  

They were proud that America had given us the equal opportunity to

practice our religion without any restraints, to speak freely our opinions and

amazingly provided the free education- kindergarten through High School and then even college (City College of the City of New York, until 1976) –  to pursue a vocation that would lead to success. 

We were taught in our civics courses that our government incorporated a system of checks and balances that prohibited one branch of government from usurping the sole power of governing. Our presidency was designed to replace the King as the sole creator and arbiter of laws. Our legislature was erected to enact laws that were guided by the principles of our Constitution.

The judiciary was erected to be sure that laws thus enacted followed the dictates of our founding fathers enacted in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

 

We were taught that if you play by the rules, you have an equal chance of 

success and that no single branch of our government was above the law.

This levels the field for us all -especially the governors including the three branches of the government and the citizens as well. 

 As a matter of fact, our Declaration of Independence refers in the first paragraph to the “separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature '' entitle each and every group and institution-including the three branches of government. 

No one citizen of our country–including the President– is ‘immune’ from this principle. All for One and One for all.  

The Supreme Court Building 

With one major decision the principle of the separate but equal concept has been uprooted by the United States Supreme Court.

 

In Trump vs. United States decided 07/01/24, the highest judiciary ruled that the former President of the United States, Donald Trump–(in fact all presidents) is/are immune to prosecution for acts committed within his/their official duties.

In effect Mr. Trump who has 34 felony convictions could be exempt from any criminal prosecution.

As a matter of fact, the Judge presiding over the New York hush money case involving Stormy Daniels has postponed sentencing from July 11th to September 18 to assess the effect of this immunity ruling the case.

And this ruling is scary in view of an erratic, impulsive, lying man who once declared “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Ave. and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”

You may question why I used  the words "Life Support."  The Supreme court has knocked the ’separate but equal’ concept, the tripartite separation of powers, flat on its head. 

They have done this by, in effect, returning the presidency into the monarchy/kingship from which our founding fathers were so careful to avoid. 

The President can now choose what is acceptable behavior under the cloak of official duties.

What’s more, the Supreme Court has enfeebled itself by in effect relinquishing its separate but equal role, by blunting its probative responsibility in being the fair impartial arbiter of the law under the Constitution.

SCOTUS has “copped out”—literally relinquishing its police power over what the constitution was intended to protect… 

Finally, why did I choose Life support you may still ask….

We have two candidates that are weak mentally and physically. Both will be octogenarians while in office. One is mentally unfit to lead our great country forward as attested by his ‘off the teleprompter'

ranting and rambling during his  acceptance speech— that lasted over 90 minutes: it was surely sleep-inducing for many of the delegates. 

The other Joe Biden, already 82, with an impressive legislative track record over his 40 plus years in public office is under tremendous pressure to withdraw because of mental slips and a poor performance in the first debate. 

As I am writing this article, it has been announced that President
Biden has bowed out of the race and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be nominated as the next President of the U.S.

And more optimistic late breaking news is that according to the Wall Street Journal, Vice President Harris has been pledged a majority of the delegates to the DNC next month.  

It is my fervent wish that whoever the democrats do in fact nominate for President will have the strength to unite the Party and nourish the seeds and fruits of our great democracy to restore the respect for law and order that seems to be so lacking…

A Tribute to a Living Legend E.Victor Seixas, Jr. along with Tennis Heroes and Heroines at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

 

Here's a tribute to the remarkable E. Victor Seixas, Jr.  US Tennis Stalwart --the oldest living grand slam player now 100 hundred years old-- who I had the pleasure of watching beat Rex Hartwig in the US Open final of 1954 at the West Side Tennis club at Forest Hills, NY 

E. Victor Seixas, Jr.

What follows is a snapshot and tribute to one of the many significant timelines of my evolving peripatetic life- moving from the midwest (where I taught English at Wisconsin State Univ.) to San Francisco and settling in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood - (42 Baker Street)  just a 10- minute walk to a Tennis mecca, Golden Gate Park (GGP). It was a Camelot Life for me for many reasons. But here is just a freeze frame of that special time. 

   GGP is where I hung out when I wasn't studying the Law. Here is where I fast made friends and enriched my academic life with lasting social relationships. Here is where I was in the process of getting in great shape-- 'working my way up' the tennis ladder.' Here is where I achieved a major personal victory. 

  Here are just a few of the friends and tennis greats I include in my anthology and panoply of memorable icons. 

 Dan Lucey: master instructor and strategist who taught me the art of focused tennis. He was ranked number three in the 45's in California. 

Dan Lucey master player 

Henry Pon was one of the most steady players I have ever had the privilege of playing against. Short, thin and soft spoken and a master of defensive retrieval, he would never miss a shot. He played a backcourt game and thrived there in the process of beating most players.     

Howard Lee, how can I ever forget the strategy that you taught me? You are and were a master strategist and you plied me with many printed articles you had written on the fundamentals of the game forehand, backhand, serve, etc. Essential in your tips was mastering wrist control. Memorable are the times we would meet at the neighborhood courts near Chinatown and practice technique. What is awesome was your passion for the sport and your eagerness to share without expecting financial remuneration. You will always be a friend. 

Bill Small: was a solid B player at GGP and thanks to the great preparation from Dan Lucey, a ranked California Netman, I played a nearly flawless match in the No. California Open Tournament winning in two sets. I had an early taste of the mindfulness--the focus and near total  concentration  necessary for playing within the zone ('zone tennis') to play at the top of one's game.  This mindfulness followed me back to the East Coast where I enjoyed doubles play in Connecticut's hard courts in Scalzi Park in Stamford and on the Har-Tru clay courts at Oak Hills Tennis club  courts in Norwalk. 

Lowell Barnhart, your were a solid B player. You often played with the Louie sisters and we played many matches together. You always had a smile and a great attitude winning or losing.

Among,  the many notable tennis regulars included Tom Brown (lost  to Jack Kamer in the 1947 Wimbledon final) Whitney Reed, 1951 Wimbledon champ Art "Tappy" Larsen,  Greg Shepard, Rosey Casals, Arlene Cohen, Dan Lucey, Marcie Louie  and Peanut Louie Harper. 

What an inspiration....reliving the art and grace of tennis.....

Part II: The Positive Side of Staycations: Brevity, Brevity, Brevity..

If you would like to catch up with Part I click here. 

If brevity be the soul of wit, then John Le Carre's last novel Silverview is a the epitome of terse, yet powerful spy fiction. The book is a delight to read. The plot centers around a major "four-star" breach in British intelligence. The prime suspects are two. The first is the man who describes himself as a "British mongrel, retired, a former academic of no merit and one of life's odd job men." The other is his cancer stricken wife who was a former top analyst for British intelligence who works for a 'quasi' governmental organizations. 

Thrown in the mix of memorable characters are the British Head of Domestic Security labelled the "Chief Sniffer Dog" and a young wealthy financial wizard who abandons his London career to become a bookseller in a small coastal town in Northern England. Le Carrre (1931-2020) the Master of Spy Fiction is at his best in this 200 page finale.

Ken Follett's 802 Page Thriller 

Never 

Stuck at home this past summer with late stage covid hybrid, I embarked on an 800 page journey sparked by my "second look" at a special collection at Darien Library pictured below 

The Special "Second Look" section at Darien 
Library for Chart-Buster Books you might Have Missed  

Brevity is a challenge as one essays to summarize a long novel in a few paragraphs with less than 375 words....Here goes. 

How do you stay glued to an 800 page thriller that captivates and propels you to a '"Doomsday" scenario---as if you are on an 8 day, non-stop literary binge in your Home Entertainment Theater---your den?  

The plot of Never begins with Abdul an undercover CIA agent tasked with tracking a Saharan cocaine shipment destined to fund the terrorist group ISGS (Islamic State Greater Sahara) and simultaneously locate the terrorist leader, al-Farabi. The U.S gets involved when an American soldier is killed in a border incident and the sniper's rifle is traced to North Korea. Tensions swell between leaders in the U.S and China; then China sinks an American oil exploration vessel and we are quickly moving up the Defcon scale.  Then through a series of events linking Chad (in North East Africa) to Washington, D.C., China, to North and South Korea, the world arrives at the brink of Defcon One (nuclear war is imminent or has begun)--pitting the U.S. against its arch enemy. 

 Along the way, Follett introduces us to to many characters whose lives we enter since they are so clearly etched. There is the beautiful widowed Chad refugee, Kiah -with her tot Naji, who is on a flight to freedom seeking a better life in France. She joins the CIA agent Abdul on a perilous northern journey. Pauline Greene is the first female US President whose marriage is on the rocks and she has little time to spend time with her angst-ridden teen daughter Pippa as she perilously grapples with impending decisions.   

Married to Ting, a popular actress on Chinese TV, Chang Kai, a young liberal thinking minister for international intelligence, is at odds against old guard Maoist operatives like his father Chang Jianjun, Vice Chairman of the National Security Commission. Chang is faced with dealing with an American- UN resolution condemning China and false accusations made by his enemy Li Jiankang that his wife has been critical of the party. 

I invite you to enjoy your vacations, or staycations, as I did, and join the binge as you enjoy the literary journey by a master of fiction, Ken Follett.   

Part One: Staycations are for Recharging the Battery and Delving into the Creative Arts

 I am celebrating and remembering two staycations--one in the summer of  2021 and the second this past summer of 2023. 

The writer masked during Class at 
Greenwich High School 

   Both were initiated by the corona virus and both had different outcomes. During the Greenwich High School academic year 2020-2021, I volunteered to be a full time co-teacher of AP Chemistry. The regular  teacher,  PHD certified,  was quarantined at home because her aged parents were staying with her and she didn't want to expose them to the virus. She zoomed classes from home.

 We didn't miss a single day, didn't log in a single absence and I was happy to fulfill an important role to make sure the students who signed up for the class would be able to attend. 

  The summer of 2021 was memorable for experiencing mental burnout and physical stagnation. It was marked by resignation to remediation. In other words, I stayed at home, did  low impact exercise at my club and devoted the summer to recharging my depleted battery. 

  The following summer, I was charged up with much energy. During this next academic year I was no longer a long term Chemistry substitute so I was able to teach in other departments and disciplines-- including Special Education, English, Social Studies, Languages and Music. And, of course, I was now able to work at my own pace, meaning I no longer had to 'punch  a time clock' and could take days off if so chose..... 

 That summer was glorious: I followed a dream that I have had  for so many years since living in California and hiking and backpacking the Sierras enjoying treks in to the wildernesses of the Alpine and Tuolumne Meadows, 

That's me Learning to Climb Mt. Hale
in the White Mountains led by a guide (summer 2022) 

 I trained during the year to build up my endurance to climb some mountains in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. And what a blessing it was and is to be accompanied by a guide. (More on this experience on a later post).

 Nearly three and a half years after the onset of Covid, I tested positive, in the middle of Judy 2023.  Rather than be totally sidelined by the subsequent quarantine and staycation that ensued,  I dedicated myself to Literature and Arts that I will be proud to share in a subsequent post. So tune in to Part II.   

  

  . 

Part II: Advice from Dan Lucey: Tennis is a People Sport

Meet Mr. Cool Man Tennis: Dan Lucey is second from the left. He is flanked on his right by John Holden on his left by Bill Hepner and Alex Swetka (early.1960's)

In Part I, I introduced my life changing relationship with Dan which began in San Francisco over 50 years ago at the Golden Gate Tennis Courts.(To read Part I, click here.) 

In this essay, I want to highlight some advice that Dan related to me over and over again.

      

First, he inspired me to be physically fit: eat healthy foods, get lots of sleep and work out daily. I applied his advice then and even up until now, so that recently my primary care Physician put me in awe when she disclosed that biologically I am 30 years younger than my chronological age.

  Secondly, Dan emphasized total focus on the fundamentals of the game: serve, groundstrokes, net work, serve and volley, then lobs. 

 Thirdly, he  pointed out to me that through my passion with tennis, I would be meeting interesting and fascinating and-- even sometimes well- known people wherever I play. 

How true have been your words Dan. 

With Dan beside me, we watched and analyzed the winning techniques of some of the best Golden Gate players-- such nationally ranked players as Tom Brown who with his precise ground strokes bested Greg Shephard (about 20 years younger) who boasted a smooth serve and volley game. We also watched other great players as Rosey Casals, Whitney Reed (see Part I) and "Peanut" Louie Harper. 

  

 I have lived in over 40 different residences across the United States, enjoyed playing tennis in eight different states (eleven--11-- different residences in both Northern and Southern California alone) and have made many many friends on the tennis court, joined clubs and tennis ladders.  To list all the fine people I have met would be too time and space consuming .So, here are just a few of the interesting folks I have met along the way.

Some tennis greats I have run into along the "way" include  Lew Hoad at a Senior men's tournament  in Sacramento; playing tennis with U.S. Open champ Art  "Tappy" Larson, playing next to Dr. Reginald Weir (a black tennis legend prior to Arthur Ashe) and Dick Savitt, U.S. Open champ (whom I met at the Columbia University Tennis Center on Coogan's Bluff, NYC) 

And finally a chance encounter with Senator Ted Kennedy at a tennis facility in Maine. (recounted in this memorial to my dad's passion for sports.) 

And the beat goes on...

(Now, I have developed another passion: mountain climbing a few of the 48 mountains above 4,000 feet in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (with a guide, of course!).