Core Decorum: Valete

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The end of the school year brings many mixed feelings to students. As students, we remember that we are growing up and also realize how much we have learned. An eagerness to finish finals is mixed with nostalgia for lively moments with friends during the semester. But the end of another school year is also a great time to reassess the year.

The classes we take are not just with the goal of graduation in mind, but so that as time goes by we can grow. Celebrations like PrimaFaira, Groundhog, Spring Formal and Tower Film Fest are not just to have fun but to bring people together in friendships that last a lifetime.

How we spend all of our time, even when we are at leisure, is meaningful. The revelry and good times are just as valuable as the long nights spent studying in the Cap Bar and the library. Hopefully, all that we have learned throughout the year will serve us well.

Over just the past few years, we have seen changes on campus: new buildings built, new professors and even our classmates getting engaged. But the changes have never been great enough to change the face of the University of Dallas. Much of what has defined UD for decades still remains unchanged. Students every fall continue to read their way through the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” and go to Rome their sophomore year.  

Even as we depart for the summer, we should continue to cherish the memories of friends and the lessons learned at UD. Our education is holistic and can benefit any part of our life that we let it.

However, although we have made a lot of good memories, sometimes they are not enough.

Simply reminiscing on all the enjoyable moments at UD can lead one to sink into past memories that keep one from moving forward.

Final celebrations like graduation and convocation are not just for their own sake, but are celebrations of the future.

It’s not just what the students have achieved in the past, but what they are able to do now. The vision of Dr. Louise Cowan lives on in every student who has passed through this campus and pored over a book in the library, memorized a poem, looked up at the stars or prayed on this campus’ hills.

UD is not just a place. It is the spirit that fills campus with a unique delight in honest inquiry and joy in learning. It also is the spirit of integrity in all things that defines UD students.

Especially with the strong liberal arts education UD students receive, whether we are leaving UD to begin careers, preparing to set off for Rome in the fall, or awaiting another year on campus, we are uniquely placed to look forward with optimism.

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