As this column goes to press, it will be early spring in Hanover and the seniors will be dreaming of graduation and of the next phase of their lives. If you were asked to be the Commencement speaker this year, what would your core message be for the class of 2018? I decided to ask some of our classmates to share their thoughts on this. Here are some of the responses that I received. Fuzzy Thurston: “The world is built on compromise. Intransigence only builds walls that will ultimately have to be removed, and at great intermediary cost.” Jim Caplan: “Integrity, character and civility matter the most.” Ken Jacobs would talk about “the ever-changing world that surrounds a wizened institution and how, and if, the Dartmouth community affects it or is affected by it.” Ed Wisneski would like them to know that “Truth matters. Moral apathy is its most dangerous foe.” Bill Price: “Be honest, be true. Respect how others think and, better yet, seek them out to find out how to improve the way that you think. Finally, in the words of one of my mentors, ‘If it’s not broken, break it,’ since you need to challenge yourself all the time.” John de Regt: “In these times, who are you? How do you want to show up, be seen and experienced by those around you? How do you want to be known and remembered? Embody self-respect, dignity, humility and honesty. Be yourself and follow your own North Star.” Mike Rieger: “As future leaders use the critical thinking skills you sharpened at Dartmouth to help counter the epidemic of fact-free political dialog. Stress the importance of data and numeracy. Speech could be spiced up with contemporary examples from both ends of the political spectrum.” Chris Brewster: “Whatever you choose to do in life, character matters. How you treat people matters. Integrity matters. Ethics matters. Kindness matters. Leo Durocher was wrong. Nice guys don’t finish last.”

Impressive answers, don’t you think? These are words that all of us can live by. Thanks to all who responded; my apologies to those whose responses did not make it in. We are restricted in the word count that we can submit for each issue, so some answers could not be used.

In other news, Andy Harrison reports that his dear brother, Dr. Walter Harrison ’66, passed away in early December. Walter was a respected pediatrician who practiced in the Boston area, where he served a diverse patient population that included many middle class and blue-collar patients. His kindness and skill will be greatly missed.

Sadly, I must also report that our classmate Matt Goyette has passed away. Bill Schur tells me that Matt was part of a very special core group of Clevelanders who lived in Gile Hall. Our condolences go out to Matt’s family and friends.

Be well, my friends. Let me know how you’re doing and what you might be up to. Just drop me a note at the email address below.

—David Hetzel, 5 Chestnut St., Windham, NH 03087; dghetzel@gmail.com