Commencement: platitudinous and sans hitch

Great weather, happy students

Wagner seemed distracted (possibly by a wedgie); the student trustee seemed really pissed

.....(Update, 5/23: I'm told that the Saddleback College commencement ceremony, held earlier in the day, went well. About eleven people participated in a silent protest of the invocation, given [by Nancy Padberg] at the start of the ceremony. Faculty and students held banners and signs. Except for Tom Fuentes, all trustees were present.)

.....Just a few notes about yesterday’s commencement at Irvine Valley College, which commenced at 4:00 p.m. and then seemed to slow time to a crawl. I do believe time stopped a couple of times.
.....As usual, the students were in high spirits. There were lots of smiles, lots of cute little kids running around loose. I do hope they all found their parents eventually.
.....The war on photographers continued: this year, the VPIs were housed in an odd tent structure, making its residents dark and removed and unphotogenic. The arrangement inspired unfortunate feelings in the audience, which sweltered whilst looking up at shaded people who, despite their elevation, generally had nothing much to say.
.....As I recall, the only no-show among trustees was Tom Fuentes, which was a positive, although the first thing that happened after everybody marched in was headbowing and a lugubrious prayer to the Lord (by Nancy Padberg).
.....Don Wagner looked distracted; the student trustee looked positively pissed-off; Marcia Milchiker smiled in all directions; and John Williams hid, motionless, behind dark sunglasses. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

That's the new Business Science (haha) building in the background. During the design phase, trustees insisted that the building exemplify the famed Quansetta style, so popular in the early-to-mid forties.

Students were told that money is only a means to an end; that end? More money. (Well, no)

I do believe this fellow was the part-time teacher of the year.
To the right, smiling, is the full-time teacher of the year.

.....Raghu Mathur’s speech was delivered with zero passion, which makes sense, since it is precisely the same speech he has given many times before. It combined the platitudinous with the clueless. Platicluediless.
.....The state chancellor, who arrived late, offered more platitudes. Money is just a means to an end, he said.
.....Glenn offered statistics. A few students got out their calculators.
.....The student speaker majored in business, I think, and her speech reflected that. My prediction: she’ll become the Governor of California, a Republican. I’ll be dead by then.
.....I spoke with John Edwards for a while, and that went well. I think he has a bad cold. (If I get it, I’m gonna be pissed.) At one point, some guy next to me said, “didn’t they say all this last year?” The weather was great, the blue and white balloons were festive, and things pretty much went off without a hitch.
.....The students noticed none of this. They just smiled.

It was like a musical or something, with faculty occasionally breaking into song.

Mathur offered old material, sans passion. Then he sat down

This little girl (at right) is going places

Wagner and Mathur managed to sit next to each other without incident

Waving from within the Tent of Darkness to the hoi polloi

Williams poked his head up