With every new security camera that goes in, with every new cold metal lock that clicks into place, with every "code white" drill, we are taking one step closer to our own tragedy, toward the ultimate tragedy, the consummate dehumanization and failure of the educational system. As George Lucas put it, "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."

The administration here claims to have done what was necessary to protect us, but I believe that it was a mistake. I can safely say that this school is locked up tight. There is one door that stays unlocked during the morning and that is the side door through which students enter in the morning. Every classroom door is locked. Some people in the audience tonight might remember air raid drills. Now, we have "code white" drills. Students huddle in the corner of the room as they listen for the sound of one of their less popular classmates shooting teachers. Students jokingly ask friends on their way back from the "lay" if they have a gun before opening the locked classroom door. The administration does what it thinks is right, we obey without thinking, and nobody ever stops to realize that this cure is also the disease. I was never afraid to come to school; now I feel that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach every morning as I realize that we are re-enacting the Columbine tragedy every day. It is impossible to protect any student from every other student, and in our futile attempts to do so, we create the monsters we hope to shield our-selves from. However, there is not a student in this school without a definite and strong opinion of what is helping this school. The school’s stationery displays the maxim "schools are for kids." I wonder how many years it’s been since any of us thought about what that means. There are very real problems facing this school, just like any other school in the country. You need go no further than the halls of this school to smell the tragedy brewing.

The student council is reduced to doing nothing more than planning the "semi." The senior service auction got the ax because it "promotes slavery" and "separates the haves from the have-nots." Box City is gone because a few parents were worried some students might have a momentary lapse on Commandments Six and Seven. Many people despise the block, the ubiquitous CAPT rubric, and politically correct doublespeak.

Although singling people out is unproductive, there are members of the staff who are not only unreceptive to suggestions to aid this school, but they actively stifle student opposition to important issues. It all comes down to this one point: Because we live in an imperfect society in an imperfect world, every one of us is guilty of condoning atrocities, whether they are in our school, our community, our country, or our planet.

However blaming others is not the right way to solve problems. One of the world’s greatest philosophers and leaders, Mahatma Gandhi, said, "You must be the change you want to see in the world." I am asking each one of you to be that change.

An unknown monk in 1100 AD. said, "When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town, and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realized that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."

Everything that is disliked about this school stands before us, and it can all be cast off with nothing more than the sweep of a hand. Again and again, we see history changed by the actions of one man. Imagine the power of hundreds.

You can take this as a depressing, morbid message if you want, but my point is positive. With responsibility comes power to change. Every one of us has the power to make this world a better place, to fight the wrong that we see, to better ourselves, and to help others. As we all walk away from this ceremony, do so in realization of the power that each of you has to improve this world. If you think the world is beyond hope, you will color my message as pessimistic. If you believe, as I do, that we all can take action, fight apathy, and improve the lives of our fellow man, you will see this speech instead as a call to action.

If the administration does not see the truth, or is powerless to make the necessary change, then it is the moral responsibility of every student and teacher to do something about it. If the students lack direction, it is the duty of the administration, teachers, and motivated students to find direction for them. If the teachers are having their jobs made more difficult because of school policy, it is the duty of the administration and the students to work together to create a system under which learning can continue unhindered.

James Thurber put it this way, "Let us not look back to the past with anger, nor toward the future with fear, but around with awareness.

I challenge us to examine our lives so that it can never be said again that any of us condoned or caused such things as have transpired here. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. For those of you who will continue to be a part of this school next year, I challenge you to make a difference here. I realize that there is no forum in which your concerns can be voiced; I am asking you to create one. I am asking you to drown out the apathy that has been the chorus of my years here, no matter how difficult a contest it will be. When you see something that is harming your school, challenge it. When you see something that is helping your school, stand behind it. Disapproval of your community is merely an admission that you lack the ambition to craft it, to shape it into the community in which you want to live. Teachers, I challenge you to examine everything you do here and to support those students who are trying to make a difference here. Finally, I challenge the administration to listen to the students, teachers, and parents without giving in to the paranoia that has plagued my years in high school.