Blocker speaks at 2005 convocation (Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus.)

First year students participated yesterday in the 91st Opening Convocation, featuring Rotunda Passage and a ceremony inside McFarlin Auditorium.

Students came through Dallas Hall and down the front steps to a walkway lined with university alumni and flags representing the home states and nations of the Class of 2009. The class comes from 46 states plus the District of Columbia and 26 countries.

Students then made their way inside McFarlin for a program that featured multiple speakers with different suggestions for the years ahead.

Student body president Liz Healy told first-years “this is now your university and it is up to you to determine the future of the university.”

She also encouraged students to get involved during their time at SMU.

“It is up to us to make the most of our college experience.”

Robert Van Kemper, president of the Faculty Senate, told students that their professors would be one of their greatest resources.

“If you combine all of the teaching experience of the faculty together, it would be over 10,000 years of experience,” Kemper said.

University President R. Gerald Turner introduced the featured speaker, new provost Robert Blocker, by saying “please join me in welcoming a fellow rookie to the campus.”

Provost Blocker’s speech, entitled “A New Chapter,” focused on broadening perspectives and being open to new ideas.

After asking students what the autobiographical part of this time in their lives will be, Blocker said there are three areas that will shape people. The first is achieving a global perspective. He mentioned a story from the Gospel of Luke that says when much is given much is expected in return. Therefore, students should take advantage of everything that they have, including access to the education SMU can offer.

He also said that compassion, tolerance and a willingness to feel others’ pain is essential in widening one’s horizons.

The second area that shapes people are the past experiences that they have had, claimed Blocker. However, he cautioned his audience not to cling to these experiences. “The greatest threat to development is an addiction to the past.”

He said students should go outside their comfort zones and take a chance to experience something new.

Core values are the final factor in shaping a person. Blocker asked students “what do you believe with all your hearts?” He said they should not expect their values to stay static, but rather to develop and mature through the years.

Blocker mentioned the dilemma of the minimum wage worker who is now dealing with rising gas prices and asked students what they would do in their place. He said that being open-minded is essential to strengthening core values.

He concluded by telling students to start imagining and writing the new chapter of their life but offered a cautionary warning.

“Remember, the chapter you are writing has no delete button,” Blocker said.