Terrible as that event was, I think something good came of it for my generation. The political bickering about Kennedy policies, and there had been plenty of that, ceased abruptly, and people talked mainly about the ideals for which he stood. Many members of my generation were inspired to achievement, not just in public service but in industry as well, because we were forced by that tragedy to think of our responsibility to pass civilization on to the next generation.

My grandparents immigrated to America in search of a better life for their children than they had had in Europe, and their children, my parents, enjoyed that better life. My father was in the European theater during World War II, and I was born after that. I think it was when Kennedy died that I realized that they were trying to leave the world a better place than the place they had inherited, and it would be the job of my generation to do the same for our children.

I’ve witnessed the greatest technological progress of any generation in human history. But Tuesday’s events have shaken the confidence of many members of my generation that we will have done as good a job passing humane ideals and a civilized society on to our children as our parents did for us. The jury will be out on that for a long time; I don’t know the answer.

But I hope you will take these terrible events, occurring at the beginning of the academic year, as an opportunity to think about why you want an education, and what you hope to accomplish by getting it. Think about that as you choose courses, as you decide what field you want to pursue as a concentration, how to use your electives. It’s hard to find an occasion to think through these big issues; perhaps these terrible days will turn out to be good ones for you if they help you think about why you are here and what you want to do with your lives.

OK, let’s get down to work.