December 18

"The great French Marshal Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree-The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshal replied, "In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon."

John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963-from Address at Berkeley Memorial Stadium, March 23, 1962.Kennedy acknowledges the contribution students and graduates had made 100 years after the founding of Berkeley and the University of California system; and urges the students to work to develop the world which is to be a 100 years in the future.-"...I am delighted to be here on this occasion for though it is the 94th anniversary of the Charter, in a sense this is the 100th anniversary. For this university and so many other universities across our country owe their birth to the most extraordinary piece of legislation this country has ever adopted, and that is the Morrill Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in the darkest and most uncertain days of the Civil War, which set before the country the opportunity to build the great land grant Colleges of which this is so distinguished a part. Six years later, this university obtained its Charter. In its first graduating class it included a future Governor of California, a future Congressman, a judge, a State assemblyman, a clergyman, a lawyer, a doctor--all in a graduating class of 12 students. This college, therefore, from its earliest beginnings, has recognized, and its graduates have recognized, that the purpose of education is not merely to advance the economic self-interest of its graduates... Prince Bismarck once said, "One third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany. I do not know which third of students are here today, but I am confident that I am talking to the future leaders of this State and country who recognize their responsibility to the public interest...As we press forward on every front to realize a flexible world order, the role of the university becomes ever more important, both as a reservoir of ideas and as a repository of the long view of the shore dimly seen...In its light we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time. I am reminded of the story of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied: "In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon." Today, a world of knowledge--a world of cooperation--a just and lasting peace--may be years away. But we have no time to lose. Let us plant our trees this afternoon.