Advocate Online
Speaking Out
The Graduation Pledge
Wearing a green ribbon at a college graduation
ceremony may not seem an especially significant gesture on its face, but
its impact could be tremendous. Imagine a world where each year college
graduates commit themselves to selecting or creating workplaces that are
ethically and socially responsible. Imagine a world where employees dedicate
themselves to monitoring the social and environmental effects caused by
their employer’s decisions.
Well, this is an idea whose time has come:
Graduating seniors across the nation are wearing green ribbons—as
are supportive faculty members—to show their dedication to ethical
and socially responsible values in the workplace.
The Graduation Pledge Alliance, founded
in 1987 at Humboldt State University in California, is now taken by students
at nearly 100 colleges across the nation, and the numbers are growing.
Students may recite the pledge as part
of commencement, celebrate its meaning at receptions, or carry it in their
wallets to show their commitment to these values.
In the education program at Manchester
College in Indiana, it is one of our goals to develop graduates who “act
with full awareness of their ethical and legal responsibilities as teachers.”
One way we can help them reach this goal
after they graduate is by introducing them to the Graduation Pledge. Graduating
seniors who adopt the pledge say, “I pledge to explore and take
into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider
and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I
work.”
We hope this encourages our graduates
to question the social and environmental practices of their future employers.
If these questions lead the graduates to look for positions elsewhere,
the employers may be prompted to reflect on their practices.
If the graduates accept the positions,
they will be more cognizant of their own impact on society and the environment.
For the pledge to be meaningful, the faculty
must encourage and support the students. If this is done, the impact of
this Graduation Pledge could be tremendous. It is up to higher education
faculty to introduce its values to our students. We can help develop a
socially conscious citizenry and a better world.
 Korrine
Gust is a faculty member at Manchester College, an Indiana State Education
Association campus chapter co-sponsor, and the state Sponsor's Council
Chairperson.
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