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CNN Live Event/Special
Cheney Delivers Commencement Address
Aired May 18, 2003 - 16:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just want to let people take a look at Vice President Dick Cheney, who is handling a commencement address at the University of Missouri at Columbia. We're going to listen in for a moment.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... members of the class of 2003.
Let me thank you all for the warm welcome this afternoon. I'm pleased to be in the great city of Columbia, in the center of Missouri, and to be part of this commencement ceremony today. And it's an honor to congratulate each and every one of you and to bring good wishes to the entire class from President George W. Bush.
I also want to congratulate all of the men and women who devote their professional lives to this institution year in and year out, the professors and the faculty members of the University of Missouri. And I join the graduates in thanking the people who know you best, who believe in you most, and whose sacrifices made this day possible, the parents of the class of 2003.
(APPLAUSE)
I know you leave today with indelible memories, the tests and term papers, the many days in classrooms and labs, Shakespeare's pizza. The comforts of Shearer's (ph) Hall, and all those hours circling the campus looking for a place to park.
After these years of hard effort, something tells me you're not all that excited to hear another lecture before you leave, so we'll keep this short. You're graduating from one of America's great universities. At its founding, in 1839, this was the only public institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River. From those early days to this hour, alumni, scholars at the University of Missouri have made vital contributions in commerce and science, in agriculture and in arts. And in the defense of our country.
I cannot let the occasion pass today without noting that 28 Misu (ph) students serving in the National Guard and Reserves were activated this year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
They can always be proud of their role in the great victory for America, for the civilized world and for the cause of freedom. Many of this university's most accomplished alumni hold degrees from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. As a Westerner, having grown up with a father who spent his entire career with a solar conservation service, I have great respect for an institution that takes seriously the responsibilities of environmental stewardship.
Many of you will go into fields that involve those responsibilities very directly. Fellow citizens will look to you to set a standard for how we should treat the land and life around us.
Armed with the skills and values taught here, I'm confident that you will keep that standard high. And I know that with your energy and idealism and talent, your generation will do great things for America and help change this world for the better.
COLLINS: Listening for just a moment there to Vice President Dick Cheney at the commencement address at the University of Missouri at Columbia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 18, 2003 - 16:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Just want to let people take a look at Vice President Dick Cheney, who is handling a commencement address at the University of Missouri at Columbia. We're going to listen in for a moment.
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... members of the class of 2003.
Let me thank you all for the warm welcome this afternoon. I'm pleased to be in the great city of Columbia, in the center of Missouri, and to be part of this commencement ceremony today. And it's an honor to congratulate each and every one of you and to bring good wishes to the entire class from President George W. Bush.
I also want to congratulate all of the men and women who devote their professional lives to this institution year in and year out, the professors and the faculty members of the University of Missouri. And I join the graduates in thanking the people who know you best, who believe in you most, and whose sacrifices made this day possible, the parents of the class of 2003.
(APPLAUSE)
I know you leave today with indelible memories, the tests and term papers, the many days in classrooms and labs, Shakespeare's pizza. The comforts of Shearer's (ph) Hall, and all those hours circling the campus looking for a place to park.
After these years of hard effort, something tells me you're not all that excited to hear another lecture before you leave, so we'll keep this short. You're graduating from one of America's great universities. At its founding, in 1839, this was the only public institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River. From those early days to this hour, alumni, scholars at the University of Missouri have made vital contributions in commerce and science, in agriculture and in arts. And in the defense of our country.
I cannot let the occasion pass today without noting that 28 Misu (ph) students serving in the National Guard and Reserves were activated this year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
They can always be proud of their role in the great victory for America, for the civilized world and for the cause of freedom. Many of this university's most accomplished alumni hold degrees from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. As a Westerner, having grown up with a father who spent his entire career with a solar conservation service, I have great respect for an institution that takes seriously the responsibilities of environmental stewardship.
Many of you will go into fields that involve those responsibilities very directly. Fellow citizens will look to you to set a standard for how we should treat the land and life around us.
Armed with the skills and values taught here, I'm confident that you will keep that standard high. And I know that with your energy and idealism and talent, your generation will do great things for America and help change this world for the better.
COLLINS: Listening for just a moment there to Vice President Dick Cheney at the commencement address at the University of Missouri at Columbia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
