At Rutgers-Camden, graduates hear passionate messages, one in song

As more than 1,700 students at Rutgers-Camden graduated Thursday, a civil rights lawyer encouraged them to change the world, while a rock star urged them - in song - to "touch the sky."

Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., called for a national dialogue on race and exhorted students to follow their change-the-world ideals.

Jon Bon Jovi, the New Jersey rocker, underscored that message with remarks about his philanthropy - focused on homelessness and food security, including in Camden and Philadelphia - and performing "Reunion," a song he wrote especially for the 1,749 students in the Rutgers-Camden Class of 2015.

"Love your life / learn to laugh / dare to dance / touch the sky," Bon Jovi sang. "Take pictures each step of the way / Make this the best of the rest of your days / Go start your revolution / And I'll see you at the reunion."

The graduating class consisted of 1,301 who received bachelor's degrees, 155 law degrees, and 293 other graduate degrees.

Bon Jovi received an honorary doctor of letters degree, with Rutgers-Camden chancellor Phoebe Haddon noting the work his Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has done.

"Your name is synonymous with energy, aspiration, and optimism," Haddon told Bon Jovi during the commencement ceremony at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden.

The musician's philanthropic work in Camden has included supporting the Joseph's House homeless shelter and other groups. In Red Bank, Monmouth County, his foundation opened the JBJ Soul Kitchen.

That focus on homelessness came about by chance in 2006, Bon Jovi said, when he was staying in Philadelphia "on one bitter cold night" and saw a man sleeping outside.

Similarly, he said, students should be open to opportunities.

"Life is a long, bumpy road," he said. "That makes for an exciting ride. Choose a direction, and if the road turns, turn. . . . It's OK to map out your future, but do it in pencil."

That echoed remarks by Stevenson, an honorary doctor of laws recipient, who urged the students to be willing to get uncomfortable in order to effect change.

"I believe you'll be able to change the world when you let the ideas in your mind be fueled by the conviction in your heart," Stevenson said.

After growing up in an era of segregation - attending a "colored school," he told the graduates - Stevenson graduated from Harvard's law and government schools and began a law career that has included efforts to clear innocent death-row prisoners and arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

At a time when issues of race, justice, poverty, and equality are at the fore of the public consciousness, Stevenson's remarks struck a chord with the crowd, which applauded him at several points.

Civic engagement has long been an important part of Rutgers-Camden's mission, Stevenson noted.

And then, continuing his passionate address, Stevenson called for a better understanding of racial issues in America.

"I believe we need to change the narrative about race," he said. "This country has never dealt with its history of racial inequality. I believe we actually have to talk about slavery in America, because we've never had that conversation."

"For me, the great evil of American slavery was not involuntary servitude. . . . The great evil of American slavery was the narrative of racial difference that it created," Stevenson said.

"I don't believe that slavery ended in 1865," he said. "I think it just evolved. It turned into decades of violence and terror."

But Stevenson said he was hopeful, and his message to graduates, who have spent years studying in the city of Camden, was that they could change the world they were entering.

"I believe that hope is the friend of justice," he said. "I also believe that injustice prevails where hopelessness persists. Hope is essential to changing the world."

Those messages - similar, though not the same - resonated with Lauren Gehling, 32, who became an alumna of Rutgers-Camden twice over after receiving her M.B.A. this year. She earned a bachelor's degree in 2005.

"Seeing two different walks of life accomplishing so much really gives you that feeling of empowerment and feeling that you can do anything," she said.

"No matter how small of a part you think you're going to play, just do it and you'll make an impact in someone's life, which can have an effect on more people's lives," Gehling said, summarizing her takeaway from the two speeches.