Graduation Commitment

In 1987 Humboldt State University, California, initiated the Graduation Pledge Alliance. It quickly spread to 25-30 schools. However, interest declined until 1996 when Manchester College, Indiana, became the national headquarters. Manchester College is affiliated with the Church of the Brethren.

The Graduation Pledge is a nationwide initiative to encourage graduating college seniors to explore and consider the social and environmental consequences of any job they hold or lifestyle they pursue, and to improve these aspects in their personal lives and in any organization for which they work. Instituting the Pledge gets at the heart of a good education and can benefit society as a whole. Not only does it remind students of the ethical implications of the knowledge and training they received but it can help lead socially-conscious citizenry to create a better world.

The undergraduate class officers have tailored the language of the pledge to fit EMU’s mission. In so doing, they have renamed it the Graduation Commitment. The graduates who have taken the commitment are wearing green ribbons today. For more information, check the web: http://www.graduationpledge.org/
Below is the Graduation Commitment.

I commit myself to a lifestyle of social and environmental integrity and will seek to improve these aspects of the community in which I work.