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Civil Rights Leader Coretta Scott King at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.: "I believe the dramatic increases in voter registration we have recently seen provide hope that we can begin to turn this nation around. When we make politics a crusade, politicians will begin to understand that they must serve all of the people and not just a select few. When we make politics a crusade, we can put a stop to this insane, suicidal nuclear arms race which is destroying our economy and terrifying our children. When we make politics a crusade, we can make the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution the law of the land. We can elect a new generation of political leaders committed to creating a society free from race and sex discrimination."
Psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prizewinner Robert Coles at Beloit College in Wisconsin: "The people who gave us America were people who stood up and said, 'I believe what I believe, and I'm ready to die for that faith.' Abraham Lincoln did not go to Gettysburg having commissioned a poll to find out what would sell in Gettysburg. There were no people with percentages for him, cautioning him about this group or that group or what they found in exit polls a year earlier. When will we have the courage of Lincoln? The only thing that makes this life worth living is some kind of moral self-respect, which in turn connects with what we believe in."
Joan Bennett Kennedy at Manhattanviile College in Purchase, N.Y.: "The most important thing I can share with you is the personal knowledge that decisions are not irrevocable, that choices do come back, sometimes in different forms and in different ways, but they can be remade. And there is time, time to shape a balance between family and friends, work and career. Life is not only knowing what you want but what you'll settle for."
King Juan Carlos of Spain at Harvard: "Nineteen ninety-two will be the 500th anniversary of one of the most important happenings in human history: the arrival in America of the three Castilian caravels chartered by my ancestors, the Catholic monarchs, and commanded by Christopher Columbus. It is not so much a historic commemoration as a horizon on which together we must fix our sights. Nobody can deny that there are enormous and highly complex problems in Hispanic America. But there are new leaders today who are determined to tackle the most intractable of them. An example of an important achievement in this respect is the restoration of democratic institutions in Argentina, which has been a cause for rejoicing among all the Hispanic nations. There is an obvious need for dialogue between the two Americas, a dialogue that would be beneficial for both of them, and, in fact, for the entire world."