Barclays Center erupted with graduation fever as the Class of 2013 from Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus celebrated its big day by donning caps and gowns to participate in time-honored rites. Later, graduates dangled rolled-up diplomas from pumping fists in triumph.
Misty-eyed relatives, cheering friends, and gratified faculty rooted for the glad grads, who strode proudly up to the glittering platform to receive their degrees from college president David J. Steinberg.
Steinberg, the evening’s keynote speaker, thumbed his nose at media critics who recently questioned the worth of students assuming a financial debt in a climate of declining job prospects.
“The sky is not falling, you are not suckers,” roared the president. “And your peers who dropped out or never started are ensnared in dead-end jobs, with less earning capacity and greater the risk of being downwardly mobile.”
The president ended his remarks by quipping: “May the force be with you.”
Steinberg, Bruce Ratner, the chief executive officer of Forest City Ratner Companies, and Borough President Markowitz all received honorary degrees.
William Curran delivered the valedictorian’s address