<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2912" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The speech elicited a very emotional
response from the audience. There were boos and cheers and </SPAN><SPAN
DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">some offended adults even walked out, which is
too bad because they</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">probably needed the advice more than
the students, who for the most part</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">appreciated the
address.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">See what you think.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Rob Cornell's address to Corvallis
High School Class of 2006:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Good Evening and a Spartan welcome;
bienvenidos to all. I am deeply moved</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">and honored that you have chosen me
to share this milestone in your life</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">journey. The moments we have shared,
as students, teachers and friends</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">have shaped and defined who we are …
and I love who you are. In you, I see</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">warmth, compassion, strength,
integrity, playfulness and joy. In you, I</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">see hope. I only wish we, my
generation, could have given you an easier</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">road to travel. We owe you an
apology for leaving you wars in Afghanistan</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">and Iraq, global warming, a massive
national debt, an Earth that has been</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">plundered, a toxic environment,
corrupt politics, corporate greed and an</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">increasingly polarized
country.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The French historian Alexis de
Tocqueville, a champion of liberty and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">democracy in the early 1800s, once
said: “America is great because she is</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">good. If America ever ceases to be
good, America will cease to be great.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Consider if you will the following
points:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America have a policy
of pre-emptive war? War is a brutal and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">barbaric way to solve a problem.
Unprovoked, we attacked a sovereign</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">country with the headline “shock and
awe.” That headline should have read</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">“death and destruction.” One of the
latest justifications of the war is</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">“We are fighting terrorists there so
we don't have to fight them here.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">That means we Americans are using
Iraqis as human shields. Conservative</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">estimates put the Iraqi civilian
death toll at about 40,000 for our war.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America have policies
that ignore longstanding international</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">laws such as the Geneva Conventions
— policies that condone torture and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">extraordinary rendition and allow
lengthy imprisonment without rights?</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America, the land of
freedom and equality, deny that freedom</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">based on race, gender or sexual
preference?</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America allow wealth to
accumulate in the hands of a few</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">while many go hungry — and then pass
tax cuts and laws that strengthen</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">this disturbing trend?</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Politicians and corporate
spokespersons argue that the average American is</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">doing very well. As a mathematician,
I cringe when I hear the word</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">“average” used in this way. If you
were standing with one leg immersed in</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">a bucket of liquid oxygen and the
other in a roaring fire, a statistician</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">would tell you that, on average, the
temperature was just fine.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Look — Sean Hunter just pulled out
his calculator. I can see him thinking,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">‘Let's see ... If we consider the
specific gravity and density of oxygen</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">at 1 atmospheric pressure, Mr.
Cornell, that average would …' Sean, put</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">away your calculator … The point is,
there is rising inequality in</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">American's economic well-being. The
top 10 percent of Americans own about</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">70 percent of the nation's wealth
while the bottom 50 percent — one half</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">of America — owns only 3 percent.
Sarah McLachlan, in her song “World on</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Fire,” sings “The more we take, the
less we become. The fortune of one man</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">means less for some.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America support
maximizing profits from our planet's</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">resources regardless of
environmental degradation? Corporations export</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">factories and jobs to Third World
countries, exploiting workers and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">causing great harm to local
environments, at times receiving tax breaks</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">for doing so. Corporate farming
practices may keep food prices low, but</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">cheap food has a price. That price
is being paid by the horrible suffering</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">of animals and the catastrophic
damage done to your planet's land and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">seas.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Would a good America have a
government that seems to be more interested in</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">serving the needs of big business
than the needs of the individual? The</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">number of registered lobbyists in
Washington, D.C., increased from 16,342</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">in 2000 to 34,785 last year. That is
65 lobbyists for each member of</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Congress. No wonder oil companies
are given huge new tax breaks at a time</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">of record profits and credit card
companies are helping to write new</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">bankruptcy laws.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Enron could not have perpetrated its
energy scams without the help of new</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">legislation enacted by our elected
officials. Many agencies, created to</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">protect public interests, are now
headed by former industry lobbyists.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Has America ceased to be great? It's
a question worth asking and a</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">discussion that needs to take place.
Alexis de Tocqueville also observed</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">that it is easier for people to
accept a simple lie than a complex truth.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In this day of the 30-second sound
bite, you are fed many simple</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">statements. You must decide their
degrees of truth. Quite often, these</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">statements take the form of “talking
points” repeated over and over and</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">over and over … Most minds like
these short, often repeated phrases. They</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">require little effort and often
reinforce our belief that America is good.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">What are the complex truths? I am
not telling. Finding them is your last</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">homework assignment, and it is not
an easy one. The media, by all</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">accounts, is controlled by 4 or 5
major corporations. The next battle —</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">one that is currently being fought —
is over the freedom and flow of</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">information on the Internet. I hope
you will seek an in-depth source of</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">news that pursues truth and presents
all sides of any issue. Only then can</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">you decide for yourself — and this
will take much longer than 30 seconds —</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">what parts of America are good and
what parts need to be fixed.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I've always told my students that
the most important thing they can take</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">from my class is confidence in their
ability to solve problems. The</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">solution to any problem, regardless
of how insurmountable it may seem,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">begins with the smallest step, the
smallest of beginnings. Take that step</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">and see where it leads.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I have painted for you a world in
crisis, but it is not a world without</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">hope. Crisis is opportunity. Even
the smallest moment of your lives is an</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">opportunity for you to shape the
world around you. In the words of</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtful, committed</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">has.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The way in which you live your lives
impacts the world every day. You must</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">make conscious, informed and healthy
choices with an awareness of how</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">those choices affect the people and
environment that surrounds you.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Be an educated consumer. Eating
local organic foods and walking or riding</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">your bike more will not only
contribute to the solution of several crises</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">we are facing, but will lead to
better health.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Take an active part in your
government. Be an engaged voter and citizen.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Know the issues. Give voice to your
concerns. Participate in civil</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">disobedience when necessary. It's
your country. Don't accept the argument</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">“That's just the way things are
done.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">There may be great sorrow in the
world today, but there is also great joy.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Each of us has the ability to find
peace within ourselves. Meditate, pray</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">or find another way to have quiet
reflective moments. Express yourself</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">creatively. Find work that feeds
your heart and soul as well as your</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">pocketbook. Math is not the most
important part of your life. Breathing</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">is. Learn to breathe.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">In closing, I'd like to share a
brief story about Mahatma Gandhi: In one</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">of his many travels, he was asked by
a reporter at a train station if he</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">had any message he would like to
share with his people. He did not</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">hesitate as he replied “My life is
my message.”</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">May your life be a message of love,
joy and peace.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Thank you.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN DEFANGED_STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I love
you.</SPAN></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>