March 21, 2025 | Vol. 54, Issue 6

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Tufts University’s Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony: “Loudly! Step Up and Speak Up”

Amina J. Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, delivered the commencement address to the Tufts University Class of 2023 and their guests on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus on May 21th. The university conferred 3,730 degrees.

In her speech, Mohammed acknowledged the challenges faced by the current generation, but expressed hope for the future and encouraged the graduates to “step up and speak up – loudly.” Mohammed continued: “Question stereotypes. Don’t just blindly accept the received narratives. My entire career, indeed, my whole life has been about transcending differences and defying the stereotypes…We should recognize that yes, our world is going through a tough time right now, but the progress made in the last 75 years is enormous. And our potential as one global family to turn this turmoil into opportunity is huge.”  Mary Chin, CEO of AACA/ SAMPAN, received an Honorary Doctorate. Other honorary degree recipients included:  Louis Fiore, D62, who served on the board of Advisors at the School of Dental Medicine and endowed a scholarship at the school together with his wife; Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to serve as Librarian of Congress; James McGovern, representative of the Second District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997; Alan Solomont, A70, A80P, who served as Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life from 2014 to 2021; and Kehinde Wiley, the first African American artist to paint an official U.S. presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Members of the Class of 2023 cheer during Phase I of Tufts University’s 167th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2023. (Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)

Related articles

Chase Bank opens Chinatown branch on Chinese New Year’s Eve

Chase Bank’s new Chinatown branch celebrated its grand opening on Jan. 24, featuring a ribbon cutting ceremony and lion dance. Branch manager Cheng Ji chose the date because Chinese New Year’s eve symbolizes new beginnings and great things happening. Chase has opened 12 new branches in Boston in the past year and is planning to add more than 60 locations in New England by 2023. Regional manager Roxann Cooke explained Chase is not just a transactional business, but focuses on […]

What the U.S. Can Learn From the Tragedies in Libya, Morocco

While they are geographically close, Morocco and Libya are very different countries. And the tragedies that hit both recently hold some hard lessons for us all. In early September, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco. Days later, Storm Daniel, a cyclone, made landfall in Libya. Dams along the eastern port city of Derna broke and 39 million cubic yards of water flooded the area. Storm Daniel is the deadliest Mediterranean cyclone in recorded history: Over 4,000 […]

404 Not Found

404 Not Found


nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)