Some did, a few stridently so. But for the most part, speakers kept it about the students.

Here are memorable moments from addresses at California campuses or by Californians.

Kamala Harris, senator from California, Howard University

“Graduates, indeed we have a fight ahead. And it’s not a fight between Democrats and Republicans. It’s not rich versus poor or urban versus rural. This is a fight to define what kind of country we are. It’s a fight to determine what kind of country we will be. And it’s a fight to determine whether we are willing to stand up for our deepest values. Because let’s be clear — we are better than this.”

Kenya Barris, creator of ABC’s “black-ish,” Tufts University

“You have a uniquely proprietary burden of actually being the first graduating class to truly make America great again. I can’t honestly think of a time since the Vietnam War that a graduating class has had more on its shoulders than you all.”

The Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist leader, University of California, San Diego

“You have the opportunity and also responsibility to create a better world, a happier world — no longer violence, no longer this huge gap between rich and poor. You can do that. We elder people may not see that kind of world. But you can see it and you can enjoy.”

Samuel Rodriguez, evangelical preacher, Biola University

“There is no such thing as comfortable Christianity. We are what we tolerate. Moral stagnation always leads to spiritual apathy. And truth must never be sacrificed on the altar of political, cultural or sexual expediency.”