Hillary Clinton tells Yale seniors they need resiliency to meet democratic ‘crisis’

New Haven, Connecticut - Sunday, May 20, 2018: Yale University's Class Day concludes at Woolsey Hall in New Haven as the Yale College class of 2018, faculty and guests wave the Yale Handkerchief during the singing of the last line of "Bright College Years," a custom inaugurated by the Class of 1984 less New Haven, Connecticut - Sunday, May 20, 2018: Yale University's Class Day concludes at Woolsey Hall in New Haven as the Yale College class of 2018, faculty and guests wave the Yale Handkerchief during the ... more Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 87 Caption Close Hillary Clinton tells Yale seniors they need resiliency to meet democratic ‘crisis’ 1 / 87 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — The Yale University class of 2018 has prepared itself to meet the challenges facing American democracy, and it will need that resilience to take on those who would divide the country, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told graduating seniors Sunday.

Clinton, a member of the Yale Law School class of 1973, never mentioned the man who defeated her in the 2016 presidential race. But she made it clear that there are those who use tactics that are “a core feature of authoritarianism.”

“Right now we’re living through a full-fledged crisis in our democracy,” she said during her Class Day speech. “No, there are not tanks in the streets, but what’s happening right now goes to the heart of who we are as a nation, and I say this not as a Democrat who lost an election but as an American afraid of losing a country.

“There are certain things that are so essential they should transcend politics. Waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, de-legitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity. And attacking truth and reason, evidence and facts should alarm us all.”

Clinton, who also gave the Class Day address in 2001 when she was U.S. senator from New York, spoke in Woolsey Hall. The festivities were moved from Old Campus because of a forecast of rain, but sunshine streamed through the windows.

She has made numerous visits to Yale since her days at the Law School, where she met her husband, President Bill Clinton. She also noted her friendships with Yale Law School faculty Jake Sullivan and Harold Koh and said, “I have a very dedicated campaign intern here graduating, David Shimer, the class of 2018.”

The first woman to be nominated for president by a major party, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the Electoral College, 304-227, although she won almost 2.87 million more popular votes than the president, according to the Federal Election Commission, with a total of 65.85 million.

Clinton at first made light of her electoral loss. “I am thrilled for all of you, even the three of you who live in Michigan and didn’t request your absentee ballots in time,” she said. She also poked fun at the investigation of Russian meddling in the election. It is Class Day tradition for the seniors to wear silly, imaginative headgear and Clinton held up a Russian fur cap, saying, “I brought a hat too — a Russian hat. Look, I mean, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!”

But she turned serious when she said that the 1,360 seniors were “graduating at one of the most tumultuous times in the history of our country — and I say that as a graduate of the ’60s.”

Reciting the contrasts in the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” Clinton said he “could have been describing the ricocheting highs and lows of this moment in America. We’re living through a time when fundamental rights, civic virtue, freedom of the press, even facts and reason are under assault like never before. But we are also witnessing an era of new moral conviction, civic engagement and a sense of devotion to our democracy and country.”

And the members of the class of 2018 “have already demonstrated the character and courage that will help you navigate this tumultuous moment and, most of all, you’ve demonstrated resilience,” which she referred to in three ways: personal, community and democratic resilience.

As for her own resilience after losing the election, Clinton said, “Let me get this out of the way. No, I’m not over it. I still think about the 2016 election, I still regret the mistakes I made. I still think though that understanding what happened in such a weird and wild election in American history will help us defend our democracy in the future. Whether you’re right, left, center, Republican, Democrat, independent, vegetarian, whatever. We all have a stake in that. So today as a person I’m OK but as an American I’m concerned.”

She called “community resilience” “something that this class has embodied during your time on campus, literally at times, like in the March of Resilience your sophomore year. It was the biggest demonstration in the history of the school — that’s 300-plus years. Led by women of color, supported by students and faculty determined to make Yale a more just, equitable and safe place for everyone. Many of you have said that march was a defining moment in your college experience, and that says something about this class and your values.”

That march and rally on Cross Campus ignited by emails deemed to be racially insensitive by the head and associate head of Silliman College, numbered 1,000, with students demanding a more inclusive campus.

One of the planners of the march was Ivetty Estepan, who was awarded the Nakanishi Prize Sunday, given to two seniors “who, while maintaining high academic achievement, have provided exemplary leadership to enhancing race or ethnic relations at Yale College. The other winner was Haylee Makana Kushi, a native Hawaiian who was president of the Association of Native Americans at Yale and revived a tradition, the Yale Powwow, after a 10-year lapse.

Clinton said bringing people together will be important “because the truth is, our country is more polarized than ever. We have sorted ourselves into opposing camps, and that divides how we see the world.” In addition to politics, “the divides on race and religion are starker than ever before,” she said.

“Now I’m not going to get political here, but this isn’t simply a both-sides problem,” Clinton continued. “The radicalization of American politics hasn’t been symmetrical. There are leaders in our country who blatantly incite people with hateful rhetoric, who fear change, who see the world in zero-sum terms, so that if others are gaining, well, they must be losing. That’s a recipe for polarization and conflict.”

She said that it will take “radical empathy” to “reach across divides of race, class and politics. To try to see the world through the eyes of people very different from ourselves. … To try to recapture a sense of community and common humanity.”

She said the graduates had experienced a classmate’s father being deported, black students feeling discriminated against and hearing about continued school shootings.

She said the country needs “democratic resilience” that “starts with standing up for truth, facts and reason, not just in the classroom and on campus but every day in our lives. It means speaking out about the vital role of higher education in our society to create opportunity and equality. It means calling out actual fake news when we see it, and supporting great journalists and their reporting, maybe even by subscribing to a newspaper.”

And most of all, she said, it means voting in every election.

Clinton said that when Barack Obama was elected the first black president in 2008, “It was such a hopeful moment. And yet in some ways this moment feels even more hopeful because this is a battle-hardened hope, tempered by loss and clear-eyed about mistakes. We are standing up to policies that hurt people. We are standing up for all people being treated with dignity. We are doing the work to translate those feelings into action.”

She mentioned the response of Parkland, Florida, high school students after 17 were shot down, more women running for office and winning and the increased rejection of sexual harassment and misconduct.

“At this moment in our history, our country depends on every citizen believing in the power of their actions, even when that power is invisible and their efforts feel like an uphill battle,” she said.

Turning again to Yale, she mentioned how two residential colleges are now named after women, including one “celebrating one of Yale’s own hidden figures, at Grace Hopper College,” honoring a naval officer and early computer programmer.

“Those changes didn’t happen on their own,” Clinton said. “You made them possible. You kept fighting. You kept the faith. And because of that, in the end, you changed Yale as much as Yale changed you. And now it’s time for you to make your mark on the world.”

Outside of Woolsey Hall afterward, Clinton posed with seniors for selfies and signed autographs. Students were pleased by her message.

“I thought it was fascinating,” said Beckett Lee of Sacramento, California, who pointed out that Clinton quoted Republicans, U.S. Sen. John McCain and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. “It’s not an indicator that she’s maintaining one party line” but she attempted “to try and bring everybody together … as an American who was concerned for the country.”

Christopher Williams-Lopez of Atlanta said, “It was very inspiring. I think a lot of what she said she related to students here today. … She passed the torch to the class of 2018 to go out and change the world.”

Katherine Oh of New York City said that, rather than appearing as “an untouchable figure,” “in the end she was able to speak to us as a fellow human being. Being able to relate to such a prominent figure made you less scared about the future and she was just really inspiring.”

On Monday, the seniors will join Yale’s graduate and professional schools’ students on Old Campus for commencement, when honorary degrees also will be awarded. Traditionally there is no commencement speaker, although an exception was made in 2001, the last time Clinton spoke at Class Day, when then-President George W. Bush spoke because he was given an honorary degree. Bush graduated from Yale in 1968.

The Yale Daily News reported Sunday the university inadvertently released a list of 10 honorees, including actress Angela Bassett.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382.