Pulitzer Prize winner William Safire tells grads to "be doers, not critics"

William Safire, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times, told the graduating class of 2001 that success can be theirs if they heed the lessons of the wise people who came before them.

JMU President Linwood H. Rose conferred degrees on 2,632 undergraduates and 165 graduate-level students before 20,000 parents and family members at the spring commencement ceremony in Bridgeforth Stadium.

Safire gave the graduates what he termed "views you can use" from his long career as a writer, commentator and Washington, D.C., insider.

"I hope these views will help you climb the greasy pole of success," he said. Citing the adage, "If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours," Safire told graduates and families, "In a real practical sense, two-way back scratching is among the best ways to get along and achieve success."

Urging graduates to weigh the costs of blind loyalty, Safire recounted a quote attributed to a Franklin D. Roosevelt speech writer: "When the water reaches the upper level, follow the rats."

The Pulitzer Prize winner also implored graduates to be active and heed constructive criticism, saying, "Remember that it's not the critics, but the doers who make the caravan move onward."

Class of 2001 graduate and senior speaker Michael Basgier of Virginia Beach reminded classmates to always remember JMU. "Some of the finest lessons we've learned, we've learned here. For that, we should always be grateful."

Safire, who writes political commentary from The New York Time's Washington bureau, won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1978.

In addition, Safire writes a weekly column, On Language, about grammar, usage and etymology for The New York Times Magazine.

Safire is the author of several books, including the novels Freedom, Full Disclosure and Sleeper Spy; a dictionary, The New Language of Politics; and three anthologies of quotations.

By Charles Culbertson