STANDING ROOM ONLY CROWD AT SEMO COMMENCEMENT

Public universities like Southeast Missouri State University are "foreign policy assets" that have contributed in large part to the United States' success at home and abroad, said commencement speaker Edward Perkins Saturday at the Show Me Center.

Degrees were conferred on 769 undergraduates and 134 graduate students during the 2 p.m. commencement ceremony.

There was standing room only at the graduation ceremony, which was attended by more than 8,000 people, including the graduates. Overflow rooms were available for family members and friends willing to watch a live video of the event.

Leading the class of undergraduates were 10 students with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. They included Lisa Brown of Perryville, Mo., Melissa Maurer of Cape Girardeau, Philip Redmond of Farmington, Mo., Lance Reinagel of Kelso, Mo., and Timothy Stroder of Jackson, Mo.

Perkins told graduates they should work at the local, state, federal and international levels to secure the rights promised to all Americans in the Constitution. He said graduates should be prepared to address issues like AIDS, business and trade development, and even the racial and economic divisions in the nation.

"We need to thank ourselves we're a revolutionary country, because we're a little better than we would have been otherwise," said Perkins, a former U.S. ambassador who retired as a Career Minister in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1996. He is currently chair professor and executive director of the International Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma.

Economic, social and political relations with China and the countries of Africa also must be addressed, as they will shape global development in coming years. Americans must also make sure they understand the reasons behind the creation and continued existence of the United Nations, Perkins said.

"The challenge is to make sure you understand the United Nations, the Security Council and what it can do," he said. "You graduates are embarked on a path of never-ending learning. The key is how you're going to use it."

Neal Boyd of Sikeston, Mo., performed the alma mater during the ceremony. Boyd, a lyric tenor who recently debuted at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, also received a bachelor of arts degree in speech communication Saturday.