SOUTHEAST SENDS FOURTH GRADUATES TO THE WORLD

In a flurry of activity commencement parties, late hours, feverish study, bag packing and car loading the class of 1992 at Southeast Missouri State University is making its way into the world. With the culmination of finals today, many of those 619 men and women who collected undergraduate degrees for the spring semester (along with 55 getting graduate degrees) will be leaving Cape Girardeau. We bid them good luck and hope they remember their stay here fondly.

The ideal university would offer not only a good education and persuasive credentials, but a job upon graduation. No such institution exists, and no guarantees are available anywhere. What the new graduates earned for themselves is a fighting chance in a difficult job market. The bulk of those entering the work force from this juncture began their collegiate educations during a period when America was expanding economically. That they must seek opportunities now in a climate of fiscal restraint and personnel reductions is a considerable and ill-timed burden.

We stand confident that if any school can produce graduates capable of this challenge, Southeast can. The university, already with a solid reputation for turning out talented graduates, has taken numerous steps in recent years to upgrade its standards, enhance its image and strengthen its curriculum and programs. No one who completes degree requirements can accuse Southeast of shortchanging them of an education or a well-rounded university experience. Students with diplomas from this institution are well-prepared to find success in a wide variety of occupations or to continue into professional schools. Southeast does nothing better to promote itself than send forth graduates who don't greet success with surprise.

Beyond the fact that a new graduating class is turned loose on the world, an academic year has come to a close on the hill. A smaller population will inhabit university classrooms this summer, and a vitality the kind youthful enthusiasm provides will be absent from this community. Perhaps that is fitting for the more leisurely months of summer, but we will embrace the return of students in August, with a new class ready for challenges yet revealed.

Congratulations to the graduates of Southeast Missouri State. You've worked hard to get where you are. Keep it up.