The class of 2025 took their final walk across the Queen’s campus, marking the end of some academic journeys and the beginning of new chapters.
As Winter Term wrapped up and campus quieted down for the summer, a wave of excitement spurred across campus on May 22 and 23, when graduates and their families came together in Grant Hall for annual convocation ceremonies.
Addressing the graduates, Chancellor Shelagh Rogers captured the spirit of the event in her remarks. “Convocation is about celebration. It’s about honouring [the students]. It’s about optimism and hope for the future embodied by you, our graduating students, so that we can fully reflect on everything that has led to this moment,” Rogers said.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Patrick Deane, echoed this sentiment, highlighting that out of the many convocations he has attended, this one stands out due to the ‘trials and tribulations’ many graduate students had to endure—citing how the COVID 19 pandemic upended the idea of predictability while adding the effects of the pandemic on the economy and other aspects of the world are still lingering.
“You’re graduating at a time when it’s potentially dangerous to presume or to take for granted that the arc of history will follow any kind of predictable, let alone positive trajectory in the foreseeable future,” Deane said.
He concluded by encouraging graduates to uphold the values of the University while also remaining critical and challenging those values as they move into the real world.
“You’re graduating in a ceremony steeped in history and surrounded by people who have contributed to that history by taking on the intellectual and social agency […] it’s important to feel and value the past and the shared values and mission of this university, but it’s equally important to question and challenge that inheritance,” Deane said.
As part of their graduation ceremony, the Law class of 2025 saw Queen’s award an honorary Doctor of Laws to Marie Henein, a prominent Canadian criminal lawyer best known for defending clients in high-profile cases, including the 2016 trial of former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, who was acquitted of four counts of sexual assault.
Henein accepted the honour but downplayed its significance in her speech to graduates. “Here’s the truth, these awards are kind recognitions, but they don’t have a lasting impact,” Henein said, emphasizing that receiving such an award was nothing compared to the achievement of the graduates on completing their degrees from law school.
Alongside Henein, Queen’s will give out four additional honourary degrees during June’s convocation to economist Nancy Olewiler, business executive William Young, telecommunications engineer Veena Rawat, and artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle.
While the ceremonies remained celebratory, signs of ongoing student activism were still present. Over the past year, Queen’s has been a site of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. During convocation, several graduates wore keffiyehs, pro-Palestine ribbons, and solidarity badges—quiet gestures of political expression.
The next round of convocations will take place between June 24 to 27.
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