Third-year class president Michael Gonzales's commencement speech to the USC Law Class of 2002:

Good afternoon distinguished faculty, staff, Judge Paez, family, friends, alumni, and of course my fellow classmates. I have the privilege of speaking before you today, and I am honored. As graduating law students, justice in all its forms is a concept we have dealt with for many years. However, do we firmly understand how to implement this simultaneously elusive, yet seemingly clear idea? Today I suggest two vital components to the concept of justice that should never fade from our collective consciousness: humanity and diversity.

Each of us together comprise humanity, and our varying perspectives and experiences bring diversity to our society. Together, humanity and diversity work to promote one another and the greater justice. Thus, as individuals we must strive to promote justice by remembering and respecting the humanity and diversity we are all a part of.

As future leaders of our world, we will be confronted with important decisions throughout our careers. I ask each and every one of us to consider the human consequences of the decisions we will make. We must not forget that behind all our cases and transactions lie human beings, whose lives will be affected, in some way, by the outcomes we construct.

As graduating law students we are among the privileged; empowered to give voice to our ideas and ambitions. Imagine yourself, for a moment, uneducated and poor. How loud would your voice be? Barely audible! Yet, the uneducated and poor comprise the majority of humanity. It's a funny paradox, the majority, UNHEARD!

Many of us may be wondering why the majority lay silent. Precisely because they lack what we have been privileged to receive; an education, the ability to think, the ability to be heard. I urge all of us to use our voices to champion for the cause of humanity. Without the privileged, the educated, the audible, the majorities' stories may never be told. As members of the privileged class, we have a moral obligation to respect and promote the cause of humanity.

In this context these simple lyrics from the band Fugazi could not resonate more truly. "Silence is a dangerous sound, we must keep our eyes open." We must keep our eyes open so that injustices perpetuated against humanity, such as the ethnic cleansing that swept Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s, and the horrible squalor within which the homeless of our own nation persist, will never be allowed to plague the face of our earth again.

We must keep our eyes open so inequities, both in our nation and in others, can be exposed. We must keep our eyes open and use our loud voices to tell the stories of the majority. Most importantly, we must keep our eyes open so that we may work to create a just and equal world.

To create a just and equal world, humanity is not the only cause we must give voice to. Hand in hand with humanity comes diversity. A world that is truly just is both human and diverse.

Today marks a milestone in the history of our law school. For the first time in 101 years USC Law is proud, as am I, to graduate a class comprised of more women than men. This is a reflection of the promotion of diversity held dearly by our great institution. It should be a reflection of the values we will carry with us into our future endeavors, whatever they may be.

Diversity in all its forms-ethnic, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic-must be respected and advanced. As graduates of this law school, one of the most diverse in the nation, it should be our self-imposed obligation to give voice to the cause of diversity throughout our professional careers.

Undoubtedly, diversity has contributed to our current education. Law depends on approaches which are importantly influenced by differences in experience. Without the diversity offered by USC, our education may not have thrived for want of fresh ideas influenced by experiences different from our own. But education is a lifelong process. We must continue to surround ourselves with people of different backgrounds so that we may expand our own minds, as we continue our course through life. Filling our world with diversity will allow for a more robust and fruitful life for ourselves and those around us. I remember walking into USC Law on orientation day. I could not believe my eyes; the diversity I saw among my classmates and future colleagues was impressive and deeply satisfying. I knew I had arrived at an institution that would strengthen my desire for differences and force me to open my mind to new ideas from various viewpoints.

The value of ideas and experience should never be underestimated. Our ideas, thoughts, and desires, shaped by our experiences, construct the world around us. To keep our world from becoming stagnant and complacent, we must labor to promote a greater and more open market place of ideas. To achieve this end, it is our responsibility as graduates of this rich law school to make concerted and conscious efforts to replicate, within our future workplaces, the diversity found inside our school's walls.

Congratulations to each and every one of us. Three long and hard years, a spiritual journey for some, has finally come to an end. Thank you to each of you for making these past three years a memorable, intellectually challenging and interesting experience. Thank you to all my good friends, you are family to me, my home will always be open to you. And to my mother, Mama, gracias. Por sin ti, no estuviera aqui ahoy. Te debo me vida. Te amo. Thank you.