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Ten Commencement Speakers You Wish You'd Had

These ten speakers inspired but still kept it real with their audiences, making their graduation speeches memorable years after they were given.


Graduation is an exciting time, but let's face it: Commencement speeches aren't always memorable. A completely unscientific poll of the GOOD office revealed that almost none of us recall our college commencement speakers, or what they said to us (although we suspect it was something like, "You've worked hard! Yay!"). So here are 10 commencement speakers—and their inspiring, funny, and just plain on-point words of wisdom—that we wish we'd heard on graduation day.

1. Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005: Jobs hits all the right notes in this speech, in which he shares his own humble upbringings and reflects on his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He told the crowd, "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

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"Human Sexuality" Class Is Too Hot for Northwestern

There will be no more live sex demonstrations at Northwestern University—and no more Human Sexuality class at all, in fact.


After 20 years on campus, one of the most popular classes at Northwestern University, human sexuality, is canceled. In February, professor John Michael Bailey caused a national controversy by hosting an optional after-class demonstration which featured a woman being penetrated by a motorized sex toy till she had an orgasm. University officials initially backed Bailey, but in statement released by Alan K. Cubbage, vice president for university relations, it's clear the school has had a permanent change of heart.

Northwestern University’s Department of Psychology will not offer a course in human sexuality during the 2011-12 academic year. That course was taught previously by Professor J. Michael Bailey, who will have other teaching assignments in the coming year. Courses in human sexuality are offered in a variety of academic departments in other universities, and Northwestern is reviewing how such a course best fits into the University’s curriculum. At Northwestern University, the dean of a college/school has the right and responsibility to determine course assignments.

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Study: Going to Church Makes You Fat (UPDATED)

Scientists knew there was a correlation between religious involvement and obesity, but this new study proves the relationship is causal.

According to a new study by Northwestern University's School of Medicine, young adults who attend religious activities once a week or more are 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age than their non-church-going peers.

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