Some 600 members of the University of Notre Dames class of 2006 have signed a Pledge of Social Responsibility, affirminga disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice and oppression that burden the lives of so many,and committing themselves to consider the social, humanitarian and environmental consequences of any work they do after graduation.
The Notre Dame graduates joined their signatures with those of 150,000 others from more than 100 colleges and universities worldwide in a project that originated atHumboltStateUniversityin 1987.This international group represents all majors and future careers, from accountants to teachers.It includes graduates who have turned down lucrative jobs for ethical reasons, promoted recycling at their organizations, removed racist language from training manuals, worked for gender parity in high school athletics, and convinced employers to refuse chemical weapons-related contracts.
Notre Dames version of the pledge incorporates part of the Universitys mission statement, asserting the Universitys intentionto create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.
Laura Morton, a member of Notre Dames graduating class fromNorth Huntington,Pa., who coordinated the pledge efforts on campus, said thatNotre Dame encourages us to use the knowledge weve acquired in ways that will improve the lives of others. Graduates who sign the pledge will hopefully use these values as business and community leaders.
* Contact: * _Liz Mackenzie, Center for Social Concerns, at 574-631-5779 or Mackenzie.12@nd.edu
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