Make a difference, Sul Ross grads told

Special to the Avalanche

Dr. Kenneth Craycraft advised Sul Ross State University graduates to avoid shortcuts and seemingly easy paths to success.

Craycraft, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs of the Texas State University System, delivered the commencement addresses during Sul Ross' fall graduation exercises Saturday. Ceremonies were held in the Pete P. Gallego Center on the Alpine campus and in the Uvalde High School Auditorium for Rio Grande College.

A total of 226 students were candidates for degrees, 139 in Alpine and 87 at RBC.

Degrees are hard-earned, Craycraft noted. He reminded the graduates that they have joined an elite group of Texans: Just one in four residents ages 25-65 earn a baccalaureate degree. As graduates, they were now positioned to make a difference for others.

"We never measure quality based on the path of least resistance," he said, "and your journey is far from complete."

Citing an Internet world that offers college degrees in a matter of months, quick fixes for financial problems and countless low-investment, low-effort methods to instant wealth, Craycraft said, "to have it all and give up nothing - that's not the way the world works."

He listed the "Seven Blunders of the World," first stated by Mohandas Gandhi: "Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle."

Apathy and self-indulgence will ultimately lead to failure, he cautioned.

"There is no substitute for hard work, dedication, sacrifice and investing in people. ... Involvement cannot be viewed as an option if you are committed. The results are the signature of what you are."

Qualities such as dignity, selfless morality and a compassionate mentality serve as the cornerstone for a better future.

"An individual's life is full of choices," Craycraft said. "Don't fall prey to the path of least resistance."

He concluded with an anonymous poem, titled "And Then Some," that encouraged those in the audience to make a difference in what they do, "and then some."

Special to the Avalanche

ALPINE - Funeral services for former Sul Ross State University coach and lecturer W.H. "Jack" Perryman, 89, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at University Baptist Church with burial in Elm Grove Cemetery.

The fight goes on over La Entrada

Editor's Update: Peggy Thurin of the Advanced Planning Division of TxDOT in Austin had been planning to come to Alpine next month for a presentation of petitions to TxDOT. That meeting has been postponed until February.

Make a difference, Sul Ross grads told

Special to the Avalanche

Holiday closings

A number of federal, state, city, county and school offices have announced closures for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, as have banks. Here is a partial listing: