Princeton Baccalaureate and Graduation 2026

 

RantWoman paid embarassingly little attenttion to the speech at her own graduation and is not even sure she attended Baccalaureat. To compensate for that, and to appreciate this year's offerings:

"In a world that is increasingly loud and self-focused, being the person who 'sets the screen' is a superpower. It’s easy to be the person with the ball; it’s much harder, and much more rewarding, to be the person who creates the space for someone else to score. Whether you end… pic.twitter.com/3AHwsyTIxv

— Princeton University (@Princeton) May 24, 2026

Full text of remarks.
At Baccalaureate, Craig Robinson '83 urges seniors: 'Be a work in progress'

As for commencement:

At #Princeton26 Commencement, President Eisgruber called on graduating students to have the courage to confront challenges and stand up for the values of learning, independent thinking and integrity that higher education institutions like Princeton hold dear.

“I know that all… pic.twitter.com/814ZYKieh3

— Princeton University (@Princeton) May 26, 2026

Full text of speech, WITH FOOTNOTES, as well as links about other graduation events.

President Eisgruber's Commencement address: 'Learning, Citizenship, and the Courage to Be Unpopular'

RantWoman is going to let all these words stand on their own. 

RantWoman finds it easy to hear these words as "make good trouble." That gross oversimplification is unfair to all the challenges of being President of Princeton at this time, so RantWoman promises to go full rant separately.

Ebola outbreak as of today

#Ebola #DRC #WHO 

Comment RantWoman posted

Are the mining companies operating in the area being asked to contribute to public health efforts to fight they epidemic? Presumably Ebola outbreaks are bad for business, and I would hope the companies operating in the Congo can step up i culturally insightful ways.

Blistering words from someone with reason to know!

Doctor who survived Ebola says there needs to be ‘less lip service and more boots on the ground’

Health workers in Africa struggle to slow Ebola outbreak

As if the consequences of the US pulling out of the World Health Organization were not already embarrassing enough,

It is widely reported in reputable outlets that PResident #StableGenius has prohibited experts still working from the US government from talking directly with WHO personnel. Now such conversations are supposed to pass up the chain of command through Secretary of HHS Kennedy. What could possibly go wrong with that???

And it gets worse: Now Bloomberg is reporting that #BrainwormBob is looking for VOLUNTEERS to go to airports and help screen people for Ebola symptoms. Of course, both competent professionals and the travelling public will find this approach ever so reassuring. Perhaps Secretary Kennedy could be first in line to volunteer followed by the people from ICE already getting paid? 

The Terrifying Reality of Fighting Ebola in Africa | 60 Minutes Australia

May is maternal health awareness month

 Deal #AI techbros.

Beat this. 

Talk to, involve actual HUMANS, like oh say, MOMS postpartum.

Shout out to Pope Leo

 RantWoman fully intends to read Pope Leo's encyclical about AI, humanity, and other exact concerns.

In the meantime, 3 shoutouts

1. A strong African-American voice

2. His Himself available in multiple languages

Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas (15 May 2026)

3. Every screaming piece from "inside the house" computer scientists, economists... saying, sometimes in different framing that THE POPE IS RIGHT.

For graduation 2026 Gratefully reprinting verbatim testimonies about Princeton

RantWoman heartily congratulates this year's graduates. RantWoman has LOTS of other opinions that deserve their own space another time. 

Photo montage of alumni at Reunions

As Princetonians of all ages prepare to celebrate Reunions and Commencement over the next week, we give three cheers for the University’s generous financial aid program, which enables students, regardless of financial circumstances, to embrace the power and possibility of a Princeton education. And don’t forget that the impact of Princeton aid lasts far beyond graduation, as nearly 90% of students graduate debt-free, freeing them to pursue lives of leadership and service without worries about loan payments.

Opportunity. Possibility. Empowering. University students share what “Princeton is” to them and how the University has opened doors and inspired them to become leaders prepared to stand up for what they believe.

Financial aid opens doors

Left to right: Matthew Trotter ’22, Autumn Shelton ’24, and Taraje Whitfield ’22

Matthew Trotter ’22: An “unparalleled” financial aid package makes a dream a reality Matthew Trotter grew up in Union Dale, Pennsylvania, population 239. “Everyone knows each other and helps each other. But at the same time, there’s not always a lot of opportunity for people to live out their dreams.” The imposing costs of college loomed over Trotter’s own dreams until he received a “yes” from Princeton. “I accepted as soon as I saw the financial aid package. The package that I was given was unparalleled — it gave me momentum to follow my dreams.” Four years after Princeton, Trotter graduated from Sidney Kimmel Medical College and will soon begin his family medicine residency near Philadelphia. “Through the doors opened for me by Princeton, I look forward to helping serve the community as a doctor,” he said. Autumn Shelton ’24: A heart for service in rural America Autumn Shelton grew up in Lamar, Missouri, a small town in the southwestern part of the state. She hadn’t considered applying to Princeton until visiting for an arts and humanities seminar during her senior year. Her time at the University inspired a passion to serve humanity, particularly in rural areas like Lamar. “I realize how unique and important my hometown and culture are, and I want to go back to rural America and be one of the people who are working to protect it and make it better.” After graduation, Shelton joined the staff at Camp McDowell in Alabama where she farms and teaches children hands-on agricultural skills. She plans to start law school in the fall and return to rural America following graduation. Taraje Whitfield ’22: A first-generation college student paves the way for his family A varsity athlete from Millersville, Pennsylvania, Taraje Whitfield overcame the complications of remote learning during the pandemic, not only maintaining his studies online, but also supervising and tutoring his youngest siblings. “I helped them out a lot growing up, and now it brings me so much joy to hear them talk about wanting to go to Princeton when they grow up. I haven’t had anyone in my family that I could go to for counsel about college, but I think it’s a huge blessing that I could be the person who paves the way for a new standard where college is normal for the generations of family behind me.” Since graduating in 2022, Whitfield earned a master’s in biomedical science at the University of Connecticut and is finishing his first year in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he was elected class president. “Princeton played a major role in my getting to where I am now, and I will forever be grateful to the University for its support of me, and the doors it opened.”

WORTH       SHARING Most families with incomes up to $150,000/year will pay nothing for their student to attend Princeton — with tuition, housing, food, books and other expenses covered. Most making up to $250,000 pay no tuition.

Will World Cup games be available through OneCourt?

#WorldCup2026 #CopaMundial

RantWoman's personal experience with team sports: in public school, RantWoman REALLY liked volleyball, as long as all she had to do was serve. Quaintly, teams rotate positions and RantWoman's visual experience--double-vision, lousy depth perception, general lack of coordination got in the way of fielding. This personal ineptitude has also mostly translated to general lack of interest in team sports.

In particular RantWoman is NOT a giant fan of stadium sports. For one thing, a lot of the time RantWoman can neither visually track what is on the field nor follow narration provided by announcers. 

(yes, yes. Some games have audio description or really good broadcast narration. RantWoman still is not charmed enough about the social aspects of team sports to manage to follow very much.

RantWoman may have to reconsider this conceptual allergy, thanks to OneCourt

 What is OneCourt you ask?

OneCourt is the world's first tactile way to experience sports events. RantWoman first encountered OneCourt at a demo a local blindness group chapter meeting. That day, RantWoman decided her hands were too full of pizza sauce and the line of people wanting to try it was too long. RantWoman just listened.

RantWoman still has not quite tracked the technology that allows the product to track players and render their moves in a way that blind or low vision people can enjoy.  OneCourt exists at some sport venues. OneCourt devices are or soon will be availabe for individual purchase. RantWoman is probably not interested for herself either in attending World Cup games or in buying a device. But RantWoman is definitely intrigued enough to tell other people about it and to ask whether any World Cup games will have a OneCourt stream?

The party of Jim Crow