The orations from Harris and Kopans marked a time-honored Brown tradition of lifting student voices at Commencement. They addressed their fellow bachelor’s degree recipients, as well as those earning master’s, doctoral and M.D. degrees, during the University Ceremony at Brown’s 257th Commencement.

Honoring the link between past and future

Harris, a member of Brown’s second graduating cohort in critical Native American and Indigenous studies, reflected on their heritage as a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe and on their journey over the last four years to overcome self-doubt that stifled their true spirit within.

“Being a young Indigenous two-spirit, I quickly learned that this world was not one made for me; to be unique is to be beautiful, but to know that you are unlike the others, that is terrifying,” Harris said. “I’ve wasted away so many precious moments in the mirror trying to shape myself into something else.”

It was during their experiences and courses at Brown that Harris learned to transform their “performance of the everyday” from something that was distorted to something that is authentic, they said.

“Being at Brown has allowed me to embrace myself,” Harris said. “Here I have moved through learning with my ancestors.”

Drawing inspiration from their ancestors and from generations of Brown students who have supported each other and the causes they believe in, Harris recalled the 1968 Black Student Walkout and activism and scholarship that laid the groundwork for the bachelor’s degree program in critical Native American and Indigenous studies.

“All around us, we are in a living memory, we stand in a legacy — a legacy of growth, learning and greatness, but also a legacy of slavery, discrimination and revolution,” Harris said. “We are sharing space with those who saw a problem, found their moment and changed our world.”

Harris praised the Class of 2025’s accomplishments — “what you have done is nothing short of remarkable,” they said — and called on graduates to journey forward together and channel their hope into working as a community to build a better world for the next generation.

“We have gone through frightening times and we will be frightened again — we have lost enough time to fear,” Harris said. “We have lost enough time to stillness and to silence. It is now our time to dream: Dream of what comes next, beyond tomorrow, beyond that western horizon, beyond our vision… Our ancestors dreamed of this moment, because this, this is the beginning.”

Building “Main Green spaces” beyond Brown

Kopans, a concentrator in public health, reflected on the memories and things she has witnessed on the College (or “Main”) Green, which she sees as a microcosm of Brown’s collaborative ethos, joy and sense of community.

“As is so beautifully clear right now, this green provides grounds for building community,” Kopans said.

She recalled campus rituals and traditions that center on or around the green, from Spring Weekend to the Midnight Halloween Organ Recital. She recounted the day that hundreds of students marveled at a partial solar eclipse.

“The green gives us a space to carry joy and fun into hard work; it reminds us to create moments of self-care, utter goofiness and pause,” Kopans said. “Throughout it all, our Main Green has offered a place of balance, resilience and community.”

Kopans recalled a day she despaired on the green, which led to an epiphany. Upon returning to campus last fall after the U.S. presidential election and following a canvassing trip to Pittsburgh with other Brown students, she sat down next to a friend and “worked through my sadness, confusion, anger and fear… and my friend listened.”

“Sitting on the green together, my feelings settled into place,” Kopans said. “‘This is the point of Brown, I realized: to equip us with the awareness and resilience we need to go out into the world and effect change.”

Through highs and lows and excitement and uncertainty, the wealth of experiences and interactions on the green “will help us navigate what lies ahead,” Kopans said. She encouraged the Class of 2025 graduates to carry their “Main Green memories” and draw on the lessons they’ve learned at Brown to cultivate a balance between work and rest, delight in getting to know new places and people, and commit to making a more just world. 

“We will create new Main Green spaces beyond College Hill: spaces infused with the same Main Green magic of balance, of resilience and of community,” Kopans said. “When we need grounding, may we find a patch of green — real or remembered — as a home base to return to and a reminder of who we are.”