which fosters living in harmony with and embracing a variety of academic tempos. Similar to Color Theory, an interdisciplinary focus and liberal arts curriculum have enabled s tudents to combine and contrast a variety of di fferent scholarly pursuits. Through fostering an open academic environment in the classroom out of the classroom through independent studies, themes living environments lecture series, and internship opportunities, students have been able to fuse their own experiences wi th the experiences of their Over four years, the rhythm and harmonies an orches tra of current events has enhanced UPS s academic training. Since the fall of 2000, the United States has seen a massive shift in its foreign policy. By embracing the times, UPS faculty has encouraged students to recognize the beats and rhy thmic pat terns of our academic theories within this concert of world events The successes shown by the Uni versity of Puget Sound students here today reveal the energy and innovative thinking that occurs when students are exposed to a variety of disciplines and rhy thms, taught to harmonize our ideas, and are given the freedom to choreograph their own interpretations of and solutions for the world Not only has our final year at UPS al lowed us to design and dance wi th our own ideas, but also the class of 2004 has had a unique opportunity to witness the performance and dance of the both the University of Puget Sound and of the city of Tacoma. This spring marked the inauguration of President Ron Thomas and a new transition for the Uni versity of Puget Sound. Under his vision of civic engagement, President Thomas has brought a new beat to the universi ty and has renewed the campus s commitment to learning from and with the City of Tacoma. Through the University s actions such as signing the talloires Declaration, a document committing the campus to sustainable behavior and drafting a master plan to reform our education philosophy into a Tapestry of Learning, students have witnessed a president and a campus find their beat, harmonize the beat with the surrounding community, and take the first steps in what I am confident will be a wonderful dance for the campus Outside of the University of Puget Sound, over the past four years, Tacoma has shown itself to be a distinct community that jives to its own beat. In the pa year, our home of Tacoma has been named both the most stressed out city" in the nation and also one of best up and coming places to live in the countr As graduates today know, these characterizations are just some of the many dynamic dualisms defining Tacoma. After spending this past semester study ing urban planning and the environmental, economic, and sociological future of the city of Tacoma, I am impressed at how tacoma is overcoming its challenges of crime, environmental degradation, and population growth by embracing the power of its residents. As Tacoma plans to increase community participation in citywhich fosters living in harmony with and embracing a variety of academic tempos. Similar to Color Theory, an interdisciplinary focus and liberal arts curriculum have enabled students to combine and contrast a variety of different scholarly pursuits. Through fostering an open academic environment in the classroom out of the classroom through independent studies, themes living environments, lecture series, and internship opportunities, students have been able to fuse their own experiences with the experiences of their peers. Over four years, the rhythm and harmonies an orchestra of current events has enhanced UPS's academic training. Since the fall of 2000, the United States has seen a massive shift in its foreign policy. By embracing the times, UPS faculty has encouraged students to recognize the beats and rhythmic patterns of our academic theories within this concert of world events. The successes shown by the University of Puget Sound students here today reveal the energy and innovative thinking that occurs when students are exposed to a variety of disciplines and rhythms, taught to harmonize our ideas, and are given the freedom to choreograph their own interpretations of and solutions for the world. Not only has our final year at UPS allowed us to design and dance with our own ideas, but also the class of 2004 has had a unique opportunity to witness the performance and dance of the both the University of Puget Sound and of the City of Tacoma. This spring marked the inauguration of President Ron Thomas and a new transition for the University of Puget Sound. Under his vision of civic engagement, President Thomas has brought a new beat to the university and has renewed the campus's commitment to learning from and with the City of Tacoma. Through the University's actions such as signing the Talloires Declaration, a document committing the campus to sustainable behavior and drafting a master plan to reform our education philosophy into a "Tapestry of Learning," students have witnessed a president and a campus find their beat, harmonize the beat with the surrounding community, and take the first steps in what I am confident will be a wonderful dance for the campus. Outside of the University of Puget Sound, over the past four years, Tacoma has shown itself to be a distinct community that jives to its own beat. In the past year, our home of Tacoma has been named both the "most stressed out city" in the nation and also one of "best up and coming places to live" in the country. As graduates today know, these characterizations are just some of the many dynamic dualisms defining Tacoma. After spending this past semester studying urban planning and the environmental, economic, and sociological future of the city of Tacoma, I am impressed at how Tacoma is overcoming its challenges of crime, environmental degradation, and population growth by embracing the power of its residents. As Tacoma plans to increase community participation in city