 I want to say to all the faculty, the parents, the friends, it's wonderful you're here, and most of all I want to say congratulations to the UC Berkeley-Berkeley-Lewis class of 2016! Fantastic! Congratulations, you did it. No more late nights at Doe or Moffitt Libraries. No more last-minute cramming for your last PolySci final. It's over folks, no more. Today you can finally celebrate. But right now there's only one thing standing between you and your hard-earned diploma, and that's me. So I get it, and despite being United States Senator, I promise you not to fill a buster. Because this is your day. You earned it. You studied, yes? Let's do a little bit of the, yeah. You focused. You learned. You worked, and you managed to do all that and live your lives. You started relationships. You started relationships, and you ended relationships. Somebody's really happy about that breakup. I could tell that. You missed your family, but you enjoyed being away from your family. You ate healthy, and you exercised. Well that's debatable. But then you squandered all that good work, a top dog, and kingpin donuts. You balanced your budget, and on occasion you busted your budget, right? I think you are the very definition of the word survivor. Well I'm a survivor too. I have survived 40 years in elected office. 40 years in elected office. Yeah. Oh my god. Thank you for supporting me, most of you, to get that done. But like you, I've managed to enjoy living my real life, and a lot of my real life is here today. We're introduced to my son and his family. My husband, Stuart, is here. We're going to celebrate 55 years of marriage very soon. Wow. Of course when you take time away that I was in all those planes, it's only 25 years, but it's still fabulous. And more than 20 years ago, as the professor stated, I had the honor of speaking to another class of UC Berkeley graduates. Doug was one of those graduates. He got his degree in, and I quote, the political economy of an industrialized society. That was his degree. The political economy of an industrialized society. Well my husband and I were very impressed, but we did have one parental concern. Just who exactly would have to wait to hire someone with a degree in the political economy of an industrialized society? After many hours of deep discussion, and drawing frankly a total blank, we realized there was only one answer. Law school. By a show of hands, how many of you are thinking about going to law school? Show of hands. You can be proud, hire. How many of you are thinking about careers in public service? Maybe working for a state senator about a member of Congress? Well I hope you do. Because we could use you in public service, which as a career I can attest to is fascinating, frustrating, and at times extremely rewarding. I decided to write about it over the past three years. I'm excited to tell you that my memoir will be released at the end of the month. It's called The Art of Tough. And I have the battle scars to prove it. And I can tell you that you'll have to learn to be tough in your life, regardless of your career choice. Now people are going to try to dissuade you from your dreams. People will try to scare you into silence and onto the sidelines. People will try to make you doubt your resolve. Even doubt yourself. But if you master The Art of Tough you will win the day. Now let me be clear. The Art of Tough doesn't mean being a bully or being obnoxious. We've seen some of that in politics, haven't we? What it means is being smart. Doing the right thing. Not being afraid to step up. Even when you are called every name in the book. And I have been. And I can attest to it. For example today I woke up and I heard on the radio someone say this about me. Please do not applaud after I tell you what they said. I trust you. They said Barbara Boxer is a great candidate for the Democratic Party. Female and learning disabled. Okay? That's what they said about me. Someone else wrote this. Barbara Boxer is quite possibly the biggest doofus ever to enter the Senate chambers. And you would not believe what they said about me when I spoke out against the Iraq war. Some even called for my resignation. When I was one of the few standing up for gay marriage and when I stood alone protesting the impossibly long lines during the 2004 election in Ohio, one Senator speaking on the Senate floor said this. He said Barbara Boxer is driving herself further toward the political fringe with the long grass already tickling her knees. Well I'm happy to tell you that guy lost his race the next time and I got elected. That was good. That was good. But here's the thing. When you are attacked for something you deeply believe in, you need to wear the tax as a badge of honor. If you know that you're doing the right thing you simply have to do it. Now when I was a kid there were no women in politics to speak of. But as I grew older I saw things in the world that made no sense to me. Just like you see things in the world that make no sense to you. And perhaps that is why you chose this major. To change things for the better. I saw a war that made no sense to me. The Vietnam War. I saw racism that made no sense to me. The great baseball player Jackie Robinson being booed and attacked because of his skin color. I saw women being treated less than equal and having no say over their reproductive health care. I saw all these things happening and I knew I had to take a risk and I hope you are ready to take a risk too. Are you? Are you ready to do that? Now you know it's an election year you can't miss it and you hear those cynical voices. People who say there are no there's no difference between the candidates. Well you're political science majors and you're graduates now and you know better. You know because you have a sense of history. If people in the 60s had said why bother voting we would never have passed landmark laws like the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. If people had sat out the election eight years ago we never would have elected the first African American president in our nation's history. Well yes. This year every issue is at stake. Women's rights, civil rights, voting rights, income inequality, the environment, our country's security all is at stake. So we need your energy and your voice in this debate. When you hear a presidential candidate say 11 million immigrants should be deported or that we should ban Muslims from entering the country if you disagree with that you need to speak up and speak out with a clear voice. When you hear someone say that climate change is a hoax you need to speak up with a clear voice if you disagree. When you hear states like North Carolina discriminating against the LGBT community if you disagree you must speak out and when you hear people say oh there's no student loan crisis you know they're wrong. You must speak out if you disagree. I could go on and on but you don't want me to so I'll skip to the next part of my speech. You have a college degree from one of the greatest universities in the country. You know how to think, you know how to write, you know how to speak. In short every single one of you you now have the tools to be a leader. You have no excuses to shrink from what you know is right. And I know you're aware you did not get here alone and so one more time let's hear it for your family and friends who are out here cheering you on. And let's hear it for your professors who are out here cheering you on. So now I'm about to get to the two words everyone loves to hear a senator say in closing I have been so lucky in my life because of you and the people of this great state. I've been able to work on my passions for 40 years and I don't intend to retire from the work that I love I'd just be doing it from California not on those long flights. But now it is your time to focus on your passion. It is your time to employ the art of tough and it's not going to be easy. There'll be times when you wonder why you decided to speak up. You're at a party or at an event everyone is echoing the next one and you say you know what I don't think that's right. And you'll wonder later why did I bother. There'll be times when you want to pull the covers over your head and just give up but you know better because you have this degree almost in your hand. You want to make the world a better place it starts with you. Part of mastering the art of tough is ignoring the naysayers following your passions so that's what I want to say. Don't be afraid ever to do what you believe in to take the risks be thankful to your family to your friends to your professors never forget them because they will be cheering you on and so will I. So I ask everyone to join me in a raucous ovation for our graduates the Berkeley political science class of 2016 Go Bears! Fabulous! Congratulations!