The Review published the editorial Tuesday on its website, though the newspaper runs print editions a few times per year, urging incoming students to recognize the current polarization of American politics not as an insurmountable obstacle, but as a defining civic inheritance. Writing directly to his fellow Blue Hens at his undergraduate alma mater, the 1965 alumnus argued that the preservation of the nation depends squarely on an active, educated, and engaged younger generation, addressing students with the remark: As you start a new school year amid an undeniably turbulent time for our country, I wanted to offer some reflections that I hope encourage you to see the messy state of our democracy not as a burden you’ll bear, but as a gift you’ll inherit.
The unusual campus intervention comes as institutions across the United States grapple with heightened civic tension. In the editorial published Tuesday, the former president acknowledged the profound anxieties surrounding contemporary civic life, pointing directly to rising political violence, a hostile public discourse where insults routinely overshadow factual debate, and a widespread erosion of cross-partisan civility. He noted that while modern Americans can easily be forgiven for feeling that hope is scarce, history demonstrates that the republic has continually swung between peril and possibility.
A Call to Action Amid Campus and National Chaos
Drawing comparisons to his own undergraduate years—when he stood on the steps of Hullihen Hall and learned of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, followed later by the killings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy amid deep turmoil over the Vietnam War—the former president credited university professors with helping him navigate profound uncertainty. He urged students to utilize their time on campus to actively prepare for leadership, advocating for robust debate with ideological opponents, engagement with differing student groups, and consistent participation in the electoral process. Additionally, he highlighted the words of French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville, who studied the country in its early days and wrote: the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
Reminding readers of the youth-driven foundations of American democracy, the essay noted that Thomas Jefferson was just 33 when drafting the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was 34 during his “I Have a Dream” speech, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was 32 when helping organize the Seneca Falls Convention. To faculty members, the former president offered a reminder that they might currently be instructing the nation’s future leaders, urging them to impart the lessons of the past with confidence. He further emphasized the goal of his message to students: So this is my message to all of you: Don’t seek merely to leave this university as a college graduate; seek also to leave it as an informed and responsible citizen.
Deep Ties to Alma Mater and Ongoing Civic Engagement
The essay follows a series of recent engagements at the Newark, Delaware campus, including a September visit where he and Jill Biden hosted a student ice cream social. Throughout a career that began when he ran for the United States Senate at age 29—an ambition he attributed to the mentorship of his university professors—he has maintained a visible presence at the institution, delivering commencement addresses, being inducted into the Alumni Wall of Fame, and delivering an address on campus one week following the September 11 attacks.
