'Civilisation needs a new operating system'

MBCC graduates called on to concentrate energies on nation building

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:As Jamaica prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary of Independence, the Montego Bay Community College's (MBCC) latest batch of graduates accepted a charge on Sunday to play a key role in nation building.

The school's valedictory service, which was held under the theme 'Honouring Our Past, Charting Our Future', saw 731 students from various disciplines receiving school-leaving certificates. Several of the graduates also received awards for excellence in their fields of study and noteworthy participation in extra-curricular activities.

"As we celebrate the past and chart the future, as community colleges in Jamaica, we can celebrate and honour the past veterans who laboured and toiled for the successes we have reaped today," said guest speaker, the Reverend Cebert Adamson, executive director of the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica

SMALL NATION, BIG IMPACT

"We are a small nation when compared to the rest of the world, but in so many ways, in so many areas of endeavour, we have caused the world to sit up and take notice of this little place called Jamaica."

Adamson also told the graduates that they must prepare to make their societal contributions at a time when civilisation is rapidly declining in various areas.

"The startling reality as we chart the future to make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, do business, and raise families, is this: You're going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on Earth at a time when every living system is declining and the rate of decline is accelerating," he warned.

"Basically, civilisation needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it right now."

MBCC's principal, Dr Angela Samuels-Harris, sounded the call for the graduates to use their skills to change Jamaica for the better.

"We hope that during your time with us, you have, as one wise man said, not only learned how to make a living, but that we have taught you how to live a life. In this our jubilee year, I charge you to go out and change Jamaica for the better," she said.