The following is a transcript of Dr. Frank A. Tassone's address to the graduates of the Class of 2001 delivered at the Roslyn High School graduation ceremony last Saturday, June 23.

Last November, Roslyn High School was host to a visitor who changed the lives of many of the people who were fortunate enough to hear her speak. I know that many hundreds of you in the audience this evening---students, parents and members of staff---had an opportunity to attend the special programs featuring Judy Shepard.

It would be impossible for me to recount for you the heart-rending story of the Shepard family and this courageous woman's crusade to combat discrimination and make the world safer for children. That is not my purpose. I mention her appearances here to shed light on the very special nature of this school community, this high school and the remarkable students who are graduating this evening.

There were two very important and simple lessons that Judy Shepard taught us. First, that if children can be taught to hate, they can be taught not to. Second, that each and every one of us must share the burden of teaching the lesson of humanity and compassion in our daily lives.

What makes these Roslyn High School students so extraordinary is the way they embraced this message as their own. These youngsters were already prepared to seize that message of understanding and nonviolence. Roslyn High School was the first, and, to my knowledge, the only high school anywhere to invite Judy Shepard to speak. That is because we, as a school community, had already embraced the human values that were absent from the hearts of the young men who murdered Judy Shepard's son, Matthew.

The great Russian novelist Dostoevsky said, Úquot;It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them---the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.Úquot;

The academic careers of these young men and women on the stage tonight bears this out perfectly. They are, indisputably, a highly accomplished group of students. Their awards and honors are almost too numerous to count. Their achievements in athletics, and their talents in the creative and performing arts, have also been very much on display for all of us to witness.

But I am also equally proud of the way they have conducted themselves outside the classroom. They have actively participated in peer education to combat substance abuse and to stop the spread of AIDS; they have served as role models for younger students on the Principal's Advisory Council for multicultural affairs. They have also distinguished themselves in the performance of community service. The passion with which so many students approach community service could easily lead one to think of the program not merely as a requirement for graduation, but as an activity they could not live without.

If you think I'm exaggerating, consider the evidence. The Class of 2001 has accumulated 23,178 hours of service credit. That is an average of 108 hours for each graduating senior, more than two and a half times the 40-hour requirement. Students were featured several times during the school year in media coverage of Roslyn's Community Service program, a proud moment for all of us as we have watched these youngsters carry this program to heights that we never imagined when it was introduced a few years ago.

I can think of no greater testament to you, our graduates, as well as your parents, families and community than this devotion to service. It will be as important to you in the future conduct of your lives as your other achievements in school. I have enormous confidence in you as you set forth on the journey of your lives, armed with scholarship, talent, decency and pride. I know that you will continue to take advantage of your good fortune just as you have done at Roslyn High School, to apply yourselves with both wisdom and compassion to the tasks that lay ahead of you.

Congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2001.