North Carolina
Take a lesson in pomp and circumstance from these NC commencement addresses | Tom Campbell
It’s graduation season and in school after school you hear “Pomp and Circumstance” being played. Most of us can’t remember who delivered our commencement address, much less anything said, but you and I might benefit from some current commencement messages.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld spoke at the Duke Commencement. He shared his “three real keys to life.” They are: “Bust your ass. Pay attention. And fall in love.”
Astronaut Zena Cardman spoke at UNC, saying “It can be tricky to stay present while also looking forward to an imminent future, but I’d encourage graduating seniors to think about what’s right in front of them, here and now. Who will you carry with you into this next stage? What do you value? What do you want to improve for others? The answers to these questions can be found in the present and will carry through a lifetime.”
Nobel prize winner, chemist David MacMillan, gave NC State grads three admonitions. “Learn from others, but always follow your own path. Failure is just another word for experience. Laugh every day; you don’t always have to take yourself too seriously.”
Mandy Cohen, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, admonished Wake Forest Grads to embrace the school’s motto, “Pro Humanitate,” (For Humanity).” “In this increasingly complex world that makes it too easy to believe the illusion that we live in a binary world of us and them, I hope you will see people, all people. Listen. Seek understanding, and not just with those who think like you.”
Ronnie Barnes, ECU alumni and head athletic trainer of the New York Football Giants, spoke at the Greenville commencement. “Resilience is not is not reserved solely for the gridiron or the playing field,” Barnes said. “It’s what enables us to pick ourselves up when we stumble, to push through the pain when it seems insurmountable and emerge stronger and more resilient on the other side.”
Graduates of North Carolina’s Institute of Political Leadership heard former Senator Richard Burr and former Congressman David Price.
Price told the group to think of themselves as part of something greater than the sum of its parts. “It’s one thing to win an election,” Price said. “It’s quite another to another thing to make institutions work. That’s the real test of democracy.”
“Politics has always been a contact sport,” Burr said. “When elections were over David and I put the gloves in a drawer. We didn’t bring them out until the next election time came. Today, the gloves stay out. It’s hard to find consensus when it’s a perpetual fight.”
Burr continued, “Imagine you go to class. A professor every day has to say to the class, and ask by unanimous consent, that we actually do something today. And one student says, ‘Nahh, I don’t think so.’ That’s the United States Senate. We’re taught the rules are 60 votes to get something done. No, the rule is nobody objects.”
But the address attracting the most attention came from filmmaker Ken Burns, who spoke at the Brandeis University graduation.
Burns told the audience that we have inherited a nation that is great and good, but in recent years we have incubated, “habits and patterns less beneficial to us: our devotion to money and guns and conspiracies, our certainty about everything, our stubborn insistence on our own exceptionalism blinding us to that which needs repair, especially with regard to race and ethnicity. Our preoccupation with always making the other wrong at an individual as well as a global level.
“Everything is either right or wrong, red state or blue state, young or old, gay or straight, rich or poor, Palestinian or Israeli, my way or the highway. Everywhere we are trapped by these old, tired, binary reactions, assumptions, and certainties.
“I have had the privilege for nearly half a century of making films about the US, but I have also made films about us. That is to say the two letter, lowercase, plural pronoun. All of the intimacy of “us” and also “we” and “our” and all of the majesty, complexity, contradiction, and even controversy of the US. And if I have learned anything over those years, it’s that there’s only us. There is no them.”
Burns violated the tradition that commencement addresses should be apolitical, saying, “There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route.
“The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems…. Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.”
Let those who have ears listen.
Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965. Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com.
Good evening, North Carolina. We’re wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.
Your Weather Planner
Charlotte, Triad and mountains
A soggy and chilly weather setup is established around the region. We will have rain at times tonight and tomorrow morning and then look for clouds and lingering drizzle at times tomorrow afternoon.
Another wave of showers is looking likely later Wednesday into Wednesday night.
The bottom line is we are in a wet, raw, chilly period of weather. Highs will run well below average the next several days, and rain totals will likely be 1-3 inches in many areas. Overall flooding potential looks low.
Central North Carolina
Showers will remain dominant through Tuesday afternoon. Expect morning lows Tuesday in the upper 40s ahead of an afternoon high in the low to mid-50s.
Winds will be breezy through the day with 20 to 30 mph gusts possible. A break in the rain may be possible early Wednesday before another batch of showers moves in Wednesday evening and continues through early Thursday.
Much of central North Carolina should see around 1 to 3 inches of rain this week.
Eastern North Carolina
An area of low pressure will track up the coast through Tuesday. That will also make for a windy Tuesday. Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible at the Outer Banks, up to 40 mph for the Crystal Coast and up to 20-30 mph for the rest of eastern North Carolina.
Coastal flooding will also be possible at high tides through midweek. That could impact N.C. 12 along the Outer Banks, especially around Buxton and on Ocracoke. Some roads in eastern Carteret County may flood as well.
We may get a break in the rain Tuesday night into much of Wednesday before another wave of rain arrives for late Wednesday and early Thursday.
Much of eastern North Carolina should see around 1 to 3 inches of rain this week.
Get your full forecast: Charlotte | Triad | Triangle | Coastal | Mountains
Today’s Big Stories
1. 13 shot at Halloween party in southeastern N.C., 2 killed
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins’ office said in a news release that 13 people were shot. He said that homicide investigators and others were at the scene of the party in a rural area outside of Maxton, about 95 miles southwest of Raleigh near the South Carolina border. Deputies found Jessie Locklear Jr., 49, and Nehemiah Locklear, 16, both of Lumberton, dead at the scene.
2. Attendance dips at N.C. State Fair. A look at the numbers
Food vendors and carnival workers are packing up their candied apples, cotton candy, games and giant stuffed prizes, marking the end of the 2025 North Carolina State Fair season. This year, there were 946,811 total fairgoers during the fair’s 11-day run, according to figures from the state’s Department of Agriculture. That is nearly 8,000 fewer than the past 10-year average and more than 50,000 less than last year.
3. Salisbury police chief says bystander likely saved officer’s life during knife-wielding assault
Salisbury Police Chief Patrick Smith is praising a bystander’s courageous actions that he says likely saved an officer’s life during an assault Sunday evening. The officer and bystander were injured by a knife-wielding suspect at a Cookout on East Innes Street, police said. The suspect faces multiple charges.
4. Greensboro officer’s near-death experience highlights why impaired driving can be fatal
Looking back at photos of his totaled police cruiser, Greensboro police Cpl. Nicholas Walton says he’s lucky to be alive. Two years ago, a drunken driver traveling at 80 mph crashed into the back of Walton’s car as he was parked on the side of the road. He came away from the crash with no serious injuries and says he’s one of the lucky ones.
5. Category 5 Hurricane Melissa will make landfall in Jamaica Tuesday
Hurricane Melissa is a powerful Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean Sea. It’s expected to remain a powerful storm as it makes landfall in Jamaica Tuesday. Melissa formed on Tuesday, Oct. 21, becoming the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Melissa will begin to turn northward soon as it approaches Jamaica.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
- Gotham Awards for film nominations announced
- Monthly House Price Index/Housing Vacancies/Consumer Confidence Index
- Senate Armed Services nominations hearing of Brendan Rogers to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, James Caggy to be Assistant Secretary of the Defense for Mission Capabilities, Joseph Jewell to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, and Marc Berkowitz to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy
In Case You Missed It
For most, the State Fair means delicious fried food, games and fun, but for workers behind the scenes, these long days can stretch from sunrise to beyond sunset. That’s where the North Carolina Campers on Mission comes in. It’s a group that has spent decades quietly working behind the scenes to make sure the people who make it happen are supported.
The Virginia Cavaliers escaped with a 17-16 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels, needing overtime to prevail. The Cavaliers stopped the Tar Heels on a two-point conversion, which would have given North Carolina the win if successful. However, running back Benjamin Hall was inches short of reaching the pylon.
North Carolina controlled the flow of the contest, but ultimately, three turnovers, including an interception in the end zone, proved to be too much for the Tar Heels to overcome.
Not only was it a missed opportunity for North Carolina, but it also prevented the Duke Blue Devils from making up ground, despite being on a bye week.
Keeping all of that in mind, here is how the result of this game affects the Blue Devils’ chances of qualifying for the ACC Championship game later in December.
Obviously, it was not the end result that the Blue Devils were hoping for, but there are certainly reasons to feel positive from Duke’s perspective.
For one, the Cavaliers looked quite vulnerable in this contest, as they were outgained by nearly 100 yards, took six sacks, and were overall completely inept offensively.
Quarterback Chandler Morris’ performance was quite concerning, as he completed 20-of-35 pass attempts for 200 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He threw errant passes all game, including two consecutive misses near the goal line that were rudimentary throws.
The win sends the Cavaliers to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. However, watching this game, it is apparent that Virginia is not as good as its record.
Despite the victory furthering the Cavaliers’ control of their own destiny, Duke’s confidence should not waver when considering Virginia’s current position in the conference.
Virginia’s last three wins have come with a combined margin of victory of eight total points, which included a game-winning safety against Washington State last week and a game-clinching stop in overtime on Saturday against North Carolina.
Additionally, the Blue Devils will have their chance to take matters into their own hands when they host the Cavaliers on Nov. 15.
If Virginia plays remotely close to how it did on Saturday, unlike North Carolina, Duke will take advantage of every opportunity the Cavaliers present. Darian Mensah is light-years ahead of Gio Lopez, who was putrid, despite having ample opportunities to take control of the game.
Virginia was fortunate Lopez was the signal caller on the other side on Saturday. The junior quarterback attempted 5.8 yards per pass, and throwing two costly interceptions.
Duke is still within striking distance, and fortunately for the Blue Devils, they will have their opportunity to deal with Virginia themselves in a few weeks.
As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE
CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – A man from North Carolina has been arrested and charged with damaging property at Lynchburg Regional Airport, according to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after midnight Thursday, deputies found the suspect on airport grounds attempting to break through the glass doors to enter the building. Deputies approached and took him into custody without incident.
The suspect has been identified as 20-year-old Landen Ray Hayden of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Investigators determined that Hayden, who was intoxicated at the time, unlawfully entered airport property and caused significant damage. This included overturning several drums containing cleaning fluid used by airport staff in daily operations.
Hayden faces the following charges:
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Felony property damage
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Trespassing
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Underage possession of alcohol
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Public intoxication
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Contaminating waterways
The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is working closely with Lynchburg Regional Airport officials as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office at 434-332-9574, Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900 or www.cvcrimestoppers.org, or submit a tip online at www.p3tips.com. Tips may remain anonymous, and information leading to an arrest could be eligible for a cash reward.
Copyright 2025 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.
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