Last week, Rob had the honor of giving the keynote address to the San Francisco State University graduating class of 2025 at Oracle Park.
We wanted to share some of Rob’s inspiring words for these graduates with you, because they really apply to all of us. Before we do, can you pitch in any amount to help ensure we reach our fundraising goal before May ends?
As Rob told the class of 2025:
“This is a uniquely daunting time to enter the so-called real world. The price of everything from gas to groceries, housing to health care is going up. The climate crisis continues to heat up. Rights we’ve long relied on are being rolled back right before our eyes. People are being attacked for how they look, where they’re from, how they pray, who they love, and for daring to speak their truth. And our democracy — the very foundation our nation stands on — is being stress-tested. It’s a lot.
I can imagine you might look at the problems around us and feel impatient for change. I’m with you. I share your impatience, and I encourage you: harness it.
Folks love to say, “Young people are the leaders of tomorrow,” and while that is certainly true, it’s also true that you’re the leaders of today. You have a voice today. You don’t have to wait your turn or wait for permission — you have the power to make a difference now. Your age will only hold you back if you let it.
I’m here to call you to action. It’s my sincerest hope that each of you will answer in your own way. Across the nation, our rights, freedoms, and safety are under attack. Now is not the time for silence or blind compliance. The stakes are too high. Everyone has a role to play in shaping the world we all deserve to live in.
As California Attorney General, my role includes vigorously protecting our people, enforcing our laws, and taking action when anyone breaks them, including, yes, the President of the United States. It should not be too much to ask that the President follow the law and uphold the Constitution, and yet, in the last four months, I’ve already had to take President Trump to court 22 times because he has acted as if he’s above the law. He isn’t — no one is.
Now I ask you, what role can you play? None of you needs to do everything, but I respectfully encourage all of you to do something. Something that makes our shared society fairer and stronger, something that helps fix a broken part of the world, something that you are passionate about that has personal meaning to you. If you don't have the answer today, that’s alright. Now is the time to find out.
The one unsolicited piece of advice I have for all of you is to stay engaged, be it following the news, joining a march, attending a community meeting, sharing opinions with friends, family members, and neighbors, or voting in every election. You have a vested interest in what happens in your community, your state, and your country. Democracy is not a spectator sport, it is full-contact. It thrives on engagement and it dies with apathy and neglect, which means we need you in the game, not on the sidelines.”
Thank you for all you do,
Team Bonta
