(Note: These are remarks delivered by Lesley Stahl at Colgate University's 187th commencement, May 18, 2008)

Thank you. Well first of all I'm so sorry that you're all wet and cold. I'm watching you put on your ponchos; I hope that makes it a little better.

So now I am a member of the Class of 2008, which I am very proud of, and I want to congratulate all of us for today, a triumphful day, a happy day. I am sure you have one little pain because you will be leaving your friends, but otherwise there is this great joy of accomplishment because you guys have crossed the finish line and you know you have earned your degrees and you've all worked hard and it's great.

Colgate graduates on Sunday were urged to help change the mood of a nation beset by concerns over the Iraq war, gasoline prices, and even food prices.

Lesley Stahl, of CBS's 60 Minutes, speaks to graduates on Sunday. (Photo by Susan Kahn)

Stahl said seniors are leaving the beautiful Colgate campus and entering an "America not as happy as it has been in the past."

"We have allowed the terrorists to terrorize us into a society of timidity. We feel angst, and cold feet," she said.

But the country has showed resilience by bouncing back from similar "down" periods in our history, she said, because "courage and grit are in our DNA."

"We come from hearty stock," said Stahl. "All of us."

The Class of 2008's "green" gift to the university was the subject of an article in The Post-Standard.(Syracuse)

The class has raised about $23,000 to launch a fund that will help the college reduce energy use. About 94 percent of the senior class has made donations.