Louisa Bukiet, in foreground, and Sonia Nayak, second from left, whoop it up during yesterday’s commencement procession along College Street.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

PROVIDENCE — When he chose to complement his black cap and gown with a hot-pink boa and glittering ’80s eye makeup, Fokion Burgess didn’t know his expression of gay pride would be spot-on with the messages given by speakers at Brown University’s 240th commencement yesterday.

The two student orators urged all to stand out, face reality and tell their stories no matter how silent they may have been in the past or how pained and uncomfortable they may be now. They said sharing in any form — be it creative clothing, spoken words or interpretive dance — brings understanding and bridges social inequities and gaps.

“Speaking up can open us to a process of mutual understanding and healing,” Amina Deselle Massey, of Eden Prairie, Minn., told her classmates.

Borders are all around us, some more daunting than others, but “we negotiate them the best we can,” said Olivia Olsen, of Switzerland.

Massey said she copes with three chronic illnesses, including lupus. In her freshman year, she recalled, she hid her prescription medications in a bottom drawer and kept her ordeal to herself. But a course in literature and medicine changed that.

She realized her experience could help deal with issues affecting entire communities and began crafting what she called “a curriculum of personal and community empowerment.”

“Personal pain does not have to mean isolated struggle, and there can be relief in hearing the type of knowledge that comes from experience,” Massey said.

“Together, we have created space for each other to move from hiding our struggles to actively healing,” she told her fellow graduates. “This is something none of us could do alone. Learning to be open here, with you, has brought me into a new definition of healing, one that requires community.”

Olsen, building on a theme of borders, noted, “We all crossed, from high school to university. From home life to campus life. From ‘Do this! Do that!’ to ‘You want to do this? Make it happen!’”

“Translation, to me, is simply that: the effort to create understanding across borders,” Olsen said. “To put our words, our thoughts and songs into a language that the people on the other side can understand, whether that language be poetry, music, a scientific article — or maybe simply the gesture of a hand. And, even more importantly: to take what others say and do and ponder it, look at it from all angles, find the nuances until we can understand them.”

Olsen said conversations too often are abandoned to impatience, anger or premature judgment.

She said Brown has taught the Class of 2008 to do the opposite — use patience and have the ability to “hold our tongues and open our ears.”

“The future might seem as murky and unknowable as a night sky, but I have no doubt that we will all play important parts in it,” Olsen said. “And when we do, let us not forget our lessons of translation.”

Her message seemed to resonate with Jessica Sayuri Li-Fong Huey, who grew up in California and graduated with a double major, in public policy and Hispanic studies.

“My closest friends are from all corners of the U.S. and some are international,” she said in a brief conversation. “We all come from such different backgrounds and our differences are something that I’ve come to appreciate over the years. We’ve learned a lot from each other.”

“More than just preparing me academically, Brown has prepared me to think as an individual, to act with compassion, and to have an open mind about the people, places, and challenges I encounter along the way,” she said.

“Corny as it is, I may be leaving Brown, but I know it will never leave me.”

Honorary doctorates were presented yesterday to actor, filmmaker and environmentalist Robert Redford and to author Edwidge Danticat, who shared her family’s experience of life under dictatorship in Haiti in her first book, Krik? Krak!

Brown’s degree recipients represented 62 nations. After the traditional march through the Van Wickle Gates and other activities, 2,211 diplomas were presented — 1,542 bachelors’ degrees, 347 master’s degrees, 275 professional degrees and 47 honorary degrees.

apina@projo.com