--- title: Elizabeth Warren Urges Graduates to Get Engaged in Democracy description: Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged graduates to get involved in advocacy, warning that democracy won't work if Americans "ignore what's going on" canonical: https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-12T22:56:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:36.857Z og:title: Elizabeth Warren to Graduates: Americans Can't 'Ignore What's Going On' og:description: The senator urged graduates to get involved in advocacy work og:url: https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d7ae57f1f05bf5a/6988cd2f97cdff9b2d6b0b0a/elizabeth-warren-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Bernie Sanders, Activists Rally Against SEC Chairman Nominee Jay Clayton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elizabeth Warren to Graduates: Americans Can't 'Ignore What's Going On' twitter:description: The senator urged graduates to get involved in advocacy work twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d7ae57f1f05bf5a/6988cd2f97cdff9b2d6b0b0a/elizabeth-warren-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elizabeth Warren to Graduates: Democracy Won't Work if Americans 'Ignore What's Going On' > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 12, 2017 10:56 PM UTC  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during a rally in front of the Capitol on March 22, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during a rally in front of the Capitol on March 22, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 12, 2017 10:56 PM UTC Massachusetts Sen. [Elizabeth Warren](http://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736325/elizabeth-warren/?iid=sr-link3) on Friday urged college graduates to get involved in government, warning that “it’s no longer possible to assume that democracy will work” if most Americans vote and “otherwise ignore what’s going on.” “I am here to ask you to get engaged — not engaged like I did back at 19 — but engaged with some issues,” she said. “Expand your post-graduate to-do list to include engagement and advocacy for an issue that you really care about.” Warren — giving the University of Massachusetts, Amherst commencement address — listed a range of policy issues for graduates to care about, including college affordability, free speech and criminal justice reform. “I’m trying to keep this apolitical, but I can’t help myself, and I have one more: The principle that no one, no one, in this country is above the law. And we need a Justice Department, not an Obstruction-of-Justice Department,” she said. Warren has voiced concern that President Donald Trump’s [firing](http://time.com/4777223/james-comey-fired-rod-rosenstein-andrew-mccabe/) of FBI Director [James Comey](http://time.com/4777603/james-comey-president-donald-trump-james-clapper/) this week could negatively affect the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. She has called for an independent prosecutor to investigate Russian meddling. “Don’t just pick whatever cause that Emma Watson or Taylor Swift are supporting this week — no matter how much you want to be in their squad,” she said. “You’ve got to figure out what makes you heart flutter and your stomach clench. What makes you wake up ready to go, and what makes you wish you didn’t have to move?” During a lighter moment, Warren mentioned a drinking game she had discovered that was created for her commencement speech. “If you learn nothing else from this speech, please know this,” she said. “Fireball is a nickname that Donald Trump uses on Twitter, not a beverage to be consumed by distinguished college graduates.” > [](https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/863141481250476032) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/"},"headline":"Elizabeth Warren to Graduates: Democracy Won't Work if Americans 'Ignore What's Going On'","datePublished":"2017-05-12T22:56:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:36.857Z","description":"The senator urged graduates to get involved in advocacy work","url":"https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/","keywords":["motto","Education","College","Massachusetts","elizabeth warren","Commencement","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d7ae57f1f05bf5a/6988cd2f97cdff9b2d6b0b0a/elizabeth-warren-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d7ae57f1f05bf5a/6988cd2f97cdff9b2d6b0b0a/elizabeth-warren-commencement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bernie Sanders, Activists Rally Against SEC Chairman Nominee Jay Clayton","caption":"Bernie Sanders, Activists Rally Against SEC Chairman Nominee Jay Clayton","creditText":"Alex Wong/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4778121/elizabeth-warren-umass-commencement-speech/","name":"Elizabeth Warren to Graduates: Democracy Won't Work if Americans 'Ignore What's Going On'"}}]}] ```