What Does a Jayhawk Look Like?

There's something almost magical about a college campus on a crisp fall evening ... the setting sun dipping below the horizon as multicolored leaves drop from the trees, swirl on the sidewalks and crunch beneath the feet of students sauntering along to their various destinations. It has always seemed to me that campuses just exude knowledge, almost as if the thoughts and ideas of brilliant young minds are so enormously great that they must spill forth and shower the entire university with the wisdom contained within them. And that exudation of knowledge and genius and anticipation seems even more pronounced to me on a fall evening ... an evening such as tonight when I walked through the campus of the University of Kansas with my son Brad.

Tonight, I spoke to a group of students at the university ... a group of students who were incredibly attentive and polite as they listened ... a group of students whose tears dripped from their cheeks as I told my story ... a group of students who gathered around me to tell me their own stories and hug me ... a group of students who understand what being different means, how it feels, how much it can hurt ... a group of students who begged me to return and speak again ... a group of students who welcomed me unconditionally ... a group of students who are without a doubt among the bravest, most courageous young people I've ever met.

If you're a basketball fan at all, you've heard of the KU Jayhawks ... of course you have. In the years that Brad attended the university just a half-hour's drive from my home, I came to recognize, know and appreciate not only what a Jayhawk looks like but also what a Jayhawk signifies ... respect, strength, loyalty, determination, perseverance. But tonight, friends ... tonight as I stood before the group of students ... tonight I really understood what a Jayhawk looks like ... what a Jayhawk stands for ... what being a Jayhawk really, really, really means.

What does a Jayhawk look like? A Jayhawk looks like a room filled to overflowing with bravery and courage and commitment and strength and beauty so enormous, so immense, so deep that it blew me away. What does a Jayhawk look like? A Jayhawk looks like you students this evening ... thank you for welcoming me into your midst. I am deeply humbled by your kind words and your heartfelt hugs, and I was truly honored to speak for your group this evening. You guys and gals really will change the world ... one beautiful person at a time.