Senior class president Benjamin Schechner addressed the graduating class of 2011 at Thursday's MHS graduation ceremony.

Schechner, president of his class for all four years of high school, captain of the spring track and squash teams, the recipient of the senior superlative "Most Spirited,"  who gives the daily morning announcements (ending each announcement with "Stay classy," his catchphrase), focused his speech on the idea of distraction, and how the benefits of distraction have come to define the graduating class.

Schechner was also behind this year's senior prank, where he and his friends filled Principal Dr. William Miron's parking space with plastic cups spelling out "2011" at 5am.

He will attend Columbia University in the fall, intending to major in neuroscience and minor in business management. 

Schechner's speech follows:

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While I was writing this speech, I got a bit distracted and found myself online looking at the actual definition of the word, distracted.  It read, “The act of distracting or the condition of being distracted. See Distract.” Once again, Merriam-Webster offers a completely and terribly meaningless definition.

But then, when I look up distract, I get one truly objective definition: “To cause to turn away from the original focus of attention or interest.” This objectivity around the word distraction is rare since most would agree that its connotation is negative. The kids are too distracted by the TV to do their homework. The co-workers are too distracted by their emails and Blackberries to pay attention to the meeting. The family and friends are too distracted by their phones, the lights and this heat to listen to this speech. But, as the definition proves, there are benefits to distractions and they generally manifest themselves in the form of multitasking. And so, this speech today, is about exploring those distractions.

Let’s look at an average student doing his math homework. He is texting his friends about lunch plans, doing the required math operations, thinking of his next move in Words with Friends and probably changing the song on his iPod. Now I bet many of the members of the older generation within the audience are wondering how the newer generation of kids work, and, furthermore, do correct work under those conditions. And once again, the only logical answer is that this student is a master of multitasking.

In High School, each student becomes a pro at multitasking because of all the possible distractions: TV, Fruit Ninja, crosswords, Bananagrams, Magic Fountain, Millburn Deli, Red Mango, YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, Nature Hikes, Cooking, Driving. It’s all so distracting. I can think about it forever. But even while my mind wanders, I can still focus on the delivery of this speech. Because the point is that distractions are everywhere. Sometimes we ignore them, when in reality, we should explore them. It is during these distractions or excursions, during these wanderings and wonderings, that we are truly able to explore our passions and apply what we learn in school to the outside world.  

It is during these adventures that we create memories and in doing so, create ourselves. Because in all honesty, 10 years down the road, we won’t remember our locker combo, the meaning or even the pronunciation of the AP Bio word phosphofructokinase, and we probably won’t even remember the calculus waitress, much to Mr. Kaye’s displeasure.  But we will remember that time we hid in the bushes for 45 minutes before school in order to squirt our target during water wars. Or about the time when we spent countless hours decorating our cars before the first day of school with various names, sayings and in one case, our car The Señor, different Spanish sounding words only to realize that at the end of our intentional graffiti, our car was not street legal. The fact of the matter is that these tangents, these distractions, are adventures and that these adventures allow us to apply our learning. I mean, did anyone know that the formula from precalculus and physics would be so helpful in beating the 5th level of Angry Birds? Or that by using words from Environmental Science or even from Toni Morrison, I can always win at Lingo and occasionally win at Words with Friends.

So that is the point of this whole ramble about distractions and side stories and side notes and pauses. They are important. In an age of focus, paths and direction, I suggest you get distracted. Follow it through the winding curves until the very end. Who knows what you find, what you will learn or even where you will end up. You might find yourself holding 6 different conversations over Facebook chat, AIM, text, and Skype, learning how to break dance, reading a post it note from Millburn’s one and only Post-It boy, or maybe even here, sitting in the Millburn gym at graduation.

It would be terribly selfish to not give credit where it is due. As a result, we all need to thank those, who have in their own way distracted, diverted and directed us. We need to thank teachers who spent hours turning us toward their own subjects and in the process, encouraged us to explore our academic passions. Our coaches who directed us on the court, field, track and lanes to be at our very best at the tournaments and competitions throughout the year.

We need to thank all of the members of the guidance department for helping us navigate the ever tiring college process and for making sure that we graduate in 4 years because as much as fun as high school was, I am pretty sure the administration and the staff are ready to see us graduate. Speaking of the administration, we can’t forget to thank Dr. Keenan, Dr. Pitts and of course, our beloved principal, Dr. Miron, for keeping us grounded, out of trouble and evidentally, reminding us that senior year ends today and not back in January at the beginning of second semester.

Lastly, we need to thank our parents, because from helping us papier-mâché that English project back in elementary school to hearing our book reports in middle school to even driving us to all the sports games and activities, we realize how much of a distraction we are, and we thank you.

Now, I want each and every one, graduates and family members alike, to look around you. Remember the sights, sounds and overall feeling about this moment. Remember all the excursions and adventures of the high school experience. Never forget the distractions. In the future, hopefully, you, fellow graduates, will continue to grow, become wiser and even more successful. At the same time, stay distracted. Stay spirited. Stay who you are. But above all that, stay classy. Thank you.