Waiting Is Over for ’92 Graduates at UC Irvine : Commencement: Chancellor Jack W. Peltason, trying to keep ceremony serious amid beach balls and Frisbees, was among those giving advice for the future.

The strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” were all Ellen Gould needed to hear to burst into tears.

Wiping away tears with a crumpled tissue, Gould was a proud parent overcome by the emotion of the occasion. Her 21-year-old son, Michael, was among those receiving a college degree during one of three separate ceremonies Saturday at UC Irvine.

During this 27th commencement exercise, the university awarded 3,798 degrees including 3,146 bachelor’s, 420 master’s, 150 doctorates and 82 medical degrees.

At the first of three ceremonies held Saturday, UC Irvine Chancellor Jack W. Peltason scolded students for bouncing beach balls and throwing Frisbees into the air as he attempted to make his final commencement speech as chancellor.

“For those members of the class who would prefer to be at the beach, I’m sure we’d be happy to let you go,” said Peltason, who is leaving UCI to become president of the nine-campus UC system.

In a brief speech to the students, Peltason, 68, described himself as “a born optimist and paid Pollyanna.”

“Although we have a long ways to go before there is justice for all, I urge you not to despair of democracy. Continue to believe in the system,” said Peltason, who encouraged the group to continue to “stick with the fundamentals of society, be of good cheer and have a good life.”

In contrast, Jose Solorio, president of the Associated Students, caused a stir among the crowd when he opened his speech by saying, “From this day on, let no one be fooled. The American dream is a farce.”

Solorio, who will attend law school at Harvard University, raged against racial intolerance and decried the lack of Latino students among his graduating class.

“We need to change our attitude from reaching toward an illusionary American dream to coming to terms with reality,” Solorio said. “It’s time to face the fact that we are a multiethnic society and need to treat everyone as equals.”

Student speaker Nadja Dvorkin urged her fellow graduates toward public service.

“It would be easy and relatively painless to walk away from here and never look back,” Dvorkin said. “But I don’t think any of us want to do that. The experiences that we had here will always be a part of us.”

One of the day’s most emotional moments came at the end of the first graduation ceremony when a degree was awarded posthumously to Rosemarie Maldonado.

The UC Irvine premed student was killed last September while on her way to volunteer at a medical clinic in Mexico.

Maldonado’s parents, David and Alicia Maldonado of Santa Ana, accepted the degree at the ceremony on their daughter’s behalf.

“She was a top premed student,” said Wendall Stanley, an associate dean for the School of Biological Studies. “She was a brilliant student and a lovely girl with everything going for her.

“Everyone adored her.”