<p><p><em>A Streetcar Named Desire</em> by Tennessee Williams, directed by Emily Mann at the Broadhurst Theater (235 W 44 St) Photos by Ken Howard. Blanche DuBois (Nicole Ari Parker).</p></p>

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama is telling graduates of a women’s college that they and their generation will lead the country to better days. To the notion that change may not seem as possible, Obama says: “Don’t believe it.”

Obama was the commencement speaker at Barnard College, a private women’s college in New York City, on a day of travels targeting constituencies key to his re-election bid.

The president challenged the graduates to embrace and rekindle the spirit of change. He implored them to stand up be heard, not just “sit back and watch.”

Obama said the nation’s challenges are solvable. He said the question is “whether, together, we can muster the will.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.