哈佛大學(xué)新校長(zhǎng)首次開(kāi)學(xué)演講：不要以貌取人，請(qǐng)與這三類人同行！

今年7月，哈佛大學(xué)建校以來(lái)的首任女校長(zhǎng)Drew Faust正式卸任。隨后，哈佛大學(xué)迎來(lái)新任校長(zhǎng)，Lawrence S. Bacow。

昨天，哈佛大學(xué)校長(zhǎng)Lawrence S. Bacow為歡迎新生致辭。這是他作為哈佛新校長(zhǎng)的第一次新生演講。他以親身經(jīng)歷為例，鼓勵(lì)每一位對(duì)即將到來(lái)的大學(xué)生活感到不安的新生。我們一起來(lái)看看他說(shuō)了什么~

致2022屆哈佛新生：

下午好，2022屆的同學(xué)們。我是Larry Bacow，可以輕松點(diǎn)，叫我Larry，我很榮幸可以代表學(xué)校歡迎你們正式加入哈佛。

我們有一些非常特殊的共同點(diǎn)：這是我擔(dān)任校長(zhǎng)的第一年，這使我成為你們的同學(xué)，而不是其他人的，并將一直如此。所以，我希望（演講被掌聲打斷），我的同學(xué)們。

和你們一樣，我最近才搬進(jìn)了哈佛大學(xué)。和你們一樣，我放棄了熟悉的習(xí)慣來(lái)尋找新的挑戰(zhàn)和新的機(jī)遇。并且，和你們一樣，我來(lái)到這里，是希望能為這個(gè)非常特別的地方做出獨(dú)特的貢獻(xiàn)。

但與你們不同的是，我沒(méi)有必要決定今天穿什么。擔(dān)任校長(zhǎng)的好處之一就是，我可以穿上這件非常時(shí)尚的長(zhǎng)袍。順便說(shuō)一下，這是傳教士長(zhǎng)袍。不過(guò)不用擔(dān)心，在我們下次像這樣見(jiàn)面時(shí)，你們也將穿上類似的衣服，準(zhǔn)確的說(shuō)，是在2022年，你們畢業(yè)前兩天。

今天和那一天之間，恰好有1,358天。考慮到你們睡覺(jué)的時(shí)間（我希望你會(huì)嘗試每天睡八小時(shí)，并且強(qiáng)烈建議這樣做。）你們將擁有大約21,000個(gè)小時(shí)來(lái)探索這個(gè)非凡的機(jī)構(gòu)；用21,000小時(shí)來(lái)尋找你們的激情，并看看它將引領(lǐng)你們?nèi)ツ睦铮挥?1,000小時(shí)去發(fā)現(xiàn)什么對(duì)你最重要，并確定如何讓世界變得更美好。

你們將從這個(gè)旅程中的哪里開(kāi)始？如果我可以提出建議，我認(rèn)為你們應(yīng)該從坐在你旁邊的人開(kāi)始。因?yàn)樗蛩F(xiàn)在最有可能正在經(jīng)歷很多。我知道，是因?yàn)榻衲晗奶斓脑缧r(shí)候，收到了你們中的一封電子郵件。

這是一封非常誠(chéng)實(shí)的信，它告訴我，你們對(duì)于即將到來(lái)的哈佛生活感到興奮和快樂(lè)，但也有焦慮和害怕。想到要與新同學(xué)一起搬到一個(gè)新地方，就很傷腦筋，擔(dān)心無(wú)法融入，這些想法既令人生畏又真實(shí)。

對(duì)于這個(gè)正坐在你們中間的學(xué)生而言，非常肯定的是，他正得知我們之間的一個(gè)共同點(diǎn)，即我們都是移民的后裔?，F(xiàn)在，看著我，穿著這件長(zhǎng)袍，你可能不會(huì)認(rèn)為或者推斷出，我和家人是作為難民來(lái)到這個(gè)國(guó)家的。還有，我在密歇根的一個(gè)藍(lán)領(lǐng)小鎮(zhèn)長(zhǎng)大，以及我高中的空閑時(shí)間都花在組裝收音機(jī)和參加科學(xué)博覽會(huì)上。好吧，也許你會(huì)這樣想，但其他人大概不會(huì)。

我想說(shuō)的是，這可能是我給過(guò)的一些最好的建議，你們永遠(yuǎn)不應(yīng)該以他人的外貌來(lái)評(píng)判他們的內(nèi)心。你在哈佛遇到的人都不會(huì)是完美的，包括你們的校長(zhǎng)。我和其他人一樣，經(jīng)歷過(guò)絕望和希望，失敗和勝利，失落和愛(ài)情。你在這里遇到的每個(gè)人都是獨(dú)一無(wú)二的，每個(gè)人都有自己的故事。你們每個(gè)人都被錄取了，是因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)谀銈兩砩峡吹搅艘恍〇|西，并且相信這會(huì)豐富這個(gè)特殊的群體。

當(dāng)你們?cè)诮酉聛?lái)的幾周里開(kāi)始摸索自己的方法時(shí)，也請(qǐng)花21,000個(gè)小時(shí)里的一些時(shí)間去了解別人。不要只是和你的同學(xué)們傾訴，要傾聽(tīng)他們，向他們學(xué)習(xí)。你們要認(rèn)識(shí)到，在任何情況下，無(wú)論是經(jīng)濟(jì)上的、社交上的或是其它，都有其復(fù)雜之處。畢竟我們都是普通人，我們都不是完美的。嘗試從你自己以外的角度去理解世界的挑戰(zhàn)性工作，你會(huì)成為一個(gè)更好的人，我向你保證，你也會(huì)結(jié)識(shí)一輩子的朋友。

我最親密的朋友之一就是我作為大一新生時(shí)的室友，我們已經(jīng)相識(shí)49年。其實(shí)他是我人生中非常非常特別的人，因?yàn)樗榻B了我和我妻子Adele相識(shí)，Adele正坐在那里，Adele？請(qǐng)站起來(lái)。

我希望你們也會(huì)花一點(diǎn)時(shí)間去了解你們的老師。我作為本科生時(shí)所做過(guò)的最好的決定之一就是去接觸我的一位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教授，在課后閱讀時(shí)，向他提問(wèn)一個(gè)關(guān)于腳注的問(wèn)題。我們進(jìn)行了長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的討論，這在當(dāng)時(shí)還是一個(gè)新興的領(lǐng)域，后來(lái)變成了一門(mén)閱讀課程，而這門(mén)課程改變了我的人生。我至今仍然和那位教授保持著聯(lián)系。

我相信，你們能否在這里收獲非凡的體驗(yàn)的最大因素在于，你們能否結(jié)識(shí)一位、至少一位老師，可能更多，但至少有一位你確定可以在接下來(lái)的人生中保持聯(lián)系的。如果你不知道該如何開(kāi)始，就充分利用辦公時(shí)間，邀請(qǐng)你的老師在史密斯校園中心或Lamont Café喝杯下午茶，也可以就在附近的臺(tái)階或其他地方一起喝咖啡一起談?wù)劇Ｈ绻阌悬c(diǎn)緊張或者焦慮，以至于不知道該問(wèn)什么，就問(wèn)問(wèn)關(guān)于他們研究的事，老師們都很樂(lè)意討論自己的研究。我保證你會(huì)有一個(gè)有趣的對(duì)話。

現(xiàn)在，哈佛可以提供很多機(jī)會(huì)來(lái)滿足你們的好奇心。事實(shí)上，你們?cè)谶@里度過(guò)很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間，在這里學(xué)習(xí)一切，了解上世紀(jì)三十年代劇院里所有壯觀的樹(shù)，柏迪橡樹(shù)，蜂蜜蝗蟲(chóng)，紅楓，黃木，如果還不夠，那就去波士頓的Arnold Arboretum看看更多的物種，甚至可以去哈佛森林。

你們還可以去我身后的紀(jì)念堂，被那些為國(guó)家做出犧牲的哈佛的男男女女們的名字所激勵(lì)，這可能會(huì)激發(fā)你們中的一些人想要更多地了解關(guān)于導(dǎo)致他們犧牲的歷史。

或者你可以進(jìn)入Widener Library，也就是我們會(huì)將你們的班級(jí)合照集中起來(lái)的地方。你們可以在這里探索非凡的藏品，在書(shū)海里徜徉?；蛘吣憧梢宰叩焦饛V場(chǎng)外面，來(lái)到哈佛藝術(shù)博物館。我們收藏了250,000件藏品，你可以在任何地方找到的最非凡的藝術(shù)收藏品之一?；蛘吣憧梢匀タ茖W(xué)與文化博物館，探尋美國(guó)第三大的植物標(biāo)本館，或是世界上唯一真人大小的玻璃花收藏。

如果你還沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)它們，你應(yīng)該去看看，那真的很棒。你還可以去更遠(yuǎn)的地方探索，美國(guó)大學(xué)劇院或哈佛舞蹈中心，去河對(duì)岸的運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)，去哈佛創(chuàng)新實(shí)驗(yàn)室，去即將建成的藝術(shù)實(shí)驗(yàn)室，以及科學(xué)和工程綜合實(shí)驗(yàn)室。你選擇的每一個(gè)方向都將帶給你非凡的機(jī)會(huì)。

當(dāng)然，校園外還有一個(gè)更大的世界，我們每個(gè)人都有可能在某種程度上做得更好。所以，2022屆的同學(xué)們，我現(xiàn)在要給你們布置第一份作業(yè)，你們的第一個(gè)任務(wù)并不難，如果你們有資格投票，我希望你們?nèi)プ?cè)登記，了解候選人和問(wèn)題，然后投出你們的選票。在一個(gè)民主國(guó)家，公民的首要責(zé)任就是投票，實(shí)際上我們已經(jīng)讓你們很容易做到這一點(diǎn)。至少肯尼迪學(xué)院的政治學(xué)院已經(jīng)做到了。

所以，拿出你的手機(jī)。我知道你們都有，現(xiàn)在你們就可以拿出來(lái)了，因?yàn)槲乙嬖V你們一個(gè)你們要去瀏覽的網(wǎng)站。記下這個(gè)網(wǎng)址：iop.turbovote.org，我重復(fù)一遍，iop.turbovote.org。如果你符合條件，請(qǐng)注冊(cè)并投票。作為美國(guó)公民和哈佛學(xué)子，你們有這個(gè)責(zé)任。

投票只是你可以做的很多事之一，以確保你所居住的世界更像你想要生活的世界。我希望在接下來(lái)的21000個(gè)小時(shí)里，你們會(huì)有足夠的時(shí)間來(lái)確定如何利用你的才能讓別人的生活更美好。我還沒(méi)有遇到任何認(rèn)為我們生活的世界是完美的人。這不是一個(gè)政治聲明。

如果你同樣不認(rèn)為這個(gè)世界是完美的，那么它變得更好的唯一方法就是讓像你這樣的好人努力去改善它。哈佛已經(jīng)歷經(jīng)了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)，不是因?yàn)樗昝溃且驗(yàn)樗篮茫移诖诮酉聛?lái)的四年中，你們選擇如何在善良和智慧中成長(zhǎng)。

現(xiàn)在，你們收到的最重要的建議是：對(duì)愛(ài)你的人為善，特別是父母和你的家人，這是明智之舉。你上大學(xué)對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)也是一個(gè)巨大的調(diào)整。你剛剛鼓掌感謝了許多幫助你完成這一過(guò)渡的人，但是你的家人同樣需要靠自己適應(yīng)這個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)變。請(qǐng)感謝他們支持你們和為此付出的犧牲，才讓你們有機(jī)會(huì)在這里學(xué)習(xí)。

通過(guò)支持他們，表達(dá)你的感激之情，因?yàn)樗麄儸F(xiàn)在適應(yīng)了你不再是一個(gè)恒定的物理存在的生活。特別是，你的父母永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)厭倦聽(tīng)到你在做什么，無(wú)論是通過(guò)電話，電子郵件還是短信。也不要忘記關(guān)心他們過(guò)得怎樣。我向你保證，這些時(shí)間都是值得的。

當(dāng)然，當(dāng)我和Adele在院子里，或在校園里，或者在其他地方看到你們時(shí)，我們會(huì)問(wèn)你們?cè)谧鍪裁?。我相信你們?huì)告訴我們，關(guān)于你們的興奮和快樂(lè)，甚至是你們的焦慮和關(guān)切。今天在這里的每一個(gè)人，以及大學(xué)里的很多其他人，將為你們服務(wù)，并希望你們?nèi)〉贸晒Α＝邮芪覀兊慕ㄗh，并在你需要的時(shí)候向我們尋求幫助。

你們很快就會(huì)知道哈佛不是一個(gè)地點(diǎn)，而是一個(gè)理念，是那些秉持這個(gè)理念前行的人。在接下來(lái)的21000個(gè)小時(shí)里，哈佛將無(wú)處不在，并且，你此后人生中的每一個(gè)小時(shí)都會(huì)如此。

2022屆的學(xué)生們，我的同學(xué)們。愿你在今后的生活中充分利用這段美好的時(shí)光。我很榮幸能與你們分享這段旅程。

謝謝！

·  演 ·  講 ·  原  · 文  ·

Good afternoon, Class of 2022. I am Larry Bacow — and please feel free to call me Larry — and it is my great honor to welcome you officially to the Harvard community.

We have something very special in common: This is my first year as president, which makes me a member of your class — and no other — for all time.  So I hope you [speech is interrupted by applause]. My classmates!

Like you, I’ve recently moved into Harvard Yard. Like you, I’ve given up familiar routines in search of new challenges as well as new opportunities. And, like you, I’ve arrived here in the hope that I can make a unique contribution to this very special place.

But unlike you, I didn’t have to decide what to wear today. Because one of the benefits of being president is that I get to wear this very stylish robe —  a pilgrim’s preachers robe, by the way. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be wearing something very similar when we next meet as a group, exactly two days before you graduate in 2022.

There are exactly 1,358 days between this day and that one. And accounting for the hours you will spend sleeping — and I do hope that you will try to get eight hours of sleep a night, I highly recommend it — you have approximately 21,000 hours to explore this extraordinary institution, 21,000 hours to find your passion and to see where it will take you, 21,000 hours to discover what matters to you most and to determine how you can make the world a better place.

Where will you begin in this journey? If I can offer a suggestion, I think you should start with the person sitting next to you, because he or she is most likely going through a lot right now. I know because I received an email from one of you earlier this summer. It was a very honest message to me about feeling excited and joyful — but also anxious and scared — at the prospect of coming. The thought of moving to a new place with new people was nerve-wracking, and the thought of not fitting in was both daunting and real.

What put everything in perspective for this particular student, who is sitting among you, was learning that he and I actually have something in common: parents who had immigrated to the United States. Now, looking at me, dressed in this robe, you might not have assumed or gathered that my folks came to this country as refugees, or that I grew up in a blue-collar town in Michigan, or that I spent my free time in high school building ham radios and entering science fairs. OK, maybe you might that, but not the other stuff.

My point — and this is some of the best advice that I have ever been given — is that you should never judge your insides by other peoples’ outsides. No one you will meet at Harvard is perfect, and that includes your president. I have experienced despair and hope, defeat and triumph, and loss and love just like anyone else. Everyone you meet here is unique; and everyone has his or her own story — and every single one of you was admitted because we saw something in you that we believed would enrich this special community.  

As you begin to find your way over the next few weeks, invest some of your 21,000 hours in getting to know one another. Don’t just talk to your classmates, listen to them; learn from them. Recognize that every kind of circumstance — financial, social, or otherwise — comes with its own set of complications. After all, we are all human, none of us is perfect. Embrace the challenging work of trying to understand the world from a perspective other than your own. You’ll be a better person for it and I guarantee you, you’ll also make some lifelong friends. One of my closest friends is someone I roomed with as a freshman, and we have been part of each other’s lives for 49 years and counting. Actually, he is a very, very special person in my life because he introduced me to my wife, Adele, who is sitting somewhere over there. Adele? Stand up, Adele.

I hope you will spend some of your hours getting to know your teachers, too. One of the best decisions I ever made as an undergraduate was to approach one of my economics professors to ask a question about a footnote in a reading after class. We ended up having a long conversation about game theory — an emerging field at the time — that turned into a reading course that actually changed the course of my life.  I am still in touch with that professor today. I believe the single greatest predictor of whether or not you have an extraordinary experience here is whether or not you get to know one at least one of your teachers, just one, at least one, you can get to know more, but at least one well enough that you will stay in touch with him or her for the rest of your life. If you don’t know where to start, go to office hours. Invite your teacher to have a cup of coffee either at the Smith Campus Center or the Lamont Café or just get together with them right here on these steps or somewhere else nearby. And if you’re a little nervous or anxious and you don’t know what to ask them, ask them about their research. Faculty love talking about their research. I guarantee you’ll have an interesting conversation.

Now, Harvard will give you many opportunities to satisfy your curiosity. In fact, you could spend a considerable amount of your time just in this space alone, learning everything there is to know all the magnificent trees in Tercentenary Theatre — bur oaks, honey locusts, red maples, yellowwoods —if that’s not enough, got to Arnold Arboretum in Boston and see many more species, or you could even travel to the Harvard Forest. You could enter Memorial Church, just behind me, to be inspired and even overwhelmed by the names of Harvard men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, something which is likely to inspire some of you to want to learn more about history, about the circumstances that gave rise to the conflicts for which they sacrificed. Or you could enter Widener Library, where we’re going to assemble for your class picture in a little bit, and you could explore our extraordinary collections, get lost in the stacks. Or you could venture beyond the Yard to the Harvard Art Museums right over there, 250,000 items in our collection, one of the most extraordinary art collections you can find anywhere; or the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture to find the third largest herbarium in the United States or the only collection of life-size glass flowers in the world. If you haven’t seen them you should, truly amazing. Go farther afield to explore the American Repertory Theater or the Harvard Dance Center, across the river to the athletic fields, the Harvard Innovation Labs, the soon-to-be art lab, as well as the Science and Engineering Complex. Every direction that you might choose to wander from here will lead you to extraordinary opportunities. 

And there is, of course, a greater world beyond campus, a world that each of us has the potential to make better in some way. So class of 2022, I’m actually now going to give you our first homework, your very first assignment, not that difficult. If you are eligible to vote, we expect you to register, to inform yourself of the candidates and the issues, and then cast your ballot. The very first responsibility of citizenship in a democracy is to vote, and we have actually made it quite easy you to do so. At least the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School has done so. So take out your phones. I know all you have them, this is the time when you actually get to take them out, because I’m going to give you the website where you’re going to go. Take down this address: iop — for Institute of Politics — .turbovote.org. Let me repeat that: iop.turbovote.org. If you’re eligible, register and vote. It is your responsibility as a citizen of this country and as a citizen of Harvard.

Voting is just one thing you can do to ensure that the world in which you live is much more like the world in which you would like to live. I hope in the next 21,000 hours you will find ample time to determine how you might use your considerable talents to make life better for others. I have yet to meet anyone who thinks that the world that we live in is perfect. This is not a political statement, it is equally true Democrats and Republicans, of liberals and conservatives. And if you don’t think that the world is perfect, the only way it gets better is if good people like you work to repair it. Harvard has endured over centuries not because it is great but because it is good, and I look forward to learning about the ways in which you choose to grow in goodness — and in wisdom — over the next four years.

And now the most important unsolicited advice you will receive from anyone today: It is also wise to be good to the people who love you, especially parents and your family. You going off to college is a huge adjustment for them too. You’ve just applauded been introduced many of the people who help you make with this transition, but your families are on their own. Be grateful for the ways in which they have supported you and sacrificed so that you may have the opportunity of studying and learning here. Express your gratitude by supporting them as they now adjust to a life in which you are no longer a constant physical presence. Your parents, in particular, will never tire of hearing how you’re doing, be it by phone, email, or text. Just make sure to ask how they are doing. I assure you it will be time well spent.

And of course Adele and I will ask how you are doing when I see you in the Yard or at events on campus or elsewhere, and I trust that you will update us on your excitements and joys — even your anxieties and concerns. Everyone here today — and lots and lots of other people across the University — are here for you and want you to succeed. Take us up on our offer and ask us for help whenever you need it.

You will soon learn that Harvard is not a place: It’s an idea, and it’s the people who carry that idea with them. Harvard will be everywhere you go for the next 21,000 hours — and every hour after that for the rest of your life as well. Welcome, fellow members of the Class of 2022, my class. May you make the most of this wonderful time in your lives. It’s my privilege to share this journey with you. Thank you.

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