耶魯校長蘇必德為2024屆耶魯新生發(fā)表了開學日演講

Hello everyone! To first-year, transfer, and Eli Whitney students: Welcome to Yale! I also extend a warm welcome to all the family members and friends who join me in recognizing this milestone in your lives.

大家好!所有大一新生們、轉(zhuǎn)校生、Eli Whitney項目的學生們：歡迎來到耶魯!也歡迎各位耶魯家屬和朋友的加入，與我一起見證你們?nèi)松械闹匾獣r刻。

Today we begin a new academic year at a time of significant upheaval. Historically, social conflict and disease pandemics have catalyzed change, and so we should not be surprised that many are calling now for further transformation of our society.

新學年始于一個非常動蕩的時期。過去的一段時間里，社會沖突和疫情讓一切發(fā)生了改變。如今，許多人期望我們的社會實現(xiàn)進一步的變革，我們對此也不感到驚訝。

We are dealing with two parallel crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial inequality and injustice rooted in our country’s history of slavery and still facing us today. We have all been affected by these challenges, especially members of Black and brown communities who bear the brunt of these burdens.

擺在我們面前的是雙重危機：新冠肺炎疫情，和種族不平等、不公正的問題。種族問題起源于美國奴隸制的歷史，卻依舊延續(xù)至今。我們所有人都受到了這些挑戰(zhàn)的影響，特別是黑色和棕色人種群體承受最多。

I have been giving a lot of thought to the university’s role in addressing difficult social issues. Much remains to be answered in this turbulent period, but what is certain is that the core mission of Yale is more relevant than ever.

在這些嚴峻的社會問題面前，大學應該扮演一個什么樣的角色呢?這是我近來一直在思考的問題。雖然許多問題仍難找尋答案，但有一點可以肯定，那就是耶魯大學的核心使命比以往任何時候都更為重要。

I am sure each of you has studied Yale’s mission statement:Yale is committed to improving the world today and for future generations through outstanding research and scholarship, education, preservation, and practice. Yale educates aspiring leaders worldwide who serve all sectors of society. We carry out this mission through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

我相信你們每一位都研讀過耶魯?shù)氖姑裕和ㄟ^卓越的研究、學術、教育、保護與實踐，耶魯致力于改善世界，為今天也為后人。耶魯以為社會各界和全球各地區(qū)培養(yǎng)領袖為己任。在一個崇尚道德、相互依存、豐富多元的集體中，教職員工、學生和校友自由交流，以踐行我們的使命。

Research, scholarship, education, preservation, and practice are vital to understanding our past, building on hard-earned progress, identifying what still needs to be done, and creating change. You know this; it is why you are here.

學術研究、教育、保護與實踐的重要意義在于幫助我們理解過去，讓我們基于前人得來不易的成果，找到自己仍需要做的事，從而帶來改變。對此你其實早有了解，因為這是你之所以選擇耶魯?shù)脑颉?/p>

You will be studying with professors who use their knowledge and expertise to improve the world. Yale faculty members work with government officials and others on containing the spread of infectious diseases, mitigating health disparities, transforming policing, and reforming the criminal justice system.

你們將跟隨教授學習。他們用自己的知識和專業(yè)技能改善著這個世界。耶魯教職工與政府官員和其他人緊密合作，努力遏制疫情的擴散，縮小健康衛(wèi)生方面存在的差距，改變治安執(zhí)法狀況，改革刑事司法體系。

While addressing challenges like these, you will learn from your teachers how to analyze problems, think critically, and communicate clearly. Along the way, you also will be encouraged to focus on yourself. Whether fighting a global pandemic or the scourge of racism, global climate change or economic recession, we must be willing to be honest about our own motivations and open to changing our minds. Efforts to solve pressing problems will not be effective if they are led by individuals who cannot feel compassion nor learn to cooperate, nor by those who try to achieve change through manipulation, coercion, or brute force.

面對諸如此類的挑戰(zhàn)，你會跟隨老師學習如何分析問題，如何批判性思考，如何清晰地表達自己的觀點。在此過程中，我們還希望你可以關注自身。無論應戰(zhàn)的是全球疫情，還是種族矛盾，是全球氣候變化，或是經(jīng)濟衰退，我們都必須坦誠對待自己的動機，開放思想，迎接改變。想要有效地解決這些緊迫的難題，就要跟隨正確的領導者，不能跟隨那些毫無慈憫之心、不懂得合作的人，也不能跟隨那些試圖通過操縱、脅迫和暴力手段實現(xiàn)變革的人。

Yale’s faculty understands this. I recently discussed compassion with Sterling Professor of Sociology Elijah Anderson. He has contributed immensely to the study of racial inequality, particularly in urban settings, but he also has put his expertise into practice as a consultant to the White House and to Congress. I asked him, how does he teach students who want to improve the world?

耶魯教職工深知這一點。最近，我和社會學斯特林講席教授Elijah Anderson就“慈憫心”展開了探討。他對于種族不平等問題，尤其在城市環(huán)境領域頗有研究，同時作為白宮和國會的顧問，他也把自己的專業(yè)知識應用到實踐之中。我問他，他是如何教導那些想要改善世界的學生的。

He told me that he shows his students how to see the world from the point of view of others—how to have empathy. Such an ability, he noted, can help us to be better scholars and students, to be more sensitive to the human condition, and to be more self-aware. When we are motivated by empathy, compassion, and cooperation, we can bridge differences, learn to understand one another, and enact meaningful, sustainable change.

他告訴我，他會教學生如何站在別人的角度看待這個世界，如何懷揣一顆同理心。這一能力能夠幫助我們成為更優(yōu)秀的學者或?qū)W生，更敏銳地觀察人類的處境，也能讓我們更有自知之明。當我們出于同理之情、慈憫之心和合作之道去做事，我們就可以連接不同、理解他人，從而帶來有意義的、可持續(xù)發(fā)展的改變。

Empathy and compassion—a willingness to engage those with whom we may not see eye-to-eye and a concern for the misfortunes of others—are preconditions for cooperation. Cooperation—working together to solve a common problem, especially one that we cannot overcome by working alone—requires us to listen to each other charitably, appreciate each other’s perspective, and inhibit our desire to dismiss individuals with whom we initially believe we cannot develop common purpose.

同理心和慈憫心，指的是我們與那些素未謀面之人溝通的愿望，對那些遭遇不幸之人的擔憂，這是合作的前提條件。而合作指的是大家一起解決共同面對的問題，尤其是在一己之力難以辦到的情況下。這需要我們友好地傾聽彼此，尊重對方的見解，拋開我們一開始會認為難以共事的偏見。

The enemies of compassion and cooperation are fear and anger. I am not saying that it is inappropriate to experience the fear caused by a pandemic of a novel virus that can be fatal. And I am not saying that one shouldn’t feel anger, indeed, outrage, at the killing of George Floyd by former officers of the Minneapolis police department. In fact, COVID-19 makes me anxious; and those former officers, who took a sworn oath to protect the public, leave me livid. But, although such fear and anger can be motivating, I must ensure they do not prevent my finding common ground with well-meaning others whose approaches to societal challenges are not the same as mine. I must engage them rather than attempt to silence them to accomplish anything real and lasting.

慈憫與合作最大的敵人就是恐懼和憤怒。我不是說，面對這樣一種新型致命性的病毒引發(fā)的大流行病，不應該心生恐懼。我也不是說，面對George Floyd遭到明尼阿波利斯市警察的殺害，憤慨和暴怒是不對的。實際上，新冠肺炎疫情也讓我深陷焦慮，那些曾誓言要保護公眾的警察也讓我感到憤怒。這種恐懼和憤怒雖然激勵著我們采取行動，但我不能讓這些情緒阻止我與其他善良之人找尋共通之處，盡管在種種社會挑戰(zhàn)面前，我們采取的方式可能不盡相同。所以，我必須讓他們參與進來，想要實現(xiàn)一些有現(xiàn)實意義和長久影響的事情，就不能緘默別人的聲音。

Let me provide an example from politics. At one time, women who became pregnant and men who wanted to take time off from work to care for an infant were at risk of being fired by their employers. But in 1993, the U.S. Senate passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, guaranteeing family members the ability to take a prolonged unpaid leave without risking their jobs in order to tend to a newborn, adopt a child, or assist a sick family member.

我想舉個政治方面的例子。曾經(jīng)，如果女性懷孕，或者男性想要請假回家照料嬰兒，他們都面臨著被開除的風險。但是在1993年，美國參議院通過了《家庭與醫(yī)療休假法案》，從此保證了那些因為家中有新生兒要照料，有孩子要撫養(yǎng)或是有生病的家人要照看而請假的人，他們享有無薪加長假期，不用再冒著失業(yè)的風險。

How did this act—which was considered revolutionary at the time—pass? Well, it was developed cooperatively by Senator Ted Kennedy, among the most liberal of lawmakers, and Senator Orrin Hatch, among the most conservative. They opposed one another on many policies, but in this case, they found a common cause: supporting families. They both felt compassion toward individuals at risk for losing their jobs due to childbirth, and—perhaps more important—they respected each other as individuals, listened to each other, and placed national interest ahead of party differences. Their cooperation led, ultimately, to significant social change.

這種在當時看來具有革命性的法案是如何通過的呢?其實就是因為兩位參議員的合作，一方是極具自由精神的泰德·肯尼迪(Ted Kennedy)，另一方是保守派的代表奧林·哈奇(Orrin Hatch)。他們曾在許多政策的制定上意見相左，但在這項法案上，他們找到了共同的出發(fā)點——支持這些家庭成員。兩人都對可能因家中添丁而失去工作的人抱有慈憫心，而且更重要的是，他們彼此尊重，相互傾聽，將國家利益置于黨派分歧之前。他們的合作最終也為社會帶來重大變革。

One final thought about the importance of compassion and cooperation: Most of you, members of the Class of 2024, are part of Generation Z, the post-millennials. I am, well, a Baby Boomer. Perhaps you have heard that you and I are quite different. True, you are the first “digital natives,” and the only world you have ever known has included the smart phone, texting, and social media. And you are distinctive in other ways as well. Yours is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in American history, and you also promise to be the best educated.

關于慈憫與合作的重要性，還有最后一個問題值得思考。你們中的大多數(shù)人，2024屆的同學們，是生于千禧年之后的Z世代。至于我，屬于嬰兒潮一代。也許正像你們聽到的這樣，你我全然不同。的確，你們是第一批“數(shù)字原住民”，你們的世界充斥著智能手機、短信和社交媒體，在其他很多方面也展現(xiàn)出與眾不同的一面。你們也是美國歷史上民族和種族最為多樣化的一代，并享受著最好的教育。

But it is not only that we are different in these ways; we also are said to disagree. We are told we have different views on politics, music, and work. I am sure you are familiar with the stereotypes that exaggerate our differences. Stereotyping is another barrier to compassion and cooperation.

但有時，我們之間的不同不只是這些，還有別人口中所謂的不同。有人說我們對政治、音樂和工作有不同的看法，相信你一定對這樣的說法并不陌生。可是這些刻板印象實則夸大了我們之間的差異，成為了慈憫與合作的另一個絆腳石。

For example, you fault my generation for the great problems of our time. And my generation too often fails to understand you. We pass you on the sidewalk, mystified by your ear buds and your clothes. We tell you to grow up, to get off social media, to develop some real-life coping skills, and to get out of your parents’ basements and get a job. And to us you say, “OK, Boomer.” Thanks to an article I read in the Wall Street Journal—a print edition of it, in fact—I am told this is a “sly linguistic weapon of intergenerational warfare.”

比如，你們會將當今時代的問題之源歸罪于我們，而我們這一代人也缺乏對你們的了解。當我們在路上看見你們，常常搞不懂你們的新潮耳機和奇裝異服。我們告訴你們要成熟一些，遠離社交媒體，培養(yǎng)一些現(xiàn)實生活中的應對技能，別窩在家里依賴父母，趕緊去找一份工作。這時候你們會回答道，“好吧，老人家?！蔽覐摹度A爾街日報》(印刷版)上讀過一篇文章，稱其為“世代間的唇槍舌戰(zhàn)”。

Well, although such stereotypes give rise to internet memes and other kinds of clickbait to get us to think of our differences as “intergenerational warfare,” we are not at war. Those are distractions, and they won’t help us link arms in overcoming what may be standing in the way of our future—our shared future.

盡管這些不同年代人之間的刻板成見成為網(wǎng)絡上一大熱點，涌現(xiàn)出很多表情包，讓我們之間的“不同之處”被視為“代際戰(zhàn)爭”，但是這根本不是一場戰(zhàn)爭。這些固化的想法讓你我變得疏遠，難以攜手克服前方的困難，也阻礙我們走向共同的明天。

At the heart of “OK, Boomer” is the belief that my generation contributed to the serious, even existential, problems in the world that you will enter and lead. Your generation sees the challenges posed by climate change, disease, abusive policing, war, racism, and poverty. You recognize the urgency of these problems. But my generation does as well. Instead of dismissing one another’s perspectives and focusing only on difference, we need to direct our attention to creating something better for all who will follow us. We can only do that by harnessing our compassion and cooperating.

“好吧，老人家，”這句話背后的核心意思是一種成見，認為是我們這一代人給你們將要邁入和引領的世界造成了嚴峻、關乎人類存亡的問題。你們的確見證了許多挑戰(zhàn)：氣候變化、疾病、暴力執(zhí)法、貧窮。你們認識到了這些問題的緊迫性，可是我們這一代也看到了。與其不顧別人的看法，只關注我們之間種種的差異，倒不如直奔主題，尋求更好的解決方法，改變今天也造福明天。而想要做到這點，我們就要懷揣慈憫之心，懂得互助合作。

Here at Yale, we learn from each other. That is why academics like me enjoy spending their entire lives on college campuses. And it is why you chose to come to Yale. The passing of knowledge and the responsibility to do some good with it from one generation to the next is a large part of Yale’s mission. It is hard work.

在耶魯大學，我們能夠互相學習。這就是為什么像我這樣的學者愿意在大學校園里度過一生的原因，這也是為什么你選擇來到耶魯大學的原因。將知識一代代傳承下去，用它們助力美好的事情發(fā)生，這是耶魯使命的重要組成部分。當然，實現(xiàn)它需要付出艱辛。

So, please: use your time at Yale wisely. Let us devote ourselves to learning together, to the personal transformation that the pursuit of knowledge can create for each of us. Let us use these college years to change ourselves—to become more compassionate human beings. And then let us work cooperatively on existing and emerging challenges to create the world we desire.

所以請你們務必把握好在耶魯?shù)臅r間。讓我們互相學習，在求知中完成自我蛻變。利用大學時光改變自己，成為更具慈憫心的人。讓我們攜起手來，一同應對現(xiàn)存的以及未來可能出現(xiàn)的新挑戰(zhàn)，共創(chuàng)所愿世界。

Welcome to Yale!

歡迎來到耶魯!