英语阅读—哈佛大学校长的告别演讲

第一篇：英语阅读—哈佛大学校长的告别演讲

两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平

http://www.xiexiebang.com/test/kuaisu.aspx?tid=16-73675-0 哈佛大学校长的告别演讲

Today, I speak from this podium a final time as your president.As I depart, I want to thank all of youwith whom I have been privileged to work over these past years.Some of us have had our disagreements, but I know that which unites us transcends that which divides us.I leave with a full heart, grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this remarkable institution.今天，我将以校长的身份，最后一次在这个讲台上演讲。即将离任前，我要感谢诸位学生、教师、校友和员工，而且非常荣幸在过去的5年里能与你们共事。我们中的一些人意见不尽相同，但是，我知道，我们的共识远远超越分歧。我心满意足的离开哈佛，感激你们给我机会领导这所杰出的学府。

Since I delivered my inaugural address, 56 months ago, I have learned an enormous amount—about higher education, about leadership, and also about myself.Some things look different to me than they did five years ago.The world that today’s Harvard’s graduates are entering is a profoundly different one than the world administrators entered.自从56个月前我发表上任讲话以来，我学到了很多——关于高等教育，关于领导艺术，也关于自我完善。在我看来，现在与5年前不同了。今天的哈佛毕业生正在进入的世界和管理人员当年所进入的世界相比已是大相径庭了。

It is a world where opportunities have never been greater for those who know how to teach children to read, or those who know how to distribute financial risk;never greater for those who understand the cell and the pixel;never greater for those who can master, and navigate between, legal codes, faith traditions, computer platforms, political viewpoints.现今世界，机遇对于这些人来说是空前的：他们知道如何教子女阅读；他们知道如何组合投资；他们懂得基本存储单元和像素概念；他们能掌握各种法典、传统信仰、计算机平台、政治观点并在其中游刃有余。

It is also a world where some are left further and further behind-those who are not educated, those trapped in poverty and violence, those for whom equal opportunity is just a hollow phrase.同时，现今世界，一些人越来越落后于时代。这些人没受过教育、深陷于贫穷和暴力、平等机遇对他们而言，仅是一句空话。

Scientific and technological advances are enabling us to comprehend the furthest reaches of the cosmos, the most basic constituents of matter, and the miracle of life.科技进步正在使我们能够探索宇宙的边陲、物质最基本的成分及生命的奇迹。

At the same time, today, the actions, and inaction, of human beings imperil not only life on the planet, but the very life of the planet.与此同时，今天，人类所做的及没能做到的事情，不仅危害到这个星球上的生命，也危害到该星球的寿命。

Globalization is making the world smaller, faster and richer.Still, 9/11, avian flu, and Iran remind us that a smaller, faster world is not necessarily a safer world.全球化正在使地球变得愈来愈小、愈来愈快和愈来愈富有。尽管如此，9/

11、禽流感及伊朗提醒我们，更小更快的世界决不意味着其更安全。

两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平

http://www.xiexiebang.com/test/kuaisu.aspx?tid=16-73675-0

第二篇：哈佛大学校长离职演讲

Good bye and good luck!

by Lawrence H.Summers, President of Harvard University

Today, I speak from this podium a final time as your president.As I depart, I want to thank all of youwith whom I have been privileged to work over these past years.Some of us have had our

disagreements, but I know that which unites us transcends that which divides us.I leave with a full heart, grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this remarkable institution.Since I delivered my inaugural address, 56 months ago, I have learned an enormous amount—about higher education, about leadership, and also about myself.Some things look different to me than they did five years ago.The world that today’s Harvard’s graduates are entering is a profoundly different one than the world administrators entered.It is a world where opportunities have never been greater for those who know how to teach children to read, or those who know how to distribute financial risk;never greater for those who understand the cell and the pixel;never greater for those who can master, and navigate between, legal codes, faith traditions, computer platforms, political viewpoints.It is also a world where some are left further and further behindbut desperately in need of wisdom.Now, when sound bites are getting shorter, when instant messages crowd out essays, and when individual lives grow more frenzied, college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs.For all these reasons I believedin the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.Universities are where the wisdom we cannot afford to lose is preserved from generation to generation.Among all human institutions, universities can look beyond present norms to future possibilities, can look through current considerations to emergent opportunities.And among universities, Harvard stands out.With its great tradition, its iconic

reputation, its remarkable network of 300,000 alumni, Harvard has never had as much potential as it does now.And yet, great and proud institutions, like great and proud nations at their peak, must surmount a very real risk: that the very strength of their traditions will lead to caution, to an inward focus on prerogative and to a complacency that lets the world pass them by.And so I say to you that our University today is at an inflection point in its history.At such a moment, there is temptation to elevate comfort and consensus over progress and clear direction, but this would be a mistake.The University’s matchless resourcesdemand that we seize this moment with vision and boldness.To do otherwise would be a lost opportunity.We can spur great deeds that history will mark decades and even centuries from now.If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world.

第三篇：哈佛大学校长辞职演讲

哈佛大学校长的告别演讲

作者：news发表时间：2011年02月22日(1周前)

美文于我，从来不意味着华丽辞藻的堆砌，更不是平仄工整的秩序，美文应是一种思想的折射，一种语言之上的光华，简单，简洁，却又是一个谜，一种挑战，一种意味深长。套用张爱玲那句常用的诗句：于千万人之中，遇见你要遇见的人。于千万年之中，时间无涯的荒野里，没有早一步，也没有迟一步，遇上了也只能轻轻地说一句：“你也在这里吗？” 希望我选的文章也能给你带来如此感觉，于愿足矣。

Good bye and good luck!

by Lawrence H.Summers, President of Harvard University

Today, I speak from this podium a final time as your president.As I depart, I want to thank all of youwith whom I have been privileged to work over these past years.Some of us have had our disagreements, but I know that which unites us transcends that which divides us.I leave with a full heart, grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this remarkable institution.Since I delivered my inaugural address, 56 months ago, I have learned an enormous amount—about higher education, about leadership, and also about myself.Some things look different to me than they did five years ago.The world that today’s Harvard’s

graduates are entering is a profoundly different one than the world administrators entered.It is a world where opportunities have never been greater for those who know how to teach children to read, or those who know how to distribute financial risk;never greater for those who understand the cell and the pixel;never greater for those who can master, and navigate between, legal codes, faith traditions, computer platforms, political viewpoints.It is also a world where some are left further and further behindbut desperately in need of wisdom.Now, when sound bites are getting shorter, when instant messages crowd out essays, and when

individual lives grow more frenzied, college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs.For all these reasons I believedin the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.Universities are where the wisdom we cannot afford to lose is preserved from generation to generation.Among all human institutions, universities can look beyond present norms to future possibilities, can look through current considerations to emergent opportunities.And among universities, Harvard stands out.With its great tradition, its iconic reputation, its remarkable network of 300,000 alumni, Harvard has never had as much potential as it does now.And yet, great and proud institutions, like great and proud nations at their peak, must

surmount a very real risk: that the very strength of their traditions will lead to caution, to an inward focus on prerogative and to a complacency that lets the world pass them by.And so I say to you that our University today is at an inflection point in its history.At such a moment, there is temptation to elevate comfort and consensus over progress and clear direction, but this would be a mistake.The University’s matchless resourcesdemand that we seize this moment with vision and boldness.To do otherwise would be a lost opportunity.We can spur great deeds that history will mark decades and even centuries from now.If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world.【中文译文】：

再见，好运！

哈佛大学校长 劳伦斯 萨默斯

今天，我将以校长的身份，最后一次在这个讲台上演讲。即将离任前，我要感谢诸位学生、教师、校友和员工，而且非常荣幸在过去的5年里能与你们共事。我们中的一些人意见不尽相同，但是，我知道，我们的共识远远超越分歧。我心满意足的离开哈佛，感激你们给我机会领导这所杰出的学府。

自从56个月前我发表上任讲话以来，我学到了很多——关于高等教育，关于领导艺术，也关于自我完善。在我看来，现在与5年前不同了。今天的哈佛毕业生正在进入的世界和管理人员当年所进入的世界相比已是大相径庭了。

现今世界，机遇对于这些人来说是空前的：他们知道如何教子女阅读；他们知道如何组合投资；他们懂得基本存储单元和像素概念；他们能掌握各种法典、传统信仰、计算机平台、政治观点并在其中游刃有余。

同时，现今世界，一些人越来越落后于时代。这些人没受过教育、深陷于贫穷和暴力、平等机遇对他们而言，仅是一句空话。

科技进步正在使我们能够探索宇宙的边陲、物质最基本的成分及生命的奇迹。

与此同时，今天，人类所做的及没能做到的事情，不仅危害到这个星球上的生命，也危害到该星球的寿命。

全球化正在使地球变得愈来愈小、愈来愈快和愈来愈富有。尽管如此，9/

11、禽流感及伊朗提醒我们，更小更快的世界决不意味着其更安全。

我们正处于一个知识爆炸的世界之中，不过，迫切需要智慧。现在，在（新闻采访的）原声摘要播出变得愈来愈短，即时信息淘汰了杂记文，个人生活变得如痴如狂之际，这个世界还是需要能够深思的大学生。

考虑到这些理由，我过去信仰，而今天甚至更加强烈地信仰大学独特的、无可取代的使命。大学是人类把不可或缺的智慧世代流传的殿堂。就人类所有公共机构而言，仅仅大学，能够超越当前的准则，注意到未来的可能性；能通过目前的判断，注意到突发的机遇。

哈佛在大学中间，鹤立鸡群。凭其伟大的传统、因袭声誉及其非凡的300000校友网，哈佛的潜力前所未有。

可是，就像伟大和自豪的国家在其鼎盛时期一样，它们必须克服一个完全不能掉以轻心的危险因素：它们传统的绝对强势将会导致谨小慎微、追求内部特权及自满，这将使它们不能与时俱进.今天，哈佛正处于其历史的转折点。此时此刻的自然倾向是，把贪图舒适和随波逐流留凌驾于进步和方向性之上，但，这可能是错误的。大学无与伦比的资源 ——人力、物力、财力——要求我们远见卓识和勇敢地抓住这个时机，否则，将会坐失良机。我们能推动将会被历史永世铭记的伟大的事业。如果哈佛能找到勇气来改变自己，它就能改变世界

第四篇：哈佛大学校长北京大学演讲2008年

哈佛大学校长北京大学演讲2008年

北京大学演讲

哈佛大学校长 傅思德

二〇〇八年三月

许校长，各位尊敬的教授，各位同学，各位来宾：

谢谢大家。这是本人第一次访问北京大学，承蒙如此热烈的欢迎，深感荣幸。中国的学术传统源远流长，在世界首屈一指。尤其今年北大庆祝建校一百一十周年，本人能躬逢其盛，更是与有荣焉。哈佛大学一九二八年创立燕京学社，八十多年来一直十分重视与北大的关系。两所大学的关系到今天尤其日益密切——大学生互动切磋的课题从儒家思想到微量经济学，再到卡拉OK；研究生和教授更发展出各种计划和项目，包括商业，法律，政府，科学，教育，和人文各学科。今天我们一同在此庆祝两所大学的历史渊源，也重申我们追求学问和真理的共同使命。

我们是在一个蜕变的时代里作出回顾和前瞻。在哈佛，就像在北大一样，我们在短短几十年里看到高等教育戏剧性的转变。中国教育改革的速度之快，幅度之广，在在令人吃惊：过去十年里，大学学生人数增加六倍，而今年中国培养的研究生人数将高于世界任何其他国家。

在美国，我们也看到高等教育的类似扩展，虽然这样的扩展是在较长的时间里显现出来。二次世界大战以后，美国二十五岁以上拥有大学学位的人口，从大约5%增加到27%。今天的大学学龄青年有60%左右正接受某种形式的高等教育。这些正在学院和大学就读的学生人数比例是二十世纪初期的十二倍。

大学教育的扩展有一个非常重要的部分，就是少数族裔，女性，移民，和经济弱势者得以接受教育的机会，与日俱增。我个人也是这样的改变的受惠者之一。我的母亲和祖母辈们没有一位能进大学。我大学就读的是一所女子学院，而当时多数头牌学校只招收男生。假如我那时在哈佛上学，我不会被准许进入本科生的图书馆，因为女生被认为会让一心向学的男生产生“非非之想”，所以必须排除在外。甚至就在一个世代以前，就连想像我有一天能够成为哈佛大学的校长，或能够站在诸位的面前的台上，都还是不可能的事。在哈佛，不论是教授还是学生，有许多人的机运在几年以前仍然是难以想象的，就像今天在北大许多在座的诸位一样。哈佛大学本科班现在每年约有130位非洲族裔的毕业生——占毕业生总数的7%到8%。比起一九六〇年代民权运动前，每年只有七到八位毕业生的比例，改变不可谓不大。我们的大学本科生里将近有20%是亚裔子弟——比起一个世代以前，这样的比例也深具意义。目前我们的学生来自低收入家庭的人数远远超过以往，而我们正透过大量的学费补助，务使哈佛——不论是本科还是研究所——成为人人都上得起的学校。今年录取的大学本科学生里，有四分之一的家庭完全不需花费分文。

这样全面化的改变对哈佛和北大这样的学校有什么样的意义？中美两国高等教育突飞猛进，原因之一在于我們都理解，知识是经济成长和民生繁荣的主要动力。更重要的是，当我们的社会、政治、和技术日新月异，当我们置身在这千变万化的社会和生活里，想要了解人之所以为人的意义的时候，我们就更理解求知和问学对人类的重要性，就像吃饭一样天经地义。北大和哈佛都是从尊重知识的传统中所建立的学府。我们和诸位一样，都在学习如何在新的时代里善用这些传统。

过去几个星期在准备中国之行的时候，我曾有机会和许多人谈过话——包括在哈佛求学的中国学生，曾在中国进修的哈佛学生，还有以中国研究为毕生职志的教授们。我多少理解了诸位在中国如何面对新与旧的挑战，這挑戰始于孔子在《论语》所謂：“温故而知新，可以為師也。”今天我想和諸位談談我的大學是如何因應新與旧的挑战——我們如何追求真理，爲人師表，溫故而知新？在巨變的時代裏，這樣的努力對作爲四方表率的大學又意味什麽？

長久以來，哈佛大學和“真理”這個字就有不解之緣。哈佛建校不過數年，“真理”就已經出現在哈佛的校訓裏。“真理”一字其實不出自英文，而是拉丁文——一個更悠遠的歷史和傳統——veritas，也許中文的“真理”庶幾近之。一**三年，哈佛的創校先賢即將“veritas”銘刻于哈佛盾形校徽原始設計上，这一设计有三本開卷造型的書樣。“Veritas”在当时带有神圣真理的意味，指的是十七世纪新英格兰清教徒传统里基督上帝彰显的智慧。盾形校徽位于下方的书样原来面朝下，象征人类知识的局限。但是几个世 1 纪以来，盾形校徽的设计已经有所改变。基督教字汇出现又消失了；原本面朝下的书样现在朝上了。但“veritas”这个字总也不变。真理长存。然而我们也看到旧的真理改变，形成新的真理。今天，我们对“veritas”的理解和我们的先辈们已有不同——我们的真理是以理性，而不是以信仰，为基础。就像中国古代的“道”的观念，我们了解真理的的意义不能局限为知识而已。真理不是坐拥所有，而是一种渴望——一种理解之道。它决不能垂手可得，而是有待不断追寻。任何的答案总是导向下一个问题。我们必须以挑战、不安和怀疑的精神持续追寻——不论是智慧科学还是国家历史，法学伦理，还是健保福利、都市计划，宇宙源起，还是文学、哲学，艺术对人生本源的追溯。

我知道中国文化经典之一曾对教育有如下的表述:“大学之道，在明明 德。”这也正说明一所大学的宗旨所在。它甚至呼应了中文里“大学”作为高等教育机构的的要义。大学之道：北京大学，哈佛大学的大学之道。

但是我们如何找到“明德”之道？我们如何日新又新的追寻真理？多年以来，美国研究型大学所发展的基本任务之一是：真理的发现和真理的传授必须相互为用。学术研究和教学的过程早已深深结合。哈佛的学生受教于位居学术前沿的教授，我们也鼓励学生参与研究过程。我们已经开始重新规划基础科学课程，以期学生在实验室里不仅重复已知的结果，而且也能与他们的教授共同探寻有待解决的问题，从而学得技术与道理。从科学到社会和人文，我们都鼓励学生从事创新研究，本科学生几乎有一半在大四写作毕业论文，在他们的主修领域里寻找原创的问题，探求新的真理。

如果研究是对真理的追求，教学就是这将这一追求发扬光大的方式。我们的教学理念随着哈佛大学的校史与时并进。在早期，教学强调一成不变的记诵。而当

我们理解真理不是拥有，而是追求，我们的教学也越来越着重叩问，交换，挑战——为培养学生活到老、学到老的技巧和态度做准备，我们的课程设计也更着重辩论和讨论。我们的法、商学院一向以师生在课堂快速意见攻防的传统为傲。近年大学本科也重新制定课程，创造这类的机会，尤其强调小班师生密切互动。对这些学生而言，我们正在创新课程，以使他们成为有想法，有见解的二十一世纪公民。透过这样的教程，我们重新肯定博雅教育的重要，强调大学本科不仅止于专业的训练。相对的，我们要求学生放宽学习的眼界，甚至涉猎与他们日后可能追求的专业相距甚远的领域。用学生对我们的课程所作的评语来说，我们的目的是“动摇他们先入为主的想法„„, 揭示在表象以下，或以外，的事物，摆脱他们原定的方向，再帮助他们重新找到方向。”或者我们可以说，我们的大学之道，也是在“明明德”。真理是从辩论，从反驳，从问题，从疑惑中出现。用一位教授的话说，我们“鼓动学生不仅和老师，也和同学，去思考，去辩论。”一个跃跃欲试的心灵，一个勇于挑战的心灵，也就是一个开放的创新的心灵，一个勇于应付未来种种变化的心灵。

就像我们用新的方法发现真理，我们也在新的场域发现真理。传统知识发展所界定的学科范畴正在合纵连横，我们今天越来越积极的跨越知识界限。各种科学正相互改变对方。当我们探寻生物工程或电脑生物学这样的新兴领域，生命和物理科学合而为一。科学也迈出固有领域，进入社会和人文科学，藉以在世界找寻新的定位。当哈佛干细胞研究所成立时，创建者明白它的成员——用他们自己的话说——“不只是包括科学家和物理学家„也该有从事法律，政府，神学，商学，和人文方面的哈佛教授。”最近在一门 “伦理学，生物科技，和人性未来” 的新课里，哈佛干细胞研究计划的领导者和一位政府和伦理学教授向他们学生提出耐人深思的问题：一对有听觉障碍的夫妇是否应该被准许怀一个有听觉障碍的孩子？创造一个人兽混种的生命有没有错？人的生命从什么时候开始？

在追求真理的过程里，不仅科学界踏上新的途径，人文和社会科学领域也同样致力跨学科研究。反思帝国主义历史对文学的影响已经产生了“后殖民研究”的丰富成果。法学和经济学的交会为我们对法律制度和政府政策的理解带来新意。在法学院一门关于道德和法律论证的的课堂上，师生藉由莎士比亚的《威尼斯商人》文学想象了解死刑的影响。

在二十一世纪追寻真理不仅需要我们跨越学科的疆界，也跨越国家的疆 2 界，就像我今天站在这里就是一个见证。当全球的关系与日俱增，真理的构思也必须带有国际视野。我们的社会学家对家庭的理解，建筑学家的设计理念都必须与世界接轨；我们商学院的课程专题评估强调对中国、印度、还有其他国家的公司和组织的研究，应该和对美国的研究等量齐观。我们法学院的新生在第一年就必须修习国际法。公共健康学院的研究员研究中国妇女乳癌的风险，与白人妇女的罹病数据作比较。传染病研究在不同的背景下有不同的结论，必须在全球的技术上做出判断。我们的神学院已经有将近四百年的历史，当初训练基督教传教士，如今研究世界宗教——从佛教，伊斯兰教，印度教，到它本身基督教公理会教派的根源研究。近年以来，实在说近十年以来，我们开始鼓励大学本科学生出国留学。我们建议他们在哈佛就学间能到美国以外的地区研习。仅仅过去六年，本科生出国留学的人数比例就上升了300%。今年单在中国，就有一百五十名哈佛大学本科生在这里学习，研 4 究，或实习。医学院的研究生在中国五个定点工作。同时我们也欢迎大批国际学生到哈佛就学。哈佛各学院国际学生的总比例已将近20%，包括了一千四百名来自亚洲的学生。

一百多年以前，当时还是北大创校的初期，哈佛的教授和学生必然与今天大不相同，他们教导，研究，和学习真理的方式也有显著差别。即使如此，他们必然了解他们是在追求真理和知识，致力于“明明德”。我们今天之所以能在此，也是源自于他们的追求，他们的疑问，他们对更早一代的想法的挑战，还有他们的发现为世界所带来的改变。

作为传统的继起者和受益者，我们怀有特别的使命。我们不仅是对过去，也对未来，负有责任。我们的责任是让开放的原则，求知的习性，和献身学问的态度持续滋长，以待下一个世纪的到来。我们的责任也是让我今天所描述的的“真理”——veritas——这个字的种种新义, 不断启发我们，也定义我们的进步。

第五篇：哈佛大学校长演讲

Good afternoon.My remarks at this moment in our Commencement rituals are officially titled a“Report to the Alumni.” The first time I delivered them, in 2008, I was the only obstaclebetween all of you and J.K.Rowling.I looked out on a sea of eager children, costumedDumbledores, and Quidditch brooms waving impatiently in the air.Today, you await MarkZuckerberg, whose wizardry takes a different form, one that has changed the world, andalthough he doesn't seem to have inspired an outbreak of hoodies, we certainly do have somecostumes in this audience today.I see we are now handing out blankets.This is a day of joy and celebration, of happy endings and new beginnings, of families andfriends, of achievements and hopes.It is also a day when we as a university perform our mostimportant annual ritual, affirming once again the purposes that animate us and the values thatdirect and inspire us.I want to speak today about one of the most important – and in recent months, mostcontested – of these values.It is one that has provoked debate, dissent, confrontation, andeven violence on campuses across the country, and one that has attracted widespread publicattention and criticism.I am, of course, talking about issues of free speech on university campuses.The meaning andlimits of free speech are questions deeply embedded in our legal system, in interpretations ofthe First Amendment and its applications.I am no constitutional lawyer, indeed no lawyer atall, and I do not intend in my brief remarks today to address complex legal doctrines.Nor,clearly, can I in a few brief minutes take on even a fraction of the arguments that have beenadvanced on this issue.Instead, I speak as one who has been a university president for adecade in order to raise three questions:

First: Why is free speech so important to and at universities? Second: Why does it seem under special challenge right now?

And, third: How might we better address these challenges by moving beyond just defensivelyprotecting free speech – which, of course, we must do – to actively and affirmatively enabling itand nurturing environments in which it can thrive?

So first: Why is free speech so important to and at universities? This is a question I took upwith the newly arrived first-year students in the College when I welcomed them at Convocationlast fall.For centuries, I told them, universities have been environments in which knowledge hasbeen discovered, collected, studied, debated, expanded, changed, and advanced through thepower of rational argument and exchange.We pursue truth unrelentingly, but we must neverbe so complacent as to believe we have unerringly attained it.Veritas is inspiration andaspiration.We assume there is always more to know and discover so we open ourselves tochallenge and change.We must always be ready to be wrong, so being part of a universitycommunity requires courage and humility.Universities must be places open to the kind ofdebate that can change ideas and committed to standards of reason and evidence that formthe bases for evaluating them.Silencing ideas or basking in intellectual orthodoxy independent of facts and evidenceimpedes our access to new and better ideas, and it inhibits a full and considered rejection ofbad ones.From at least the time of Galileo, we can see how repressing seemingly hereticalideas has blinded societies and nations to the enhanced knowledge and understanding on whichprogress depend.Far more recently, we can see here at Harvard how our inattentiveness to thepower and appeal of conservative voices left much of our community astonished –blindsided by the outcome of last fall's election.We must work to ensure that universities donot become bubbles isolated from the concerns and discourse of the society that surroundsthem.Universities must model a commitment to the notion that truth cannot simply be claimed, butmust be established – established through reasoned argument, assessment, and evensometimes uncomfortable challenges that provide the foundation for truth.The legitimacyof universities' claim to be sources and validators of fact depends on our willingness toactively and vigorously defend those facts.And we must remember that limiting some speechopens the dangerous possibility that the speech that is ultimately censored may be our own.Ifsome words are to be treated as equivalent to physical violence and silenced or evenprosecuted, who is to decide which words? Freedom of expression, as Justice Oliver WendellHolmes famously said long ago, protects not only free thought for those who agree with us butfreedom for the thought we hate.We need to hear those hateful ideas so our society is fullyequipped to oppose and defeat them.Over the years, differences about the implementation of the University's free speech principleshave often provoked controversy.And we haven't always gotten it right.As long ago as 1939,an invitation from a student group to the head of the American Communist Party generatedprotest and the invitation was ultimately canceled by the Corporation.Bertrand Russell'sappointment as William James Lecturer just a year later divided the Corporation, but PresidentConant broke the tie and Russell came.Campus conflicts over invited speakers are hardly new.Yet the vehemence with which these issues have been debated in recent months, not just oncampuses but in the broader public sphere, suggests there is something distinctive about thismoment.Certainly, these controversies reflect a highly polarized political and socialenvironment – perhaps the most divisive since the era of the Civil War.And in these alreadyfractious circumstances, free speech debates have provided a fertile substrate into whichanger and disagreement could be planted to nourish partisan outrage and generate mediaclickbait.But that is only a partial explanation.Universities themselves have changed dramatically in recent years, reaching beyond theirtraditional, largely homogeneous populations to become more diverse than perhaps anyother institution in which Americans find themselves living together.Once overwhelminglywhite, male, Protestant, and upper class, Harvard College is now half female, majorityminority, religiously pluralistic, with nearly 60 percent of students able to attend because offinancial aid.Fifteen percent are the first in their families to go to college.Many of our studentsstruggle to feel full members of this community – a community in which people like them haveso recently arrived.They seek evidence and assurance that – to borrow the title of a powerfultheatrical piece created by a group of our African-American students – evidence andassurance that they, too, are Harvard.The price of our commitment to freedom of speech is paid disproportionately by thesestudents.For them, free speech has not infrequently included enduring a questioning oftheir abilities, their humanity, their morality – their very legitimacy here.Our values and ourtheory of education rest on the assumption that members of our community will take the riskof speaking and will actively compete in our wild rumpus of argument and ideas.It requiresthem as well to be fearless in face of argument or challenge or even verbal insult.And itexpects that fearlessness even when the challenge is directed to the very identity – race,religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality – that may have made themuncertain about their right to be here in the first place.Demonstrating such fearlessness ishard;no one should be mocked as a snowflake for finding it so.Hard, but important and attainable.Attainable, we believe, for every member of ourcommunity.But the price of free speech cannot be charged just to those most likely tobecome its target.We must support and empower the voices of all the members of ourcommunity and nurture the courage and humility that our commitment to unfettereddebate demands from all of us.And that courage means not only resilience in face ofchallenge or attack, but strength to speak out against injustices directed at others as well.Free speech doesn't just happen and require intervention when it is impeded.It is not aboutthe freedom to out-shout others while everyone has their fingers in their ears.For free speechto flourish, we must build an environment where everyone takes responsibility for the rightnot just to speak, but to hear and be heard, where everyone assumes the responsibility totreat others with dignity and respect.It requires not just speakers, but, in the words of JamesRyan, dean of our Graduate School of Education, generous listeners.Amidst the current soul-searching about free speech, we need to devote more attention to establishing the conditions inwhich everyone's speech is encouraged and taken seriously.Ensuring freedom of speech is not just about allowing speech.It is about actively creating acommunity where everyone can contribute and flourish, a community where argument isrelished, not feared.Freedom of speech is not just freedom from censorship;it is freedom toactively join the debate as a full participant.It is about creating a context in which genuinedebate can happen.Talk a lot, I urged the Class of 2020 last fall;listen more.Don't stand safely on the sidelines;take the risk of being wrong.It is the best way to learn and grow.And build a culture ofgenerous listening so that others may be emboldened to take risks, too.A community in ashared search for Veritas – that is the ideal for which Harvard must strive.We need it nowmore than ever.