”我可以完全肯定地告诉你，你在这个校园里的头几周的记忆将是你一生中最珍贵的回忆。“
”请不要根据人们的外在表现或你的第一印象来迅速判断他们，要学会接受不同的声音。“
”如果你真的想要寻求真理，就必须与那些与你想法不同的人接触。更重要的是，你必须愿意改变你的想法，准备好被更好的论据所说服。“
”当你入学后，别忘了常打电话给你的家人“
8月30日，哈佛大学举办2022年度开学典礼。校长 劳伦斯·巴科 （Lawrence Bacow）发表开学演讲。
整场演讲中没有冠冕堂皇的场面话，也没有神秘莫测的大道理。哈佛大学校长通过描述自己亲身经历让学生知道该如何度过在哈佛的生活，真诚且实用，建议每一位刚刚踏入大学校园的同学通读并收藏！
演讲原文（含翻译）
2022 Convocation Remarks
Good afternoon, Class of 2026. It is an honor to add my voice to the chorus welcoming you officially as members of the Harvard community.
Fifty-three years ago this week, I said goodbye to my friends and family in Pontiac, Michigan and arrived here in Cambridge, Massachusetts for my first year of college. Not here, exactly, but just down the street at MIT.
It seems like yesterday.
下午好，2026届学生。我很荣幸能够欢迎你们正式成为哈佛大学的一员。
53年前，我告别了密歇根州庞蒂亚克的朋友和家人，来到了马萨诸塞州的剑桥市，开始了我的大学第一年。确切地说，不是在这里，而是在街边的麻省理工学院。
这件事仿佛发生在昨天。
I can tell you with complete confidence that memories of your first few weeks on this campus will remain vivid throughout your lifetime. You will recall who you met, who you befriended, your very first class, your very first burger at Bartley’s—everything.
我可以完全肯定地告诉你，你在这个校园里的头几周的记忆将在你的一生中历历在目。你会想起你遇到的人，你结识的人，你的第一堂课，你在Bartley的第一个汉堡等一切事情。
Among my most vivid memories is my freshman roommate. His name was Alan. He was a lacrosse player from New Jersey. He was big. I was small. He was messy. I was neat. He brought his stereo to campus and liked to study with it on. I liked to study with it off. He liked to listen to the Rolling Stones, The Who and The Band. I liked Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. He liked almost all New York sports teams. I hated them. He was politically quite conservative. I was anything but.
在我的记忆中，我的大一室友是最生动有趣的。他的名字叫艾伦，是一个来自新泽西的长曲棍球运动员。 他很高大，而我是小个子；他很邋遢，而我很整洁；他把他的音响带到校园，喜欢开着它学习；而我喜欢关着它学习；他喜欢听滚石；而我喜欢鲍勃-迪伦、詹姆斯-泰勒和乔尼-米切尔。他喜欢几乎所有的纽约运动队；而我讨厌他们；他在政治上是相当保守的，我却不是这样。
“This will never work out,” I thought. So—you can probably tell where this story is going—I could not have been more wrong. Alan, beneath a seemingly crusty, loud, opinionated exterior, proved to be one of the kindest, most interesting people I met during my time in college. He was incredibly well read, a terrific writer, and very generous with his time, patiently helping me navigate through freshman physics, calculus, and chemistry. While we differed on almost everything related to politics, he loved a good argument, and we had many. He became one of my closest friends, and we continued to live together, even as graduate students. On my first day at Harvard Law School, he fixed me up on a blind date with his girlfriend’s roommate. That blind date is here today. Let me introduce you to her, my wife of 47 years, Adele. And Alan wound up marrying Adele’s roommate, Debby, one week before Adele and I got married. The two of them came to our wedding on their honeymoon.
"我们是不会合得来的" 我想。所以，你可能知道这个故事的走向，我错得不能再错了。 艾伦在一个看似生硬、吵闹、有主见的外表下，却是我在大学期间遇到的最善良、最有趣的人之一。 他阅读量大得惊人，是个了不起的作家，而且非常慷慨，耐心地帮助我完成大一的物理学、微积分和化学课程。虽然我们在与政治有关的几乎所有方面都有分歧，但他喜欢好的沟通，我们有很多沟通。他成了我最亲密的朋友之一，我们甚至在研究生阶段也继续生活在一起。在我进入哈佛大学法学院的第一天，他为我安排了一次相亲，对象是他女朋友的室友。那个相亲对象今天就在这里。让我向你们介绍她，我的妻子，阿黛尔。而艾伦最终在阿黛尔和我结婚前一周与阿黛尔的室友黛比结婚，他们两个人在蜜月期间来参加我们的婚礼。
Today, 53 years after we met, Alan and Debby remain two of our closest friends. This summer, they spent three days with us at our home. We have been through all of life’s passages together—the birth of our children and their children—the work of building careers and families—the joys and disappointments of life—the sweetness of every milestone and the sorrow of every loss.
今天，在我们相遇的53年后，艾伦和黛比仍然是我们最亲密的两个朋友。 今年夏天，他们还在我们家住了三天。我们一起经历了人生的所有历程--我们的孩子和他们的孩子的出生--建立事业和家庭的工作--生活的欢乐和失望--每一个里程碑的甜蜜和每一个有所失去的悲伤。
We still agree about very little when it comes to politics, but we have civil conversations—even debates from time to time—and usually end up agreeing to disagree. But we always respect each other, and we often learn from each other. And, after 53 years, we love them like family.
当涉及到政治时，我们仍然很少达成一致，但我们有很礼貌的对话，甚至不时地进行辩论，而且通常最终达成求同存异。 但我们总是尊重对方，而且我们经常从对方身上学习 ，我像家人一样爱他们。
During your time here, please don’t overlook your Alan. Please don’t judge people quickly based on their outward appearances or your first impressions. One of the many reasons we admitted students from around the world, people with every interest imaginable, is because we learn from our differences. As you get to know your roommates and your classmates, try to be slow to judge and quick to understand. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, at least initially, not just at Harvard but throughout life and you will be surprised by the number of friends you will acquire, people quite different from you, but people who will enrich your life immensely.
所以你在哈佛的日子里，请不要忽视你身边的“艾伦”。 请不要根据人们的外在表现或你的第一印象来迅速判断他们 ，我们录取了来自世界各地的学生，这些人有各种各样的兴趣爱好，当你了解你的室友和你的同学时，试着缓慢判断，快速理解。不仅仅是在哈佛，而是在整个生活中，你会对你将获得的朋友数量感到惊讶， 这些人与你截然不同，但他们会极大地丰富你的生活。
If you are like most Harvard students, the friendships you make in the next few days will stay with you forever. A few of you are even likely to meet your spouse or life partner here. I know this statement to be true because I attend a lot of Harvard reunions. I hear the same stories over and over about lifelong relationships that started during the first few days of school. Your best friends, people with whom you will share your life together, are sitting among you. Your job is to find them.
如果你像大多数哈佛学生一样，你在接下来的几天里建立的友谊将永远伴随你。你们中的一些人甚至有可能在这里遇到你的配偶或生活伴侣。我知道这句话是真的，因为我参加了很多哈佛的同学聚会。我一次又一次地听到同样的故事，说的是在学校的头几天就遇到相伴一生的关系。 你最好的朋友，那些将与你一起分享生活的人，就坐在你中间，你的任务就是找到他们。
Let me also acknowledge that you may meet people at Harvard that you do not like. Harvard is a microcosm of the larger world, and everything that you may find objectionable in the larger world is present in some measure here. We are not perfect, but we strive to be better. While trying to be a caring, understanding, and welcoming community, we cannot protect you from everything that is unpleasant. Our job is to prepare you for the world you will inhabit when you graduate. And that world is not going to treat you with kid gloves simply because you have a Harvard degree. We would not be doing you a favor if we placed you in an emotional bubble and did not let your emotional immune systems develop. We are here to prepare you to deal with a world that will challenge you—and sometimes even offend you. I hope you will master these skills while you are at Harvard so you can devote your life to repairing a world that we all know is far from perfect.
我也承认，你可能在哈佛遇到你不喜欢的人。 哈佛是更大的世界的一个缩影，你在更大的世界中可能发现的一切令人反感的东西在这里都有一定程度的存在。 我们并不完美，但我们努力做得更好。在努力成为一个充满关怀、理解和欢迎的学校的同时，我们不能保护你们免受一切不愉快的事情的影响。 我们的任务是为了你毕业后走向社会做好准备，而更大的世界并不会因为你有一个哈佛学位就对你心软。 我们在这里是为了让你们准备好应对一个将挑战你们，有时甚至冒犯你们的世界。我希望你们在哈佛时能掌握这些技能，这样你们就能将自己的生命投入到修复这个我们都知道并非完美的世界。
I know from conversations that I have already had with some of you that you want to change the world. Good for you. That is one of the reasons we admitted you. But if you want to change the world, you need to master the art of persuading people to change their minds. And I guarantee that you will not be effective at doing so unless you first have the experience of changing your own.
从我与你们中的一些人进行的谈话中，我知道你们想改变世界。对你们来说是好事， 这是哈佛录取你们的原因之一。但是，如果你想改变世界，你需要掌握说服人们改变想法的艺术。而且我保证，除非你首先有改变自己，否则你不会有效地做到这一点。
Our motto at Harvard is Veritas. It is more than a motto. It is the reason we exist, to seek the truth. Over time, truth is revealed, it needs to be tested on the anvil of competing ideas. If you really seek the truth, you must engage with those who think differently than you. Even more importantly, you must be willing to change your mind – to be persuaded by a better argument or new information. Only when you have this experience will you be well equipped to make a difference in the world. This is another skill I hope you will master at Harvard.
我们在哈佛的座右铭是Veritas，它不仅仅是一个座右铭，它是我们存在的原因，是为了 寻求真理 。 如果你真的想要寻求真理，就必须与那些与你想法不同的人接触。更重要的是，你必须愿意改变你的想法，从而被更好的论据或新的信息所说服。 只有当你有了这种经验，你才会有足够的能力来改变世界。这是我希望你们在哈佛掌握的另一项技能。
On move in day, Adele and I met many of your families. We witnessed more than one emotional goodbye. Most of you have been at the center of your loved one’s lives since the day you entered their world.
在入住当天，阿黛尔和我见到了你们中的许多家庭。我们目睹了不止一次的告别。自从你们进入你们所爱的人的世界的那一天起，你们中的大多数人就一直是他们生活的中心。
Now you are gone, and, for many left behind, the silence is deafening. But your loved ones are on their own. They are also going through a big adjustment, and it is up to you to help them through it. Please give them a call from time to time, not a text – a call, and ask them how they are doing. I guarantee you they will appreciate it.
现在你们走了，对他们来说，只剩下沉默。你的亲人正在经历一个巨大的改变，也许你可以帮助他们度过难关。 请不时地给他们打个电话，不是短信，是电话，问问他们过得怎么样，我保证他们会感激你的。
Class of 2026, we have great expectations for you. I hope that Harvard is everything you dreamed it will be—intellectually, socially and personally. I only wish I could be there at your 50th reunion so you could tell me how your life turned out and the role that Harvard played in it.
Best of luck to each of you, and Godspeed.
2026届学生，我们对你们寄予厚望。我希望哈佛是你们梦想中的一切不仅在在实力上还在社会上和个人上。我只希望在你们50周年聚会时我能在场，这样你们就能告诉我你们的生活是如何发展的，以及哈佛在其中扮演的角色。
祝你们每个人都好运！
“这个世界并不会因为你有哈佛大学的文凭而善待你。哈佛是你的起点，而不是人生最高点。”
看得出来，哈佛大学校长对新生们寄予厚望。其实演讲中的很多道理对所有大一新生们都是适用的，比如与同学相处求同存异、别忘了打电话关心家人、求学路上不要懈怠….祝大家都能快速适应大学校园生活，在学校中找到属于你的”艾伦“！
