普林斯顿校长2023年毕业演讲：我们必须站起来，为自由表达的价值观而发声！（附视频&演讲稿）
美国当地时间5月30日，在普林斯顿大学第276届毕业典礼上，校长克里斯托弗·艾斯鲁伯（Christopher L. Eisgruber）鼓励2023届毕业学生 "让自己的声音响起来"，以保护两个重要的价值观：言论自由和平等。
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In a few minutes, all of you will walk out of this stadium as newly minted graduates of this University. Before you do, however, it is my privilege to offer a few words about your time here and the path that lies ahead.
I want to begin by saying something about the honorary degrees that we conferred just a few moments ago. Our purpose in awarding those degrees is not only to recognize the extraordinary achievements of the recipients, but to offer them to our new graduates as inspiring examples of the many ways that one might live a life of leadership and service to others.
One great pleasure of my job each year is getting to meet our honorary degree recipients, welcome them to the University, and learn a little about them.
In 2015, I was honored to share this stage with, among others, the vocalist and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte. Though many people remember Belafonte as an entertainer, Princeton conferred upon him an honorary doctorate of laws in recognition of his social activism and humanitarian work.
Harry Belafonte passed away just over a month ago at the age of 96. I would like to offer you some reflections prompted both by his memory and by current events.
I want, in particular, to tell you a story drawn from the struggle for racial equality in America. It is a story about Harry Belafonte and the origins of the American right to free speech. And it is a story about the moral courage of young people, about how their leadership played a crucial role in our country’s long and unfinished quest to establish a more perfect union and a more just society.
It is also a story that connects very directly to the history that Congresswoman Terri Sewell spoke about in her inspirational Class Day address yesterday.
Harry Belafonte was one of the principal fundraisers for Martin Luther King’s civil rights campaigns, and he had a leadership role in the Committee to Defend Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Freedom.
In March 1960, that committee published a full-page advertisement in the New York Times. The headline for the advertisement was “Heed Their Rising Voices.”
The “rising voices” were those of Black students in the American South, who, in the words of the advertisement, were engaged in “non-violent demonstrations in positive affirmation of the right to live in human dignity as guaranteed by the [United States] Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”
The advertisement pled for help and support, because, it said, the students were “being met by an unprecedented wave of terror by those who would deny and negate” the freedoms promised by the American Constitution.
The advertisement also contained some serious errors. It said, for example, that Alabama universities had padlocked their dining halls in an attempt to starve the protesting students, which was not true.
L. B. Sullivan, who was the police commissioner in Montgomery, Alabama, sued the New York Times. He claimed that the advertisement had libeled him, and he won a $500,000 award.
That was the largest libel award in Alabama history, and, if it had been upheld, it might have been enough to put the New York Times out of business.
The Times took the case to the United States Supreme Court. Their chances did not look good. The Court had a lousy record in free speech cases. It had never held that the First Amendment limited libel law in any way, and it had for the most part turned a blind eye to McCarthyism and earlier instances of political persecution.
In Times v. Sullivan, however, the Supreme Court rewrote the law of free speech. It ruled unanimously in favor of the New York Times, and it created a new and powerful restriction on libel law. The Court held that everyone had the right to criticize public officials without fear of legal liability unless their statements were not only false but also made with “actual malice.”
The Supreme Court thereby, suddenly and in a single decision, created one of the most speech-protective legal doctrines in history—and, for that matter, in the world today.
Justice William J. Brennan, from the great state of New Jersey, wrote the opinion of the Court and declared that there is “a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”[1]
When people talk about free speech rights in America, they often depict them as the legacy of the American founding in the 18th century, or as the product of elegant dissents authored by Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and Louis Brandeis in the early 20th century.
Without meaning any disrespect to the Constitution’s framers or to those legendary justices, this much is clear: the expansive, legally enforceable free speech rights that Americans cherish today first emerged in the 1960s during and because of the fight for racial justice in the South, a fight whose leaders included Black student activists.
I insist on this point today because there is a movement afoot in this country right now to drive a wedge between the constitutional ideals of equality and free speech. There are people who claim, for example, that when colleges and universities endorse the value of diversity and inclusivity or teach about racism and sexism, they are “indoctrinating students” or in some other way endangering free speech.
That is wrong. It is wrong as a historical matter, and it is wrong as a matter of our constitutional ideals, which require us to care simultaneously about the achievement of real, meaningful equality and what Justice Brennan called “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open” debate on public issues.
These ideals are at risk. PEN America, an organization dedicated to free expression, reported in February that, in just the first two months of this year, state legislatures had already introduced 86 “educational gag orders” that restrict the ability of schools, colleges, universities, and libraries to teach or disseminate information about inequalities within American society.[2]
Some of these bills prohibit discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity. Some prohibit teaching disfavored views about race, racism, and American history. Others seek to undermine the institutional autonomy of colleges and universities or to abolish tenure, thereby enabling politicians to control what professors can teach or publish.
Christine Emba, who graduated from Princeton in 2010 and now writes for the Washington Post, visited the University of Florida last month to examine how that state’s censorship laws were affecting students and faculty.
She talked to a University of Florida student, Emmaline Moye, who said this about her college experience: “Being exposed to people who I’ve never been exposed to before, people of different races and ethnicities and genders and sexualities, and, as a queer student, hearing those things talked about makes me feel heard and seen.”
But Emmaline added that because of the newly passed laws, “I’m so scared for people like me … they won’t get that feeling of liberation, of getting to be who you are and know[ing that] you’re not alone.”[3]
We must not let that happen.
We must stand up and speak up together for the values of free expression and full inclusivity for people of all identities.
As I said earlier, the advertisement that Harry Belafonte put in the New York Times more than 60 years ago began with the headline “Heed Their Rising Voices.” It concluded with the message, “Your Help is Urgently Needed … NOW!!”
To all of you who receive your undergraduate or graduate degree from Princeton University today:
Your help is urgently needed—now!
So, as you go forth from this University, let your voices rise.
Let them rise for equality.
Let them rise for the value of diversity.
Let them rise for freedom, for justice, and for love among the people of this earth.
Wherever your individual journeys may lead you in the years ahead, I hope that you also continue to travel together, as classmates and as alumni of this University, in pursuit of a better world.
All of us on this platform have great confidence in your ability to take on that challenge. We applaud your persistence, your talent, your achievements, your values, and your aspirations.
We send our best wishes as you embark upon the path that lies ahead, and we hope it will bring you back to this campus many times. We look forward to welcoming you when you return, and we say, to Princeton University’s Great Class of 2023, congratulations!
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In a few minutes, all of you will walk out of this stadium as newly minted graduates of this University. Before you do, however, it is my privilege to say a few words about the path ahead.
That privilege feels even more special than usual this year. It is an honor to speak to the Great undergraduate and graduate Classes of 2022. Earning a Princeton degree is an exceptional achievement in any year, but you have overcome challenges that none of us could have imagined when you began your studies here.
You, your families, and your friends can be very proud of what you have accomplished. And you can be sure that the strength you have demonstrated will serve you well in the years ahead.
Earlier this year, a Princeton alumnus in Atlanta asked me what quality or characteristic I considered the best predictor for success in college and beyond. I began by saying that I was reluctant to generalize across a very diverse student body with a dazzling array of talents. Princeton students succeed in many and inspiring ways, a fact that all of you have vividly confirmed during your time here.
Still, I said to our alum, if I had to name one quality that mattered across the many dimensions of achievement and talent, it would be persistence: the ability and drive to keep going when things get hard. All of us go through difficult times. To achieve our goals we have to find ways to continue even when—indeed, especially when—obstacles seem insurmountable or endless, and pressing onward feels exhausting, daunting, or just plain dull.
Persistence is, I admit, a rather unglamorous virtue by comparison to, say, genius, creativity, or courage. An old adage, often but perhaps erroneously attributed to the nineteenth century humorist Josh Billings, praises persistence by comparing it to the postage stamp, which achieves success simply by “sticking to one thing until it gets there.”
Modest though it may be, however, persistence is at least as important to achievement, including academic achievement, as are any more celebrated characteristics.
You earned your degrees today in many ways and for many reasons, but not least because you persisted brilliantly throughout your time on this campus andaway from it. You persisted not only through a world-altering pandemic, but through problem sets, writing assignments, laboratories, midterms, finals, senior theses, dissertations, and the personal crises and doubts that are an inevitable part of college life and, indeed, of life more generally.
Getting to and crossing the finish line is hard, which is why we celebrate college degrees so enthusiastically.
The degree you earn today matters tremendously. And it really is the degree that matters most, far more than the honors or other decorations that go with it. I do not know if this comes as welcome news or bad tidings, but I must tell you that there is surprisingly little correlation between grade point average and success in later life.
But getting a college degree? That correlates with everything from higher incomes to better health to greater civic engagement—and the list goes on.
Persisting through college matters, which is why we celebrate Commencement day with admiration and exuberant joy.
At Princeton, students have taken different paths through the challenges of the pandemic. Some took a year off, some did not. One way or another, however, graduation rates for Princeton students remain sky-high.
We should recognize, however, that is not true everywhere. At college Commencements around the country, there are missing chairs and missing students this year, and there will likely be more missing chairs in the years to come.
Some students left school during the pandemic and have not returned. Some high school students who might have gone to college have made other choices instead. Though the data is incomplete, both problems appear to have a disproportionate effect on students from less advantaged backgrounds and those who attend community colleges and other public, two-year institutions. [1]
That is a tragedy. A tragedy because, as I said a moment ago, the degree matters. All of us who attend ceremonies like this one, all of us who celebrate students who have earned a college degree, should recognize the urgent need to bring back those who have found the path to a college degree blocked or unpassable.
It is especially damaging when students drop out of college after incurring debt, even if the amount of debt is small. When media outlets cover student debt, they like to focus on the eye-popping loans some students accumulate. In fact, though, most student loan defaults involve students with small debts who leave college without getting a degree.[2]
If students persist to graduation, their earning power goes up, and they can often pay back even large loans. Without a degree, they see no increase in earning power, and often find no way to pay back even small loans. Half a degree does not get you half the earning power: unfortunately, it gets you almost nothing.
We need policies to help those who have left college. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, for example, has proposed a new “Some College, No Degree” program to assist the more than 700,000 New Jerseyans who left school without finishing. I hope that the legislature will fund the proposal. [3]
At the federal level, a bipartisan group of senators sponsored legislation, called the “ASPIRE Act,” that would have provided colleges and universities with incentives to improve their graduation rates and to increase their representation of low-income students. [4]
That bill did not pass; no proposal is perfect. One way or another, however, we need to make sure that talented students from low-income families get the support they need to make it to and through college.
One way or another, we need to add back the chairs missing from graduation ceremonies around the country.
I hope that today and in the week ahead, as you celebrate your degree, you will take time to thank the friends, family members, teachers, mentors, and others who helped you to persist across the finish line. None of us succeed on our own, in normal times or in difficult ones. And, in that spirit, I hope, too, that as all of you pursue quests and adventures beyond this campus, you will help others to persist across the finish line as you have done so remarkably yourselves.
I know that, whatever you do, you will make Princeton proud, and that you will put your talents, creativity, and character to work in ways that we can scarcely imagine today.
All of us on this platform are thrilled to be a part of your celebration. We applaud your persistence, your talent, your achievements, and your aspirations. We send our best wishes as you embark upon the path that lies ahead, and we hope it will bring you back to this campus many times. We look forward to welcoming you when you return, and we say, to the Great Class of 2022, congratulations!
几分钟后，你们所有人都将作为这所大学的新晋毕业生走出这个体育场。然而，在你们走之前，我很荣幸地对未来的道路说几句话。
今年，这种特权感觉比往常更加特别。我很荣幸能对2022届伟大的本科生和研究生班的学生讲话。在任何一年，获得普林斯顿大学的学位都是一项特殊的成就，但你们所克服的挑战是我们任何人在这里开始学习时都无法想象的。
你们、你们的家人和你们的朋友可以为你们所取得的成就感到非常自豪。而且你们可以确信，你们所表现出的力量将在未来的岁月里为你们带来好处。
今年早些时候，亚特兰大的一位普林斯顿校友问我，我认为什么品质或特征是预测大学及以后成功的最佳因素。我首先说，我不愿意在一个有着令人眼花缭乱的才能的非常多样化的学生群体中进行归纳。普林斯顿大学的学生以许多鼓舞人心的方式取得成功，你们所有人在这里的日子里都生动地证实了这一事实。
然而，我对我们的校友说，如果我不得不说出一个在成就和才能的许多方面都很重要的品质，那就是坚持：在事情变得困难时坚持下去的能力和动力。我们所有人都会经历困难时期。为了实现我们的目标，我们必须找到继续前进的方法，即使是在障碍似乎无法克服或无止境的情况下--事实上，特别是在障碍似乎无法克服或无止境的情况下，继续前进感到疲惫、令人生畏，或者只是单纯的乏味。
我承认，与天才、创造力或勇气等相比，坚持是一种相当不光彩的美德。有一句古老的格言，常常被错误地归结为19世纪的幽默大师乔希-比林斯（Josh Billings），他把坚持比作邮票，仅仅通过 "坚持做一件事直到成功 "就能获得成功。
然而，尽管它可能是谦虚的，但坚持对成就，包括学术成就，至少与任何更知名的特征一样重要。
你们今天以许多方式和理由获得了学位，但其中最重要的原因是你们在这个校园里和离开这个校园的整个过程中坚持不懈，表现出色。你们不仅经历了改变世界的大流行病，而且经历了问题集、写作作业、实验室、期中考试、期末考试、毕业论文、学位论文以及个人危机和怀疑，这些都是大学生活乃至更普遍的生活中不可避免的一部分。
到达并越过终点线是困难的，这就是为什么我们如此热情地庆祝大学学位。
你今天获得的学位非常重要。而且，最重要的确实是学位，远远多于随之而来的荣誉或其他装饰。我不知道这是个好消息还是坏消息，但我必须告诉你，平均分和以后生活的成功之间竟然没有什么关联。
但是获得大学学位？这与一切都有关，从更高的收入到更好的健康到更大的公民参与--这样的例子不胜枚举。
坚持读完大学很重要，这就是为什么我们带着钦佩和兴奋的喜悦来庆祝毕业典礼日。
在普林斯顿，学生们采取了不同的途径来应对大流行病的挑战。有些人休息了一年，有些人没有。然而，无论如何，普林斯顿大学学生的毕业率仍然高得惊人。
然而，我们应该认识到，并不是所有地方都是这样的。在全国各地的大学毕业典礼上，今年有缺失的椅子和缺失的学生，而且在未来几年可能会有更多缺失的椅子。
一些学生在大流行病期间离开了学校，至今没有回来。一些本来可以上大学的高中生却做出了其他选择。虽然数据并不完整，但这两个问题似乎对来自不利背景的学生和那些在社区学院和其他公立两年制机构上学的学生产生了不成比例的影响。
这是一个悲剧。悲剧是因为，正如我刚才所说，学位很重要。我们所有参加这种仪式的人，我们所有庆祝获得大学学位的学生的人，都应该认识到迫切需要让那些发现获得大学学位的道路受阻或无法通行的人回来。
如果学生在承担了债务后辍学，即使债务数额不大，也会造成特别大的伤害。当媒体报道学生债务时，他们喜欢关注一些学生积累的令人瞠目结舌的贷款。但事实上，大多数学生贷款违约涉及到欠下小额债务的学生，他们没有获得学位就离开了大学。
如果学生坚持到毕业，他们的收入能力就会提高，即使是大笔贷款，他们也能偿还。如果没有学位，他们的收入能力就不会提高，甚至连小额贷款都找不到办法偿还。半个学位并不能让你获得一半的收入。
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