公眾人物畢業(yè)演講第15期:邁克爾·彭博哈佛大學2014畢業(yè)典禮演講(7)

Requiring scholars and commencement speakers,for that matter

因此 要求學者和畢業(yè)典禮發(fā)言者

to conform to certain political standards

遵循特定政治標準

undermines the whole purpose of a university

會侵蝕整個大學的存在意義

This spring

今年春

it has been disturbing to see a number of college commencement speakers withdraw

很讓人不安的是 很多大學畢業(yè)典禮演講者都被撤銷了

or have their invitations rescinded

甚至連邀請函都被撤回了

after protests from students and to me, shockingly

僅僅因為學生 甚至資深教職團隊和管理者的反對

from senior faculty and administrators who should know better

我很吃驚 學生姑且不論 其他人顯然應當更明事理一些

It happened at Brandeis, Haverford, Rutgers, and Smith

這發(fā)生在布蘭代斯 哈弗福德 羅格斯 史密斯等院校

Last year, it happened at Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins, I'm sorry to say

去年還發(fā)生在斯沃斯莫爾和約翰霍普金斯 我很遺憾

In each of these cases

這些例子中

liberals silenced a voice and they denied an honorary degree

自由派都希望讓不喜歡的聲音無法發(fā)出

to individuals they deemed politically objectionable

政治上不被其認同的人會被拒絕授予榮譽學位

This is an outrage and we must not let it continue

這太讓人憤怒了 我們不應當讓它繼續(xù)發(fā)生

If a university

如果一所大學

thinks twice before inviting a commencement speaker

在邀請一位畢業(yè)典禮演講嘉賓時

because of his or her politics

還要因為政治立場再三斟酌

censorship and conformity the mortal enemies of freedom win out

審查和一致這些自由的死敵就會勝出

And sadly, it is not just commencement season when speakers are censored

很悲哀的是 并不只有畢業(yè)季的演講嘉賓會被審查

Last fall, when I was still in City Hall

去年秋 我還在擔任市長的時候

our Police Commissioner was invited

市警察局長受邀

to deliver a lecture at another Ivy League institution

到另一所常春藤盟校進行演講

but he was unable to do so because students shouted him down

結果他的演講卻因學生大聲抗議而無法進行

Isn't the purpose of a university to stir discussion, not silence it?

比起讓討論沉默 大學的意義不應當是激起討論嗎

What were the students afraid of hearing?

學生到底害怕聽到什么

Why did administrators not step in to prevent the mob from silencing speech?

為什么管理者不采取措施 避免暴民干擾演講

And did anyone consider that it is morally and pedagogically wrong

難道其他想聽演講的學生

to deprive other students the chance to hear the speech?

機會就應當被這樣剝奪嗎