Harvard President speaks out in exclusive interview, says we 'cannot compromise'

附：哈佛校长Alan Garber在2025届学生毕业典礼上的演说

Harvard President Alan Garber delivers the official welcome at the University’s 374th Commencement on May 29, 2025.

Welcome. Thank you. Welcome, family and friends, champions(支持者、为学校奋斗出力的人) and supporters. Welcome, guests from down the street, across the country, and around the world. And welcome, members of the Class of 2025(2025届学员、毕业班).

Members of the Class of 2025 from down the street, across the country, and around the world. Around the world, just as it should be.

I see you this morning not as groups of graduates separated by School(各二级学院) but as one Harvard — a community bound by the shared sense, the shared cause of seeking knowledge, of acquiring wisdom, and of serving society. A community composed of remarkable individuals who take their chances rather than rest on their laurels(桂冠、荣誉).

We gather today to acknowledge your achievements and to celebrate your excellence. Here, among beloved colleagues and mentors, and distinguished and dedicated faculty and staff, you have learned to consider curiosity a state in which to live, open always to the ever-present possibility of personal growth.

I implore(诚恳地、诚挚地要求) you to hold fast to(谨记) that lesson after your degrees are conferred(授予学位) today.

The world as it is tempts us with the lure of what one might generously call “comfortable thinking,” a habit of mind that readily convinces us of the merits(正确性) of our own assumptions, the veracity(准确性、真实性) of our own arguments, and the soundness(可靠性、合理性) of our own opinions, positions, and perspectives — so committed to our beliefs that we seek information that confirms them as we discredit(否定) evidence that refutes(反驳，即能证明错误的现实) them.

Though many would be loath(不情愿) to admit it, absolute certainty and willful ignorance are two sides of the same coin, a coin with no value but costs beyond measure(无法衡量，即超越可衡量的范围).

False conviction saps(侵蚀、耗尽) true potential. Focused on satisfying a deep desire to be right, we can willingly lose that which is so often gained from being wrong: humility, empathy, generosity, insight — squandering(浪费、错失) opportunities to expand our thinking and to change our minds in the process.

My hope for you, members of the Class of 2025, is that you stay comfortable being uncomfortable, starting with the folding chairs on which you sit right now.

Ambition eschews(避开) comfort. If, in some near or distant future, you find yourself feeling as if you have it all figured out, as if you know enough to kick up your feet and lean back in your seat(翘起脚、斜倚在椅背上，暗示自我满足、不再追求进步), recall this day, and your chairs, and just how much you have to gain from living your life in a state of curiosity, and welcoming ideas, both familiar and unfamiliar, with your arms outstretched and your minds open.

You are the hope of this institution embodied(体现，即学生是哈佛希望的体现), living proof that our mission changes not only the lives of individuals, but also the trajectories of the communities(社区的发展方向) that you will join, serve, and lead.

May you carry the best of what Harvard is and does into the world that awaits you. May you chart(作图、规划未来) a path for others to follow as you choose your own. And may your many destinations bring you joy, satisfaction, and peace.

Your journey will not always be clear, and it will surely be full of unexpected turns, but fortified by openness and curiosity, by what you have learned here, and by the many connections you have made and will make, you will bring honor to yourself, your family, and your alma mater(母校、校歌).

Thank you, and congratulations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiT0vT_YSc0