9月3日，哈佛大学校长劳伦斯·巴考（Lawrence S. Bacow）为欢迎新生致辞。这是这位新任校长第一次为新生做演讲。在此次新生演讲中，Bacow建议所有新生用开放包容的心态去接触周围的一切，用大学四年21,000小时，了解同学，请教老师，追求知识，以及探索校园外的世界。

下面就让我们一起来看看，这位新任校长在哈佛的第一次新生演讲上还讲了些什么。（演讲内容来自哈佛官网）

致2022届哈佛新生：

Good afternoon, Class of 2022. I am Larry Bacow — and please feel free to call me Larry — and it is my great honor to welcome you officially to the Harvard community.

下午好，2021届毕业班的同学们。我是拉里·巴考（Larry Bacow），可以轻松一点叫我拉里（Larry），我很荣幸欢迎你们正式加入哈佛。

We have something very special in common: This is my first year as president, which makes me a member of your class — and no other — for all time.  So I hope you [speech is interrupted by applause]. My classmates!

我们有一些非常特殊的共同点，这是我担任校长的第一年，这使我成为你们的同学，而不是其他人的，并将一直如此。所以，我希望（演讲被掌声打断），我的同学们。

Like you, I’ve recently moved into Harvard Yard. Like you, I’ve given up familiar routines in search of new challenges as well as new opportunities. And, like you, I’ve arrived here in the hope that I can make a unique contribution to this very special place.

和你们一样，我最近搬进了哈佛校园。和你们一样，我放弃了熟悉的生活步调来寻找新的挑战和新的机遇。并且，和你们一样，我来到这里，是希望能为这个特别的地方做出独特的贡献。

But unlike you, I didn’t have to decide what to wear today. Because one of the benefits of being president is that I get to wear this very stylish robe —  a pilgrim’s preachers robe, by the way. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be wearing something very similar when we next meet as a group, exactly two days before you graduate in 2022.

但与你们不同的是，我没有必要决定今天穿什么。担任校长的好处之一就是，我可以穿上这件非常时髦的长袍。顺便说一下，这是朝圣者的传教士长袍。不过不用担心，在我们下次见面时，你们将穿上类似的衣服，准确的说，是在2022年你们毕业前两天。

There are exactly 1,358 days between this day and that one. And accounting for the hours you will spend sleeping — and I do hope that you will try to get eight hours of sleep a night, I highly recommend it — you have approximately 21,000 hours to explore this extraordinary institution, 21,000 hours to find your passion and to see where it will take you, 21,000 hours to discover what matters to you most and to determine how you can make the world a better place.

从今天到那一天，中间恰好有1,358天。考虑到你们睡觉的时间（我希望你会尝试每晚睡八小时，并且强烈建议你们这样做。）你将拥有大约21,000个小时来探索这个非凡的机构；用这21,000小时来寻找你们的激情，看它将带你去哪里；用这21,000小时去探索什么对你最重要，并确定如何让世界变得更美好。

Where will you begin in this journey? If I can offer a suggestion, I think you should start with the person sitting next to you, because he or she is most likely going through a lot right now. I know because I received an email from one of you earlier this summer. It was a very honest message to me about feeling excited and joyful — but also anxious and scared — at the prospect of coming. The thought of moving to a new place with new people was nerve-wracking, and the thought of not fitting in was both daunting and real.

那么，你将从这个旅程中的哪里开始？我的建议是，可以从坐在你旁边的人开始。因为他或她现在最有可能正在经历很多事。我知道这些，是因为今年夏天的早些时候，我收到了你们中的一封电子邮件。

在我看来，这是一封非常诚实的信。它告诉我对于即将到来的前景感到兴奋和快乐，但也感到焦虑和害怕。一想到要与陌生人一起搬到一个新地方，就很伤脑筋，担心无法融入，这些既令人生畏又真实。

Larry Bacow迎接新生

What put everything in perspective for this particular student, who is sitting among you, was learning that he and I actually have something in common: parents who had immigrated to the United States. Now, looking at me, dressed in this robe, you might not have assumed or gathered that my folks came to this country as refugees, or that I grew up in a blue-collar town in Michigan, or that I spent my free time in high school building ham radios and entering science fairs. OK, maybe you might that, but not the other stuff.

对于正坐在你们中间的这位学生来说，非常肯定的是，他正得知我们之间的一个共同点，即我们都是移民的后裔。

现在，看着我，穿着这件长袍，你可能不会认为或者推断出，我和家人是作为难民来到这个国家的，还有，我在密歇根的一个蓝领小镇长大，以及我高中的空闲时间都花在组装业余收音机和参加科学博览会上。好吧，也许你会这样想，但其他人大概不会。

My point — and this is some of the best advice that I have ever been given — is that you should never judge your insides by other peoples’ outsides. No one you will meet at Harvard is perfect, and that includes your president. I have experienced despair and hope, defeat and triumph, and loss and love just like anyone else. Everyone you meet here is unique; and everyone has his or her own story — and every single one of you was admitted because we saw something in you that we believed would enrich this special community.  

我想说的是，不要以貌取人，这是我得到的最好的建议之一。在哈佛，没有人是完美的，包括你们的校长。我和其他人一样，经历过绝望和希望，失败和胜利，失去和爱。你在这里遇到的每个人都是独一无二的，每个人都有自己的故事。你们每个人都被录取了，因为我们在你们身上看到了一些东西，并且相信这会丰富这个特殊的群体。

As you begin to find your way over the next few weeks, invest some of your 21,000 hours in getting to know one another. Don’t just talk to your classmates, listen to them; learn from them. Recognize that every kind of circumstance — financial, social, or otherwise — comes with its own set of complications. After all, we are all human, none of us is perfect. Embrace the challenging work of trying to understand the world from a perspective other than your own. You’ll be a better person for it and I guarantee you, you’ll also make some lifelong friends. One of my closest friends is someone I roomed with as a freshman, and we have been part of each other’s lives for 49 years and counting. Actually, he is a very, very special person in my life because he introduced me to my wife, Adele, who is sitting somewhere over there. Adele? Stand up, Adele.

当你们在接下来的几周里开始探索自己的方法，投入21,000个小时里的一些时间去了解别人。不要只是和你的同学们倾诉，倾听他们，向他们学习。你们要认识到，在任何情况下，无论是经济上的、社交上的或是其它什么，都有其复杂之处。毕竟我们都是普通人，没有人是完美的。

从另一种角度，突破自己的认知去理解世界是一项充满挑战性的工作，拥抱它，接受它，你会成为一个更好的人。并且，我可以向你们保证，你们会因此结识一生的挚友。

我最亲近的朋友之一就是我成为大学新生时的室友，我们已经彼此依靠走过了49年，还会更长。其实他是我人生中非常特殊的人，因为他介绍了我和我妻子Adele相识，Adele正坐在那里，Adele？请站起来。

I hope you will spend some of your hours getting to know your teachers, too. One of the best decisions I ever made as an undergraduate was to approach one of my economics professors to ask a question about a footnote in a reading after class. We ended up having a long conversation about game theory — an emerging field at the time — that turned into a reading course that actually changed the course of my life.  I am still in touch with that professor today. I believe the single greatest predictor of whether or not you have an extraordinary experience here is whether or not you get to know one at least one of your teachers, just one, at least one, you can get to know more, but at least one well enough that you will stay in touch with him or her for the rest of your life. If you don’t know where to start, go to office hours. Invite your teacher to have a cup of coffee either at the Smith Campus Center or the Lamont Café or just get together with them right here on these steps or somewhere else nearby. And if you’re a little nervous or anxious and you don’t know what to ask them, ask them about their research. Faculty love talking about their research. I guarantee you’ll have an interesting conversation.

我希望你们也能花费一点时间去了解你们的老师。我在本科期间做的最棒的决定之一就是去找我的一位经济学教授，问他一个关于课后阅读中脚注的问题。最后我们就博弈论进行了长时间的讨论，这在当时还是一个新兴的领域，后来变成了一门阅读课程，而这门课程改变了我的人生。时至今日，我仍然和那位教授保持着联系。

我相信，最能预测你们能否在这里收获一段非凡体验的就是，你们能否结识一位、至少一位老师，可能更多，但至少有一位你确定可以在接下来的人生中保持联系的。

如果你不知道该如何开始，就利用办公时间，邀请老师史密斯校园中心或拉蒙特咖啡馆喝杯下午茶，也可以就在这里或附近的台阶上谈谈。如果你有一点紧张或者焦虑以至于不知道该问他们什么，那就问问关于他们研究的事，学院的教职员们很乐意讨论自己的研究。我保证你们能相谈愉快。

Now, Harvard will give you many opportunities to satisfy your curiosity. In fact, you could spend a considerable amount of your time just in this space alone, learning everything there is to know all the magnificent trees in Tercentenary Theatre — bur oaks, honey locusts, red maples, yellowwoods —if that’s not enough, got to Arnold Arboretum in Boston and see many more species, or you could even travel to the Harvard Forest. You could enter Memorial Church, just behind me, to be inspired and even overwhelmed by the names of Harvard men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, something which is likely to inspire some of you to want to learn more about history, about the circumstances that gave rise to the conflicts for which they sacrificed. Or you could enter Widener Library, where we’re going to assemble for your class picture in a little bit, and you could explore our extraordinary collections, get lost in the stacks. Or you could venture beyond the Yard to the Harvard Art Museums right over there, 250,000 items in our collection, one of the most extraordinary art collections you can find anywhere; or the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture to find the third largest herbarium in the United States or the only collection of life-size glass flowers in the world. If you haven’t seen them you should, truly amazing. Go farther afield to explore the American Repertory Theater or the Harvard Dance Center, across the river to the athletic fields, the Harvard Innovation Labs, the soon-to-be art lab, as well as the Science and Engineering Complex. Every direction that you might choose to wander from here will lead you to extraordinary opportunities. 

现在，哈佛可以提供很多机会来满足你们的好奇心。事实上，你们可以花相当长一段时间在这里独处，在这里学习一切，了解三百年剧院里所有壮观的树，柏迪橡树，蜂蜜蝗虫，红枫，棵罗汉松，如果还不够，那就去波士顿的阿诺德树木园看看更多的物种，甚至可以去哈佛森林。

你们还可以去我身后的纪念堂，被那些为国家做出牺牲的哈佛的男男女女们的名字所所激励，或感到不知所措，但这可能会激励你们想要学习关于他们为了斗争做出牺牲那种情形下的历史。

或者你可以进入哈佛威德纳图书馆，也就是我们会将你们的班级合照集中起来的地方。你们可以在这里探索非凡的藏品，沉醉在书的海洋。或者你可以走到哈佛广场外面，向右走就能到达哈佛艺术博物馆。在那里有25万件藏品，你在任何地方都能找到最非凡的艺术藏品。或者你可以去哈佛科学文化博物馆探寻美国第三大的植物标本馆，亦或是世界上唯一真人大小的玻璃花收藏。

如果你还没见过它们，你应该去看看，真的很神奇。去吧，去更远的地方探索美国大学影院或哈佛舞蹈中心，去河对岸的运动场，去哈佛创新实验室，去即将建成的艺术实验室，以及科学和工程综合实验室。从这里开始，你选择的每一个方向都将可能引领你走向非凡的机遇。

And there is, of course, a greater world beyond campus, a world that each of us has the potential to make better in some way. So class of 2022, I’m actually now going to give you our first homework, your very first assignment, not that difficult. If you are eligible to vote, we expect you to register, to inform yourself of the candidates and the issues, and then cast your ballot. The very first responsibility of citizenship in a democracy is to vote, and we have actually made it quite easy you to do so. At least the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School has done so. So take out your phones. I know all you have them, this is the time when you actually get to take them out, because I’m going to give you the website where you’re going to go. Take down this address: iop — for Institute of Politics — .turbovote.org. Let me repeat that: iop.turbovote.org. If you’re eligible, register and vote. It is your responsibility as a citizen of this country and as a citizen of Harvard.

当然，校园之外还有一个更大的世界，一个我们每个人都有潜力以某种方式变得更好的世界。

所以，2022年的同学们，我现在要给你们布置第一份作业，你的第一个任务并不难，如果你有资格投票，我们希望你去登记，了解候选人和问题，然后投出你的选票。在一个民主国家，公民的首要责任就是投票，我们已经让你们很容易做到这一点。至少肯尼迪学院的政治学院已经做到了。

哈佛开学典礼

所以，拿出你的手机。我知道你们都有，现在你们就可以拿出来了，因为我要告诉你们，你们要去的网站。记下这个地址：政府研究所，iop.turbovote.org。让我重复一遍，iop.turbovote.org。如果你符合条件，登记并投票。这是你们作为美国公民和哈佛学子的责任。

Voting is just one thing you can do to ensure that the world in which you live is much more like the world in which you would like to live. I hope in the next 21,000 hours you will find ample time to determine how you might use your considerable talents to make life better for others. I have yet to meet anyone who thinks that the world that we live in is perfect. This is not a political statement, it is equally true Democrats and Republicans, of liberals and conservatives. And if you don’t think that the world is perfect, the only way it gets better is if good people like you work to repair it. Harvard has endured over centuries not because it is great but because it is good, and I look forward to learning about the ways in which you choose to grow in goodness — and in wisdom — over the next four years.

投票只是你可以做的很多事之一，以确保你生活的世界更接近你希望的样子。我希望在接下来的21000个小时里，你们会有足够的时间来决定如何运用你们的天赋，并为他人创造更好的生活。

我还没见过有人认为我们生活的世界是完美的。这不是一个政治声明，它同样适用于民主党和共和党，自由派和保守派。如果你们同样不认为世界是完美的，那么只有像你们这样的好人努力去改善它，世界才能变得更好。

哈佛经历了几个世纪，不是因为它伟大，而是因为它美好。在接下来的四年里，我期待着观察，你们将选择怎样在善良和智慧中成长。

And now the most important unsolicited advice you will receive from anyone today: It is also wise to be good to the people who love you, especially parents and your family. You going off to college is a huge adjustment for them too. You’ve just applauded been introduced many of the people who help you make with this transition, but your families are on their own. Be grateful for the ways in which they have supported you and sacrificed so that you may have the opportunity of studying and learning here. Express your gratitude by supporting them as they now adjust to a life in which you are no longer a constant physical presence. Your parents, in particular, will never tire of hearing how you’re doing, be it by phone, email, or text. Just make sure to ask how they are doing. I assure you it will be time well spent.

现在，你们得到的最重要的建议是，与那些爱你的人为善同样也是明智之举，特别是你的父母和你的家庭。

你们离家来到大学，对他们来说也是一次巨大的调整。你们刚才鼓掌欢迎了很多帮助实现这个转变的人，但是你们的家庭需要依靠自己（适应这个转变）。感谢他们用各种方式支持你和牺牲，这样你才有机会在这里学习。

通过支持他们来表达你的感激，因为他们现在适应了你不再是一个恒定的物理存在的生活状态。尤其是你的父母，他们永远不会厌倦听到你在做什么，无论是通过电话、电子邮件还是短信。不要忘记问问他们过得怎样。我向你保证，这些时间都是值得的。

And of course Adele and I will ask how you are doing when I see you in the Yard or at events on campus or elsewhere, and I trust that you will update us on your excitements and joys — even your anxieties and concerns. Everyone here today — and lots and lots of other people across the University — are here for you and want you to succeed. Take us up on our offer and ask us for help whenever you need it.

当然，当我和Adele在院子里、在校园里或者在其他地方看到你们时，会问你们在做什么。我相信你们会向我们介绍你们的兴奋和快乐，甚至是你们的焦虑和关切。今天在这里的每一个人，以及大学里的很多其他人都将在这里为你们服务，希望你们能成功。接受我们的建议，在你需要的时候向我们寻求帮助。

You will soon learn that Harvard is not a place: It’s an idea, and it’s the people who carry that idea with them. Harvard will be everywhere you go for the next 21,000 hours — and every hour after that for the rest of your life as well. Welcome, fellow members of the Class of 2022, my class. May you make the most of this wonderful time in your lives. It’s my privilege to share this journey with you. Thank you.

你们很快就会知道哈佛不是一个地点，而是一个理念，是那些秉持这个理念前行的人。在接下来的21000个小时里，哈佛将无处不在，并且，你此后人生中的每一个小时都会如此。

2022届毕业生们，我的同学们。愿你好好利用这段美好的时光。我很荣幸能与你们分享这段旅程。谢谢！