在多災多難2020年， 哈佛大學校長Bacow夫婦均不幸感染上了Covid-19，但均痊愈。哈佛大學也首先宣布今年秋季課程改為“上電大” （網課）；在明尼蘇達州黑人 George Floyd 被警察暴力執法致死後， 在Covid-19大流行期間要求保持社交距離時，又在多城市開始了大規模的遊行示威要求消除種族主義，司法公正。當然有組織的打砸搶燒趁勢而入。在這複雜關健的時刻，哈佛大學校長Bacow 給哈佛社區發表了這封信：
我相信的東西2020年5月30日尊敬的哈佛社區成員，最近幾個月來讓我們所有人都會感到迷茫。COVID-19已給全世界人們的生活造成了巨大的破壞， 它已在全球造成了超過36.5萬人死亡，僅在美國就造成了10萬多人死亡。因之有四千萬美國人失去了工作，還有無數人生活在對這種病毒及其經濟後果的恐懼之中。就在這種無法言喻的損失中，我們的國家再次為無辜的被殺害的黑人喬治·弗洛伊德（George Floyd）這一事件所震驚-又是一名黑人，而殺人者卻是一個應該是負責保護我們的警察。許多城市正在爆發，我們的國家深陷分裂。應該讓我們團結起來的領導們對此似乎無能為力。我不禁回想起1968年，那是我讀高三時的春天。首先，小馬丁·路德·金博士被暗殺，然後是鮑比·肯尼迪（被暗殺）。像在全國各地一樣，在底特律附近爆發了騷亂。那時，就像現在一樣，我們的國家兩極分化了，我們拚命地努力尋找可以團結我們的共同點。當時，人們幾乎沒有希望，似乎很難想象我們將如何前進，但是我們做到了。當我思考我們今天麵臨的挑戰時，我一次又一次回想到我的信念：我相信這個國家人民的善良以及他們的韌性。我相信，我們所有的人，無論什麽種族，無論是自由主義者或保守主義者，無論是民主黨人和或共和黨人，都希望我們的孩子們未來的生活會更好。我認為，美國應該是世界各地的燈塔。我認為，我們作為一個國家的力量在很大程度上要歸功於我們的傳統，即歡迎那些來到我們的海岸尋求自由和機會的人們，這些人通過他們的辛勤工作，創造力和對自己的奉獻精神多次地回報這個新的家園。我相信美國夢。我相信憲法，三權分立，《第一修正案》，尤其是享有自由和獨立的新聞界的權利，這些新聞監督著當權者，並享有自由和獨立的司法機構。我相信第14條修正案保證對所有人的法律平等保護，而不僅僅是對像我這樣的人。我認為，無論擔任何種職務或穿什麽製服，任何人都不應違反法律。違法者必須承擔責任。我認為，衡量社會正義的一種方法是如何對待最脆弱的成員。我認為，我們必須為那些可能不會獨自遇到機會的人提供機會，以便他們能夠發揮全部潛力。我相信知識和思想能夠改變世界，科學和醫學可以戰勝疾病，藝術和人文科學可以闡明人類的處境。這隻是我所相信的一部分。我希望您在這些困難時期能夠停下來，問您相信什麽。更重要的是，我希望您會發現有力量和決心按照自己的信念行事-修複和完善這個不完美的世界。我們有幸在這個地方工作或學習的理應承擔些特殊的責任。正如路加（聖經裏Luke）所教導我們的那樣，從有很多奉獻的人那裏，可以期待很多。真誠的，Lawrence S. BacowPresidentHarvard University哈佛大學校長風城黑鷹譯原文網址：https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2020/what-i-believe?from=timeline&isappinstalled=0
What I believe
Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
The last several months have been disorienting for all of us. COVID-19 has profoundly disrupted the lives of people worldwide. It has caused more than 365,000 deaths around the globe and more than 100,000 in the United States alone. Forty million Americans have lost their jobs, and countless others live in fear of both the virus and its economic consequences.
In the midst of this incomprehensible loss, our nation has once again been shocked by the senseless killing of yet another black person—George Floyd—at the hands of those charged with protecting us. Cities are erupting. Our nation is deeply divided. Leaders who should be bringing us together seem incapable of doing so.
I cannot help but think back to 1968, the spring of my junior year in high school. First, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, then Bobby Kennedy. Riots broke out in nearby Detroit, as they did across the country. Then, like now, our nation was hugely polarized, and we desperately struggled to find common ground that might unite us.
At the time, hope was in short supply. It seemed difficult to imagine how we would move forward, but we did. As I think about the challenges that we face today, I return again and again to what I believe:
I believe in the goodness of the people of this country—and in their resilience.
I believe that all of us, liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, whatever our race or ethnicity, want a better life for our children.
I believe that America should be a beacon of light to the rest of the world.
I believe that our strength as a nation is due in no small measure to our tradition of welcoming those who come to our shores in search of freedom and opportunity, individuals who repay us multiple times over through their hard work, creativity, and devotion to their new home.
I believe in the American Dream.
I believe in the Constitution, the separation of powers, the First Amendment—especially the right to a free and independent press that holds those in power accountable, and to a free and independent judiciary.
I believe in the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws—for everyone, not just for those who look like me.
I believe that no person is above the law regardless of the office they hold or the uniform they wear. Those who break the law must be held accountable.
I believe that one measure of the justness of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.
I believe we must provide opportunity to those who may not encounter it on their own so that they may achieve their full potential.
I believe in the power of knowledge and ideas to change the world, of science and medicine to defeat disease, of the arts and humanities to illuminate the human condition.
This is just some of what I believe. I hope you will pause during these troubled times to ask what you believe. Even more importantly, I hope you will find the strength and determination to act on your beliefs—to repair and perfect this imperfect world. Those of us privileged to work or study at a place like this bear special responsibilities. As Luke teaches us, from those to whom much is given, much is expected.
