In the 2012 presidential race, according to Federal Election Commission data 96 percent of all campaign contributions from Ivy League faculty and employees
2年总统选举中 根据联邦选举委员会数据 常春藤盟校教职员工有96%的捐赠
went to Barack Obama
都给了巴拉克·奥巴马
Ninety-six percent There was more disagreement among the old Soviet Politburo
96%前苏联政治局的差异
than there is among Ivy League donors
都比常春藤盟校捐赠者大
That statistic should give us pause
这一统计数字发人深思
and I say that as someone who endorsed President Obama for reelection
虽然我也支持奥巴马总统的再次当选
because let me tell you, neither party has a monopoly on truth
但我认为任何派别都不应当垄断真理
or God on its side
或让上帝总站在它那一边
When 96 percent of Ivy League donors prefer one candidate to another
96%常春藤盟校捐赠者偏向于某一位候选人
you have to wonder whether students are being exposed to the diversity of views
这就不得不让人怀疑 这些大学中的学生是否获得了
that a great university should offer
他们应当获得的观点多样性
Diversity of gender, ethnicity, and orientation is important
性别 人种 取向多样性都很重要
but a university cannot be great if its faculty is politically homogenous
但一所大学还应当有政治多样性 否则就称不上伟大
In fact, the whole purpose of granting tenure to professors
实际上 为教授提供终生教职就是为了
is to ensure that they feel free to conduct research on ideas
保证他们能够自由地进行研究
that run afoul of university politics and societal norms
而不用害怕研究主题同学校政治和社会规范不一致
When tenure was created
最初的终身教职
it mostly protected liberals whose ideas ran up against conservative norms
是为了保护同保守派规范相冲突的自由派思想
Today, if tenure is going to continue
而现在 终身教职如果要继续存在
it must also protect conservatives whose ideas run up against liberal norms
就必须保护同自由派规范相冲突的保守派思想
Otherwise, university research and the professors who conduct it will lose credibility
否则 大学研究和进行研究的教授就会失去信誉
Great universities must not become predictably partisan
伟大的大学不应当戴有党派的有色眼镜
And a liberal arts education must not be an education in the art of liberalism
教育不应当成为自由主义的教育
The role of universities is not to promote an ideology
大学的角色不应当是宣扬某一种意识形态
It is to provide scholars and students
而应当是为学者和学生
with a neutral forum for researching and debating issues
提供问题研究和辩论的中立论坛
without tipping the scales in one direction or repressing unpopular views
不让天平朝任何一个方向倾斜不抑制不受欢迎的观点
