Dear Members of the Harvard Community,
At this time of year, with the arrival of new students who bring with them a vast diversity of experiences and hopes, we are reminded that our community is our strength. Whether this is our first or our umpteenth fall term, as energy and excitement about the adventures ahead pervade our campus, Harvard is renewed for all of us. We find chances to connect and reconnect with one another and to begin again, bound by the pursuit of learning and discovery, devoted to genuine excellence, and inspired by the opportunity to contribute to the world.
United by a commitment to our mission, we ensure the future success of this great institution by supporting and encouraging one another, by seeking enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom together. We have everything to gain from our commitments to one another—and so much to lose if we falter. Our community includes people of intensity and passion with beliefs both deeply held and strongly expressed. The challenges we faced in the last academic year have not abated. We anticipate demonstrations and protests, as well as disagreement and argument. We expect tension among individuals who hold opposing positions. We will surely be tested again this term.
As a university, we have a responsibility to ensure that our disagreements can be openly expressed, whether we do so through writing or speaking, individually or collectively through organized protests and other activities, without infringing on the rights of others. We will continue to meet and manage difficult moments informed by our rights and responsibilities, and guided by widely communicated processes and policies. Those who fall short of our expectation that the rights of others be honored must be prepared to be held accountable for their actions. We reject bias or hate directed at any individual or group, and we will not tolerate harassment, intimidation, or threats.
But it is not a set of policy statements and strictures that ultimately determines the vitality of our community. It is the everyday choices we make as individuals. Our future will be shaped by the concern and compassion we show—by our willingness to regard one another as fellow human beings, diverse in our views, ambitious in our interests, and committed not only to asserting what we believe but also to seeing the world through eyes other than our own. We must listen attentively and generously in the weeks and months to come, resisting urges to judge too quickly and approaching our dealings with one another in good faith. We must have the courage and the decency to care about each other and to care for each other.
There is so much that so many of us want to accomplish in the months ahead. Whatever the future holds, we should always keep in our sights our fundamental and enduring commitment to education and scholarship, undertaken with both determination and humility as we address humanity’s greatest challenges. I enter this semester with an undiminished sense of purpose and an optimistic outlook grounded in realism. Each of us has much to gain from being part of our extraordinary community. I hope that we will choose to be stronger together than we could ever be apart.
Sincerely,
Alan M. Garber
