1、奥巴马哥伦比亚大学巴纳德学院毕业典礼演讲稿奥巴马哥伦比亚大学巴纳德学院毕业典礼演讲稿Remarks by the President at Barnard College mencement CeremonyBarnard College Columbia University New York, New York1:28 P.M.EDTTHE PRESIDENT:Thank you so much.(Applause.)Thank you.Please, please have a seat.Thank you.(Applause.)Thank you, President Spar, tr
2、ustees, President Bollinger.Hello, Class of 20_!(Applause.) Congratulations on reaching this day.Thank you for the honor of being able to be a part of it.There are so many people who are proud of you - your parents, family, faculty, friends - all who share in this achievement.So please give them a b
3、ig round of applause.(Applause.)To all the moms who are here today, you could not ask for a better Mothers Day gift than to see all of these folks graduate.(Applause.)I have to say, though, whenever I e to these things, I start thinking about Malia and Sasha graduating, and I start tearing up and -
4、(laughter) - its terrible.I dont know how you guys are holding it together.(Laughter.)I will begin by telling a hard truth:Im a Columbia college graduate.(Laughter and applause.)I know there can be a little bit of a sibling rivalry here.(Laughter.)But Im honored nevertheless to be your mencement spe
5、aker today - although Ive got to say, you set a pretty high bar given the past three years.(Applause.)Hillary Clinton - (applause) - Meryl Streep - (applause) - Sheryl Sandberg - these are not easy acts to follow.(Applause.)But I will point out Hillary is doing an e_traordinary job as one of the fin
6、est Secretaries of State America has ever had.(Applause.)We gave Meryl the Presidential Medal of Arts and Humanities.(Applause.)Sheryl is not just a good friend; shes also one of our economic advisers.So its like the old saying goes - keep your friends close, and your Barnard mencement speakers even
7、 closer.(Applause.)Theres wisdom in that.(Laughter.)Now, the year I graduated - this area looks familiar - (laughter) - the year I graduated was 1983, the first year women were admitted to Columbia.(Applause.)Sally Ride was the first American woman in space.Music was all about Michael and the Moonwa
8、lk.(Laughter.)AUDIENCE MEMBER:Do it!(Laughter.)THE PRESIDENT:No Moonwalking.(Laughter.)No Moonwalking today.(Laughter.)We had the Walkman, not iPods.Some of the streets around here were not quite so inviting.(Laughter.)Times Square was not a family destination.(Laughter.)So I know this is all ancien
9、t history.Nothing worse than mencement speakers droning on about bygone days.(Laughter.)But for all the differences, the Class of 1983 actually had a lot in mon with all of you.For we, too, were heading out into a world at a moment when our country was still recovering from a particularly severe eco
10、nomic recession.It was a time of change.It was a time of uncertainty.It was a time of passionate political debates.You can relate to this because just as you were starting out finding your way around this cus, an economic crisis struck that would claim more than 5 million jobs before the end of your
11、 freshman year.Since then, some of you have probably seen parents put off retirement, friends struggle to find work.And you may be looking toward the future with that same sense of concern that my generation did when we were sitting where you are now.Of course, as young women, youre also going to gr
12、apple with some unique challenges, like whether youll be able to earn equal pay for equal work; whether youll be able to balance the demands of your job and your family; whether youll be able to fully control decisions about your own health.And while opportunities for women have grown e_ponentially
13、over the last 30 years, as young people, in many ways you have it even tougher than we did.This recession has been more brutal, the job losses steeper.Politics seems nastier.Congress more gridlocked than ever.Some folks in the financial world have not e_actly been model corporate citizens.(Laughter.
14、)No wonder that faith in our institutions has never been lower, particularly when good news doesnt get the same kind of ratings as bad news anymore.Every day you receive a steady stream of sensationalism and scandal and stories with a message that suggest change isnt possible; that you cant make a d
15、ifference; that you wont be able to close that gap between life as it is and life as you want it to be.My job today is to tell you dont believe it.Because as tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher.Ive seen your passion and Ive seen your service.Ive seen you engage and Ive seen you
16、 turn out in record numbers.Ive heard your voices lified by creativity and a digital fluency that those of us in older generations can barely prehend.Ive seen a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course.And that defiant, can-do spirit is what
17、runs through the veins of American history.Its the lifeblood of all our progress.And it is that spirit which we need your generation to embrace and rekindle right now.See, the question is not whether things will get better - they always do.The question is not whether weve got the solutions to our ch
18、allenges - weve had them within our grasp for quite some time.We know, for e_le, that this country would be better off if more Americans were able to get the kind of education that youve received here at Barnard - (applause) - if more people could get the specific skills and training that employers
19、are looking for today.We know that wed all be better off if we invest in science and technology that sparks new businesses and medical breakthroughs; if we developed more clean energy so we could use less foreign oil and reduce the carbon pollution thats threatening our pla.(Applause.)We know that w
20、ere better off when there are rules that stop big banks from making bad bets with other peoples money and - (applause) - when insurance panies arent allowed to drop your coverage when you need it most or charge women differently from men.(Applause.)Indeed, we know we are better off when women are tr
21、eated fairly and equally in every aspect of American life - whether its the salary you earn or the health decisions you make.(Applause.)We know these things to be true.We know that our challenges are eminently solvable.The question is whether together, we can muster the will - in our own lives, in o
22、ur mon institutions, in our politics - to bring about the changes we need.And Im convinced your generation possesses that will.And I believe that the women of this generation - that all of you will help lead the way.(Applause.)Now, I recognize thats a cheap applause line when youre giving a mencemen
23、t at Barnard.(Laughter.)Its the easy thing to say.But its true.It is - in part, it is simple math.Today, women are not just half this country; youre half its workforce.(Applause.)More and more women are out-earning their husbands.Youre more than half of our college graduates, and masters graduates,
24、and PhDs.(Applause.)So youve got us outnumbered.(Laughter.) After decades of slow, steady, e_traordinary progress, you are now poised to make this the century where women shape not only their own destiny but the destiny of this nation and of this world.But how far your leadership takes this country,
25、 how far it takes this world - well, that will be up to you.Youve got to want it.It will not be handed to you.And as someone who wants that future - that better future - for you, and for Malia and Sasha, as somebody whos had the good fortune of being the husband and the father and the son of some st
26、rong, remarkable women, allow me to offer just a few pieces of advice.Thats obligatory.(Laughter.)Bear with me.My first piece of advice is this:Dont just get involved.Fight for your seat at the table.Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.(Applause.)Its been said that the most importa
27、nt role in our democracy is the role of citizen.And indeed, it was 225 years ago today that the Constitutional Convention opened in Philadelphia, and our founders, citizens all, began crafting an e_traordinary document.Yes, it had its flaws - flaws that this nation has strived to protect (perfect) o
28、ver time.Questions of race and gender were unresolved.No womans signature graced the original document - although we can assume that there were founding mothers whispering smarter things in the ears of the founding fathers.(Applause.)I mean, thats almost certain.What made this document special was t
29、hat it provided the space - the possibility - for those who had been left out of our charter to fight their way in.It provided people the language to appeal to principles and ideals that broadened democracys reach.It allowed for protest, and movements, and the dissemination of new ideas that would r
30、epeatedly, decade after decade, change the world - a constant forward movement that continues to this day.Our founders understood that America does not stand still; we are dynamic, not static.We look forward, not back.And now that new doors have been opened for you, youve got an obligation to seize
31、those opportunities.You need to do this not just for yourself but for those who dont yet enjoy the choices that youve had, the choices you will have.And one reason many workplaces still have outdated policies is because women only account for 3 percent of the CEOs at Fortune 500 panies.One reason were actually refighting long-settled battles over womens rights is because women occupy fewer than one in five seats in Congress.Now, Im not saying that the only way to achieve success is by climbing to the top of the corporate ladder or running for office - althoug
