In the 2012 presidential race, according to FederalElection Commission data 96 percent of all campaigncontributions 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 disagreementamong 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