Kenny Xu波士顿哈佛案演讲中译文2018年10月14日

渔之民 译

编者注:本文是哈佛案集会上一个华裔学生Kenny Xu的演讲,Kenny的脸书是facebook.com/thekennethxu , 推特是 @kennymxu.

我的妈妈爸爸一直梦想我有一天能在哈佛大学演讲,但我想我今天的发言不是他们所想象的那一种。 他们会希望我来哈佛广场做一次关于医学,或者法律方面的演讲,
最好是我的名字旁边写有一个很大的学术头衔。
虽然如此,但他们关心我的教育,并不是因为他们要地位,或者为了有资格吹嘘他们的模范儿子。他们关心我的教育,是因为他们爱我,他们希望我能把自己做得最好。
这就是为什么当我告诉他们我想当一名作家,并把我的写作才能展示给他们看之后,他们一直都在支持我,并且鼓励我他们相信我能够做到。
于是,我把2018年的大部分时间投入于研究亚裔美国人的经历,并在“联邦党人”(Federalist)和“每日信号”(The Daily Signal)等全国性刊物上发表了
相关的文章和视频。 机遇一个接一个地到来,我果断地抓住它们。 终于,此时此刻,我能够站在你们这些了不起的听众面前。 谢谢你们,所有对这次运动给与支持的人!
女士们,先生们,在此我想集中谈谈我前面提到的那个词,是它给我的生活赋予了很多意义。 这个词就是“机遇”。
像许多其他移民家庭一样,我的妈妈爸爸远涉重洋来到美国的海岸,就是为了寻找发展的机会。我相信大家都同意,没有什么能比优质的教育更能赋予人们以机遇。
我想这就是为什么我们都非常关心正在哈佛大学发生的事情。 因为哈佛起着引领整个高等教育界的作用,所以,如果哈佛说某种行为是可以接受的,那很多人就会听从,
哪怕那种行为是歧视。
刚开始撰文写亚裔美国人针对哈佛采用的非法的歧视性种族平衡做法而提起诉讼时,我还没有意识到这种歧视性的做法有多普遍。 但当我在“联邦党人”和“每日信号”等刊物上
发表更多的文章时,我才发现有更多的机构在各自领域里认为“亚裔太多”。
这不仅仅只是发生在哈佛。这也发生在纽约: 纽约市长Bill de Blasio正在竭力压制合格的亚裔孩子,不让他们入读他辖区内的特殊学校。这也发生在马里兰州的蒙哥马利学区,
那里的学区董事会通过了一项政策,把入读学区快班的亚裔学生数量砍掉一半。
我们中的很多人看到了这些现象, 但只是叹一句:“太伤心了”; 我们中的很多人都听到了哈佛将我们亚裔学生的个性评为所有种族中最差最糟糕,但却只是默默接受这份耻辱,
感叹一句”这些现象不是我们所能改变的”。 这样感叹一下确实最轻松了。 但是,我的朋友们,我们是有别的选择的: 我们可以选择接受被歧视的命运,但我们也可以选择行使
我们作为美国人的庄严权利,去团结,去集会,去发出我们的声音。
女士们,先生们,我们在这里不仅仅是为了这起诉讼,我们要留给下一代以及自己的精神遗产并不在于一个法院的判决。 Ed Blum先生诚恳地把我邀请到这里来发言,我相信他也同意
这个观点: 我们所能做的贡献,不在于法院的判决, 而在于此时此刻我们站在哈佛广场,开始行动!
开始行动,把我们自己的族裔动员起来,告诉他们我们为什么要向哈佛抗议。 因为我们相信每一个美国公民都有宪法保障的平等权利。
开始行动,走出去接触其他族裔的人们,说服他们,一个择优录取的制度给他们带来的好处,要多于那个用所谓的多样化考量来评估的录取制度,后者听起来给人以虚妄的美好
但实际上却是缺乏真正的包容性。
开始行动,在各地创立地区性的社团组织,责成当地的大学和学校的董事会们提供公平而不偏袒的录取制度。
在我为“每日信号”撰稿时,我会见过一群亚裔的政治活动参与者。 他们创立了一个草根组织,叫做公平教育联合会 (Association for Education Fairness). 从血统
而论,他们中的很多人都是移民; 但从本质而论,他们都是美国公民。 他们中很多人身为父母,因为深爱孩子,为了子女的成功倾注了毕生所有。 但哈佛却劈头盖脸地告诉这些父母,
你们亚裔孩子的成功没那么重要,其他族裔孩子的成功更重要。
女士们,先生们,这不仅仅是个进不进大学的问题,而是关系到一个更重大的社会问题。
这就是为什么今天整个美国都在关注我们,因为人们明白美国民权运动将来何去何从,维系于此。 我们有机会在此设立一个榜样,提供一盏指向灯引领全美人们。
我相信美国亚裔的民权运动已经到了一个转折点。 我们不愿再给那些要求我们保持沉默的政治势力充当猎物。 我们要把我们的声音传遍美国,传遍世界。哈佛诉讼案,仅仅是个开始。
这是一个让我们来担当领导的机遇。 我建议我们抓住这个机遇!
我为今天在这儿演讲的学生们深感自豪。 他们是 Tyrell Brown, Harrison Chen, Roman Khondker, and Jacob Verrey. 如果我漏了谁的名字, 那我先在这儿道个歉。
SFFAAgainstHardvard
【演讲英文稿原文】
My mom and dad always dreamed that one day I would get to speak at Harvard.
I don't think this is quite how they imagined it.
I think they would have preferred I come up to Harvard Square speaking about medicine, or maybe law. Preferably with a big degree next to my name.
But they didn't care about my education because they wanted status, or bragging rights about their model son.  They cared about my education because they loved me, and wanted me to be the best person I could be.  That is why when I told them that I wanted to be a writer, and showed them my talent, they supported me all the way, and told me I could do it.
So I spent the majority of 2018 researching and publishing articles and videos about the Asian-American experience on national publications like The Federalist and The Daily Signal.  Opportunity after opportunity came and I took them.  And now I am here in front of an amazing audience - thank you.  Thank you to everyone who lends their support to this movement.
But, ladies and gentlemen, I want to focus on this word I mentioned here that has defined so much of my life: opportunity.
Like many immigrant families, my mom and dad came to these American shores in search of opportunity. And I think we can all agree that nowhere is opportunity greater than from a great education.
I think this is why we care so much what's happening here at Harvard.  Because the higher education world takes its cues from Harvard.  If Harvard says something is acceptable, people listen.  Even if that something is discrimination.
When I started writing about the Asian-American lawsuit against Harvard for illegal and discriminatory racial balancing practices, I did not realize how pervasive these practices have become.  In my articles on The Federalist and The Daily Signal, I just kept unearthing more places where institutions see "too many Asians."
It's not just here in Harvard.  It's in New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio is trying to crack down on Asian-American admissions to his specialized schools.  It's in Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, where the school board authorized a program that cut the number of Asian-Americans admitted to its gifted program in half.
So many of us look at these stories and say: "how sad."  So many of us hear about Harvard rating our personalities as the worst of all races, and hang our heads and say "nothing we can do about it."  That would be the comfortable thing to do.
But, my friends, we have a choice.  We can accept our fate - or we can exercise our solemn right as Americans to congregate, to assemble, and to speak out.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're not here to file a lawsuit.  Our legacy to our children and to ourselves does not rest on a court decision - and I believe that Mr. Ed Blum, who graciously invited me here, would agree.
No, our legacy rests on what we do here, from this spot at Harvard Square.
It means mobilizing to our own communities, informing them of why we stand up to Harvard - because we believe that every man and woman in America has a constitutional right to equal treatment under the law.
It means reaching out to people of other races, and convincing them why having an admissions process based on merit is better for them than one predicated on false and exclusive notions of so-called "diversity."
It means starting local organizations holding our own colleges and school boards accountable to provide a fair and unbiased system.
While I wrote for The Daily Signal, I met a group of Asian-American activists who organized themselves into a grassroots organization called the Association for Education Fairness.
Many of them are immigrants by blood, but all of them are Americans by heart. Many of them are parents who put their entire lives into their children's success, because they love them.  And these are the parents who are told point blank by Harvard that their children's success is worth less than the children of others.
Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't about getting into college.  This is about something much bigger.  That's why the nation is watching us today.  Because they understand that the future of civil rights practiced in America could be at stake.  We have a chance to set an example, a guiding light for the rest of the nation to follow.
I believe that we've reached a turning point in Asian-American activism. No longer will we fall prey to those who want to silence us.  Let us extend our voices across the nation and show the world that Harvard is just the beginning.
This is our chance to lead.  I suggest we take it. "
I was so proud of these student speakers.  Their names are:
Tyrell Brown, Harrison Chen, Roman Khondker, and Jacob Verrey.  If I missed someone, allow me to apologize in advance.
微信公众号: ACE美国平等联盟
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