Rudenstine Discusses Race

Everyone at Harvard should build friendships to counteract racial and ethnic tensions, President Neil L. Rudenstine told more than 15,000 students, alumni and parents gathered at Harvard University's 341st Commencement.

In his first Commencement address as Harvard's 26th president, Rudenstine said the tensions on the nation's college campuses aren't as bad as they may appear.

"The present situation is at least as good--and almost certainly much better--than at any time in our past, including the 1950s or the 1960s or the 1970s," he said.

Rudenstine said the "task of living together" is a challenger for the Harvard community. But he stated a clear goal: "The University must remain fully committed to creating and maintaining a climate on campus that is generally civil, tolerant and open to a wide range of views."

Such an atmosphere is crucial if students are to "function as effective leaders in an increasingly heterogeneous and internationalized world... against a backdrop of sporadic urban violence and international conflict," the president said.

A significant step toward the goal, Rudenstine said, would be "a commitment from students, staff, administrators and faculty to invest much more time in getting to know one another better, in humanizing our daily lives inside the classroom and outside the classroom."

Global Thinking

Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland spoke after Rudenstine, issuing a call for global and international thinking to help slove the world's environmental troubles.

"We need a new era of internationalism where peace, environment and development are linked and placed in the epicenter of national and international affairs," Brundtland said.

"We need to use the gifts of the world's crust more thoughtfully, more efficiently. We should treasure them more, price them properly and keep more of them available for future generations," she said.

Brundtland came to Commencement straight from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and she used her speech to discuss some topics under consideration there.

"I have been stunned to see how the Rio Conference seems to fail to make workable decisions on how to curb population growth, " she said, blaming the Vatican for blocking family planning measures.

"Women, worldwide, have been patronized long enough," said Brundtland, who is Norway's said Brundtland, who is Norway's first female prime minister.

In a press conference after the speech, Brundtland said that from what she has heard, recent Harvard efforts in Environmental Studies have been "timely" and "very fruitful."

"It is very important that the different faculties are coordinating programs, studies and research projects across the faculty divisions and across the separate fields of study," she said at the press conference.