Bok, Gates Address Alumni

Harvard can apply its resources to the greatest challenges of today's society, such as education, multiculturalism and ethics, four University administrators and professors told the Class of 1943 yesterday.

Former President Derek C. Bok, DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates Jr., former Education School Dean Patricia A. Graham and Baird Professor of Science Dudley R. Herschbach addressed a group of about 300 graduates at a symposium on the future of Harvard in society.

Bok, who introduced the forum, said increased awareness about ethnic diversification and racial tensions, ethics in and out of the workplace, and a broader approach to education are among the key issues engaged by college students today.

"I hope Harvard can take these as a challenges," Bok said. "It's important for Harvard to succeed and to face more of these issues."

Bok updated the alumni on the progress Harvard has made in the last 50 years, citing ethnic studies and increased integration among students as academic and social achievements.

"Harvard has made a lot of progress since you left," he said.

Cultural Warfare

In a speech about multiculturalism in the U.S., Gates discussed the pervasiveness of cultural warfare and the clashes between the different values in society.

Answering a question from an alumnus, Gates said he supports the gathering of students into groups such as the African-American Cultural Center and Hillel, but he said it is important for students not to segregate themselves in college.

"As professors of the University, we have to encourage willing association," Gates said.

"On the other hand, true education occurs in the houses--outside the classroom...We have to stand up and protest self-segregation," he added.

Citing Patrick J. Buchanan's Republican National Convention speech, Gates ended by saying, "There is such a cultural war going on...This war is not for the soul of America. This war is the soul of America."

Public School Education

Graham focused her speech on the importance of improving public school education in the U.S. Using the battleship as a metaphor, she bemoaned the lack of maneuverability and flexibility of public high schools in responding to the needs of their students.

"There's a gap between what schools are producing and what society needs," Graham said. "The teachers are like the navy crews...They change course with difficulty."

But Graham said she was nonetheless optimistic about the future progress of education.

"The children need a new fleet to serve them," she said. "Slowly, schools are meeting all those needs."

Molecules as Metaphors

Finally, in a speech that incorporated all the themes discussed by Gates and Graham, Herschbach used the metaphor of molecules to characterize the problems in current society, and praised the contributions of science to academic and social problems.

"The collision of molecules is like the collision of values," Herschbach said. "Science is part of the human effort...how we work and how the world works...this is the essence of a liberal education."