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SPEECHES&STATEMENTSFreshmanAddress:OpportunityandResponsibilityPresidentRichardC.LevinAugust28,2010YaleUniversityIamdelightedtojoinDeanMillerinwelcomingyou,theClassof2014,toYaleCollege.Iwanttowelcomealsotherelativesandfriendswhohaveaccompaniedyouhere,andespeciallyyourparents.Asafatheroffourcollegegraduates,Iknowhowproudyouparentsareofyourchildren’sachievement,howhopefulyouarefortheirfuture,andhowmanyconcerns–largeandsmall–youhaveatthismoment.Letmetrytoreassureyou.Yourchildrenaregoingtoloveithere!AndyouaregoingtoenjoyyourassociationwithYale,too,whetheryouareareturninggraduateoroneofthevastmajorityofparentswhoneversetfootinNewHavenuntilyourchildrenstartedtothinkaboutwheretogotocollege.YoumaytakecomfortinlearningthatsurveyshaveshownthatYaleparentsarethemostsatisfiedintheIvyLeague.So,welcometotheYalefamily!Wearesopleasedtohaveyourchildrenwithus,andwewilldoourbesttoprovidethemwithabundantopportunitiestolearnandthriveinthefouryearsahead.Andtoyou,theClassof2014,Imakethesamepledge.Foryou,thesenextfouryearswillbeatimeofopportunityunlikeanyother.Hereyouaresurroundedbyastonishingresources:fascinatingfellowstudentsfromallovertheworld,alearnedandcaringfaculty,intimateresidentialcollegecommunities,amagnificentlibrary,twoextraordinaryartmuseums,anoutstandingmuseumofnaturalhistory,superbathleticfacilities,andstudentorganizationscoveringeveryconceivableinterest—theperformingarts,politics,andcommunityserviceamongthem.Youwillhavecompletefreedomtoexplore,learnaboutnewsubjects,meetnewpeople,andpursuenewpassions.Iwanttoencourageyou,ineverywaythatIcan,tomakethemostofthisrareanduniqueopportunity.Let’sstartwithyouracademicprogram.Mostlikely,youwillbeoverwhelmedbythemorethan2000coursesavailabletoyou.Youwillinevitablymissouton98%ofthem.Butletmeurgeyounonethelesstosamplewidely.Eachofthescholarlydisciplinesprovidesadifferentperspectiveonhumanexperience;eachallowsyouadifferentwindowonouraccumulatedknowledgeofnatureandculture,andeach,quiteliterally,allowsyoutoseetheworlddifferently.IfIcouldofferonlyonepieceofadviceaboutselectingcourses,itwouldbethis:stretchyourself.Don’tassumethatyouknowinadvancewhatfieldswillinterestyouthemost.Takesomecoursesinfieldsthatareentirelyoutsidetherangeofyourpastexperience.Youwillnotonlyemergeasamorebroadlyeducatedperson,butyouwillalsostandabetterchanceofdiscoveringanunsuspectedpassionthathelpstoshapethefuturecourseofyourlife.Bystudyingphilosophy,forexample,youwilllearntoreasonmorerigorouslyandtodiscernmorereadilywhatconstitutesalogicallyconsistentargumentandwhatdoesnot.Andyouwillstudytextsthatwrestledirectlywiththedeepestquestionsofhowoneshouldlive.Yourprofessorsofliterature,music,andarthistorywillteachyoutoread,listen,andseeclosely,andhelpyoutodevelopakeenerappreciationfortheartistrythatmakesliterature,music,andvisualartsublimerepresentationsofhumanemotions,values,andideas.Whetheryoumajorinthesesubjectsornot,yourappreciationofwhatistrueandbeautifulmaybeforeverenriched.Yourprofessorsofhistorywillteachyoutoappreciatethechallengingartofreconstructingthepast,andtounderstandhowmeaningisextractedfromexperience.Thismayhelpyoutogainperspectiveonyourownexperience.Yearsago,whenItaughtintroductoryeconomicsinYaleCollege,Ialwaysbeganbytellingthestudentsthatthecoursewouldchangetheirlives.Why?Becauseeconomicswillopenyoutoanentirelynewanddifferentwayofunderstandinghowtheworldworks.Economicswillnotprescribeforyouhowsocietyshouldbeorganized,ortheextenttowhichindividualfreedomshouldbesubordinatedtocollectiveends,orhowthefruitsofhumanlaborshouldbedistributed.Butunderstandingthelogicofmarketswillgiveyouanewwaytothinkabouttheseperpetuallyimportantquestions.Insimilarfashion,eachoftheothersocialsciences—psychology,politicalscience,anthropology,sociology,andlinguistics—willgiveyouadifferentperspectiveonhumanexperienceinsociety.Someofyoumayalreadyhaveapassionforscienceormathematics,andyoumayhavesetyoursightsonamajorinscience,math,orengineering.ThereissomuchinthesepursuitstoexcitetheimaginationthatIhardlyneedelaborate.Inscience,weareinthemidstofdiscoveringthecausesofhumandisease,themechanismsofevolution,andtheoriginsoftheuniverse.Inengineering,wehaveunprecedentedopportunitiestodevelopnewmaterials,newmedicaldevices,andnewsourcesofenergy.OneofthevirtuesofstudyingscienceandengineeringataplacelikeYaleisthatyoucanpracticescienceandengineeringwhileyoustudyit;youcanworkinresearchlaboratoriesalongsideyourprofessorsonproblemsattheveryfrontierofknowledge.Withrespecttoscience,Ihavetwomessagesforyouthataremirrorimages.First,ifyouaresomeonewithanearlyoremergingpassionforscience,takethetimetosampleothersubjectsaswell.Evenifyoupursuescienceorengineeringasacareer,broadeningyoureducationintheotherliberalartswillbothenrichyourlivesandimproveyourscience.Second,ifyoudonotthinkyourselfa“sciencetype,”don’tjustfulfillthesciencerequirement;givescienceaserioustry.Duringthepastdecade,wehavedevelopedanumberofproblem-orientedsciencecourseswithoutprerequisites;theyaremeanttogiveyouarigorousexposuretosciencewithoutthecomprehensivenessofasurveycoursedesignedforthos