8 important things about 2018 Harvard graduates

2018-10-27

疯狂英语·新悦读 2018年10期

文章词数 4 8 8 建议用时 9′ 难度系数 ★★★

精彩导读

作为世界一流学府，哈佛大学每年培养的毕业生中将有很多人成为政坛领袖和商界精英。最近，哈佛大学学生媒体《哈佛深红报》对2018届毕业生做了一项特别调查，总结出2018届哈佛毕业生的八大特征。

An anxious generation

Among the class of 2018,41%have at some pointturned tothe university’s health servicesformental health support.About 15%had also found support off campus.It’s a striking reminder that these young people have studied at a time of rising concerns about stress and wellbeing on campus.

Liberals in a Trump era

Politically these young graduates,who began at Harvard during the Obama administration,are opponents of the current president,with 72%saying the US is going in the wrong direction.Only 3%of those who voted backed Donald Trump,and two-thirds of these graduatesdescribethemselvesasliberal or very liberal.

Campus free speech

There were signs that students are self-censoring their views and not debating openly.About two-thirds of students had“atsome point chosen not to express an opinion in an academic setting out of fear that it would offend others”.This was particu-larly the case for Republican supporters.But almost half of students wanted to have “trigger warnings” if courses were going to include something that could be upsetting or offensive.

焦虑的一代

在2018届哈佛毕业生中，有41%的人曾在校园健康服务处寻求过精神健康方面的帮助，另有大约15%的人在校外咨询过心理健康问题。这些惊人的数据提醒我们，年轻的学子们心理压力较大，人们对校园压力和心理健康问题也愈加担心。

特朗普时代的自由派

这一届毕业生入学时，时任美国总统是奥巴马。因此在政治倾向上，多数人是现任总统的反对者。有72%的毕业生表示，美国正在“误入歧途”。只有3%的毕业生支持特朗普。三分之二的毕业生表示自己是“自由主义者”或“非常自由主义”。

校园言论自由

有迹象表明，哈佛学生会自审其观点，不会公开辩论。大约三分之二的学生“曾因担心冒犯他人，而选择在学术场合不公开表达意见”，特别是共和党的支持者。不过，近半数学生表示，如果课程将要讲到令人不快或感到冒犯的内容时，会“提出警告”。

Raising a glass

Alcohol has proved to be the most durable of students’entertainment.More than 90%drink alcohol,and most drink every week.But tobacco has almost been entirely far from them.There are almost no regular smokers,and more than three-quarters have never even once smoked tobacco.

School shootings

There have been high-profile protests by young people in the USin the wake ofschool shootings.Harvard students backed calls to restrict access to firearms,with almost nine in ten supporting tighter gun control.

Smart students,smartphones

This is a stage of students completely immersed（使浸没于）in digital technology.Almost all of these new graduates own smartphones,which are so common that they’re almost taken for granted.There is a strong preference for iPhones,used by 87%of those leaving Harvard,with 80%using some other Apple computer devices.

Honour code and academic cheating

But this survey suggests that this has not changed behaviour and that levels of cheating have remained broadly the same,with about a fifth of students owning up to having cheated at some stage.Very few of these say that this was caught.

Widening access

Entrance to top universities is always controversial.More than 60%back the principle of affirmative（肯定的）action andputtingthe admission of some students based on ethnicityin the first place.It is most popular among black and Hispanic graduates and least popular among Asian and white graduates.

What next?

These graduates are entering an era of varied views.These new high-flyers are not going to be spread across the country—they’re planning careers that will see them clustering（聚集）in three areas—New York,Massachusetts and California.About one 10th expect to head overseas.The biggest job destinations immediately after college are consulting,finance and technology.But if thisgives a picture ofwhere the new money will be made,60%of the new graduates still expect to bedepending onmoney from their parents.