Expensive XXX,
Congratulations on incomes a spot in Stanford College’s Class of 2028! It is a second to have a good time the onerous work and dedication which have introduced you to this second, and likewise to replicate on the following stage of your schooling. Amid all of the difficult and polarizing points being mentioned on this planet proper now, it’s possible you’ll be questioning what sort of mental neighborhood you’ll be becoming a member of at Stanford. And we expect that is necessary to deal with straight.
Stanford strives to supply its college students with a liberal schooling, which implies one which broadens your thoughts and horizons by exposing you to totally different fields of examine and other ways of considering. A rigorous liberal schooling will depend on questioning your assumptions and seeing in the event that they maintain up. As a member of the Stanford neighborhood, you’ll rapidly be taught that freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression are core values at Stanford. They animate our central missions of instructing and analysis. Stanford can also be a spot that values range in its broadest sense – which incorporates range of thought.
Which means each member of the Stanford neighborhood is accepted and valued for his or her distinctive traits and beliefs. It’s exactly the distinct attributes every neighborhood member brings to Stanford that, when overtly and constructively shared, create a vibrant academic surroundings the place the seek for fact is superior.
Our Founding Grant commits the College to “teach the blessings of liberty regulated by law, and … the great principles of government as derived from the inalienable rights of man to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The “blessings of liberty” are a center level between mere license (doing no matter you need) and conformity (doing what others need you to do). Liberty to suppose and say what you imagine includes taking duty as properly. It requires recognizing the liberty and rights of others and serving to to create the circumstances that make everybody’s freedom attainable right here on campus and in our broader society.
Freedom of expression doesn’t embody the best to threaten or harass others and forestall them from participating as equal individuals in campus life. However the freedom of expression crucial for fulfilling the mission of a college – and for a democracy – does require permitting speech that some might discover offensive or fallacious. Lots of humanity’s biggest advances have come from concepts that offended typical knowledge and appeared heretical at first. In a college, the treatment for concepts that you simply suppose are fallacious is to not search to silence them however to counter them with higher concepts, proof, and arguments.
As part of your schooling you need to anticipate, and certainly welcome, disagreement. You’ll undoubtedly encounter and listen to concepts which might be opposite to your beliefs and values. Stanford tradition will anticipate and demand that if you face disagreements that you simply reply with respect for the humanity of these you disagree with, and with an open and curious thoughts. We goal for an surroundings the place we’re robust on concepts, however beneficiant and respectful to at least one one other. Being uncovered to the very totally different views of others will invariably broaden your outlook and should rework a few of your beliefs—or at the very least change your understanding of what they imply and how one can defend them.
Your schooling at Stanford is designed to organize you for all times as a citizen of the communities wherein you reside. Whether or not it’s your dormitory, your city, or your office, and no matter what profession path you finally select, you need to have the talents to critically and constructively have interaction with those that are totally different from you.
Guided by the ideas outlined above, we’re delighted to welcome you and your distinctive perspective into this tradition of free thought, inquiry, and expression. We hope you may significantly embrace the extraordinary alternatives obtainable right here.
Sincerely,
/s/ Richard Saller, President, and Jenny S. Martinez, Provost