紐時賞析／以哈衝突後…美大學對爭議話題保持緘默 憂嚴厲政治審查

More Universities Are Choosing to Stay Neutral on the Biggest Issues

美愈來愈多大學 選擇對爭議話題緘默

Just a few years ago, university statements on the day’s social and political issues abounded.

幾年前，美國大學針對當時社會和政治議題大量發表聲明。

When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, Harvard’s president at the time called it “senseless” and “deplorable,” and flew the invaded country’s flag in Harvard Yard. After George Floyd died under the knee of a white police officer, Cornell’s president said she was “sickened.” The University of Michigan’s president described the Oct. 7, 2023, violence against Israel as a “horrific attack by Hamas terrorists.”

俄羅斯2022年攻擊烏克蘭時，哈佛大學校長當時稱此事「毫無道理」且「極其惡劣」，並在哈佛校園懸掛烏克蘭國旗。黑人男子佛洛依德遭白人員警以膝蓋壓死時，康乃爾大學校長表示「感到惡心」。密西根大學校長形容2023年10月7日發生在以色列的暴行，是「哈瑪斯恐怖分子的可怕襲擊」。

But over the past year, each of those universities has adopted policies that limit official statements on current issues.

但在過去一整年，這些大學對相關議題發布校方聲明時都很節制。

According to a new report released Tuesday from the Heterodox Academy, a group that has been critical of progressive orthodoxy on college campuses, 148 colleges had adopted “institutional neutrality” policies by the end of 2024, a trend that underscores the scorching political scrutiny they are under. All but eight of those policies were adopted after the Hamas attack.

批評大學以進步派為正統的非營利組織「多元觀點學院」周二發布的報告指出，148所大學在2024年年底之前已採取「機構中立」政策，這種趨勢凸顯大學面臨的嚴厲政治審查。除了其中八項政策，其他都是在哈瑪斯襲擊後採納的。

The universities are adopting such policies at a time when the Trump administration has moved aggressively to punish them for not doing enough to crack down on antisemitism and for embracing diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

這些大學採取這類政策的同時，川普政府積極懲罰他們在打擊反猶太力道不夠，以及採納多元、平等和包容性政策。

On Friday, the administration announced that it was pulling $400 million from Columbia, a move that sent shock waves across higher education. The administration has already said it is looking to target other universities.

川普政府周五宣布，撤回對哥倫比亞大學4億美元的聯邦補助資金。這項舉措震驚高等教育界。川普政府已表示，他們正計畫鎖定其他大學。

Most of the new policies apply to senior administrators, like college presidents and provosts. Others also encompass units like academic departments. And many apply to faculty members when they are speaking in an official capacity, but often make clear that faculty are free to express personal views, according to the Heterodox Academy.

大多數新政策適用於高階行政主管，包括校長和教務長，一些政策也涵蓋科系層級。「多元觀點學院」指出，而且許多政策適用於教職員以官方身分發言時，但通常明確指出教職員可以用個人身分自由表達意見。

Critics of the neutrality trend have argued that administrators are merely sidestepping difficult debates, and scared of angering donors and lawmakers.

批評大學中立者主張，校方只是在迴避棘手辯論，且害怕激怒金主和國會議員。

Many college presidents have been spooked into silence, said Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, a small Catholic institution 3 miles from the White House.

距白宮3哩的小型天主教學校華盛頓聖三一大學，校長派翠西亞．馬奎爾表示，許多大學校長已噤若寒蟬。

“They look at what happened to Claudine Gay, and some of the other presidents,” she said, referring to the former Harvard president who resigned last year after a congressional hearing on antisemitism. “And they’re like: ‘I don’t want that to happen to me. So I’ll just shut up and hunker down, and hope this cloud passes.’”

她表示，「他們關注克勞丁．蓋伊和其他校長的遭遇」，提及哈佛大學前校長在關於反猶太的國會聽證會後辭職，「他們的想法是：『我不希望這種事發生在我身上。因此，我就閉上嘴並靜待時機，盼望這場陰霾過去。」

文／Vimal Patel　譯／羅方妤

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【張佑生】

「大學者，非謂有大樓之謂也，有大師之謂也。」梅貽琦校長生前名言流傳至今，在台灣，大學的脊梁被踩斷，美國常春藤盟校處境也很困窘，institutional neutrality意指大學作為機構 (institution)，對爭議話題不予表態。

導火線是以色列與巴勒斯坦武裝組織哈瑪斯之間的衝突，哈瑪斯先動手，以色列還擊力道遠超越比例原則，都是事實。但是挺巴勒斯坦，就會被扣上反猶(antisemitism)的血滴子，賓大被校友抽銀根，哈佛校長被國會炎上後請辭，哥倫比亞大學被川普政府取消4億美元聯邦補助，開始拘捕、退學參與挺巴活動的學生，顯示「中立」是有選擇性的，千萬不能得罪金主和議員。

所謂「中立」是對敏感問題顧左右而言他：sidestep a problem/issue/question.大學校長噤若寒蟬(been spooked into silence)。動詞片語hunker down是趴低一點，先避開這陣風頭再說，Their strategy for the moment is to hunker down and let the fuss die down.希望守得雲開見月明(cloud passes)。