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Fear is cheap. Fear is easy. Fear gets attention. Fear is spread as fast as gossip and is just as glamorous, juicy, and profitable. Fear twists facts into fictions that become indistinguishable from ignorance.

A good education in the United States of America, one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations on this planet, remains a gift for some when it should be a right for all.

You have so much power, so much opportunity. Make sure this education, this amazing gift, doesn't go to waste.

The right to access language and language acquisition is a necessary prerequisite for exercising the right to human dignity, freedom of expression, and all other human rights.

These international students are our true hope. They will become our ambassadors of change, the ambassadors of democratic freedoms and the rights for higher education, and they will become our future leaders.

Never put on a piece of clothing without curiosity, without thinking: what kind of risks are the people taking so that I can have an affordable shirt?

Without hard work, we are not entitled to a good life—and without compassion, we will not attain the good life in a world-majority population of have-nots.

Stand up for what you believe in. It's okay to be wrong. It's okay to know stuff in your heart and discover that you're wrong, and cop to it. Say, 'You know what, I changed my mind.' This has become a terrible thing to do in this country, and only art can bring it back.

Be you. Be unique. Be prepared to be alone sometimes when you're unique. It's not a bad thing. You could travel with the sheep, follow everybody else's stuff, but then you're not you.

Pessimists do not change the world. They don't think it's worth the trouble. But you can.

Comment is free, but facts are sacred.

Intolerance on this continent is ever-present and ever dangerous. At the same time, a determined man or woman can achieve remarkable things.