Cornel R. West '74 urged first-years to re-examine their calling in life last night in his first speech as an active Harvard professor.

Speaking to a packed Science Center B, West, professor of the philosophy of religion in the Divinity School and professor of Afro-American studies at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, his own experience as a Harvard first-year 25 years ago.

As he left his son in his Holworthy room, West's father reminded him to "preserve your sense of integrity."

"Almost sated [is] one's integrity of one's mind, one's soul," West said.

In keeping with his father's words, West encouraged first-years to re-evaluate their goals so that they may find a true "calling, not career."

By engaging the study of tradition, West said first-years can learn about themselves.

"The study of history goes hand in hand with a sense of empathy," he said. "[You must] get in the skin of others who are different from you and then look at yourself...informed by such empathy."

Following the lecture a number of students, including Kadar Adan Lewis '99, asked West to elaborate on his speech.

"Professor West is truly an inspiration, not only to young brothers and sisters, but to students and people in general," Lewis said following the lecture. "His words captivated me. I'm truly glad I spent the time here instead of cramming for the QRR."

The Quantitative Reasoning Requirement (QRR) will be administered today.

While speaking about students' vocations, West said today's fast-paced market economy complicates students' career choices.

It is harder than before to decide to study "not to make a living...but how to live," he said.

In this society, West asked, "How can we ensure that those in a market civilization have a sense of history, a deep sense of history, ... not lives of evasion and escape of not only others, but themselves?"

West said society must try to "cultivate a sense of empathy" in order to escape this alienating evasion and to foster hope.

When one first-year asked how West has managed to retain a sense of hope in the face of a multitude of social problems, he said relationships have helped to sustain him.

"Supernatural forms of love from grandparents, parents, wife" have allowed West to live in a "tremendously privileged state at the existential level."

West encouraged first-years to take stake in the future.

"Keep your eyes on something bigger and better than you," he said. "You want to be able to leave a legacy," he added later.

Leaving such a legacy means honoring one's goals in the community while spending time with one's family, West said.

West also spoke of the need to support the larger community. He said he hoped to attend the Million Man March, scheduled by black leaders in Washington, D.C. this fall.

He said he will attend in hope of fostering a sense of community and does not agree with the divisive views of some organizers.

In the final words of his speech, West indicated to students that in whichever vocation each pursues, there is "no guarantee."

"We might fail...[but] we can leave it just a little bit better than we found it," he said