February 16, 2012
This week, the First-Year Experience Committee invited members of the campus community to discuss the problems first-years face in acclimating to college life. Simultaneously, the Common Reading Committee continues to discuss how to make the common reading a year-long, integrative experience that can work to bring the campus together. These two committees, however, are not effectively working in concert, and in failing to do so, the administration is missing a unique opportunity to both enhance the common reading experience and help students adjust at the same time.
We agree that picking a theme for the common reading will facilitate related activities for the duration of the year. However, this upcoming year’s theme, “Know Thy Stuff: The Meaning of Objects in Our Lives,” is likely to be ineffective toward uniting first-years and helping them transition into college life. Although students’ relationships with their possessions may be an interesting topic, it does not reflect the community issues concerning responsibility for ourselves, others, and our campus nor issues regarding the difficulties students have in acclimating to college life.
Additionally, relationships to possessions is unlikely to be the central concern many students have when beginning a new chapter of their lives, and such a theme is unlikely to encourage students to complete the reading. As a result, the common reading will likely fail to foster unity. The committee should reconsider its theme this year, or, if it’s too late to do so, choose a theme in future years that could help first-years understand and navigate the transition to college. The theme should also promote books that students want to read and discuss because they touch on pertinent issues they are facing as part of this transition.
The opportunity for discussion that the common reading provides makes choosing such a theme particularly important. There are few other situations during which an entire class year has the chance to gather and discuss something non-academic in a small-group setting. Beginning a discussion of college life, peer pressure, or the difficulties inherent in such a transition in these small groups could provide first-years with a forum where they are comfortable talking about these issues.
The common reading discussions also offers a chance to get students talking before they divide into social groups, allowing first-years to overcome social boundaries and have stronger connections with peers who they might not have had contact with later. In doing so, the common reading could create a stronger sense of community, hopefully encouraging students to take responsibility for their impact on everyone on campus.
We agree that, for the reading to be successful in creating unity in the first-year class, Hamilton must hold events throughout the year that encourage continued discussion. Art exhibits, speakers and websites, all of which have been suggested, are only useful if students reconnect with their discussion groups and talk about them. Otherwise, few students would attend the events, and the cohesion would be limited to those who participated.
Generating class unity around a topic that is unrelated to the transition students are facing and to which they cannot relate is a waste of a good opportunity. We hope that the Common Reading Committee and the First-Year Experience Committee will, in the future, begin to discuss how they can collaborate to address the challenges first-years face.