A long standing debate over “Experience Events” continues to rage at Albright College, as students become increasingly frustrated with being lectured outside the classroom.
The mission of Albright Experience program, according to the Albright College website, is “to offer programming that highlights and emphasizes the linkages between the liberal arts as embodied by Albright’s General Studies curriculum and the scholarly, intellectual, cultural, and political life of the world outside the walls of the college.”
These events, of which full time day students are required to attend sixteen, vary in their topics, and are multiple events are offered on a weekly basis. But despite the large number of events and range in topics, many students are continuous unsatisfied with the program and its offerings.
The major complaint brought forth by the students is the definition of “experience.” The Albright Experience program criteria clearly states that events must be considered “scholarly, intellectual, cultural, or politically,” related, however it seems that the definition of their adjectives are not always shared.
Additionally student note the hypocrisy of the system and how it is often difficult for student organization or clubs to gain approval for their events or work.
Carrie Cowsert, a senior anthropology major, expressed he deep frustration with the Experience program after the rejection of her class’ presentation of their Interim Ecuador trip.
“I was very upset to learn of the event being denied - it was academic at its very base, it was multicultural, and it functioned as an advertisement for the class next year.”
Along with their current frustrations, students also comment on how the miss the days of old, when there was something known as “box events” in the experience event program. “Box Events” were events, such as rugby games or AC2 hypnotist, which students could attend to gain experience credit. However, as to not distract from the academic purpose of the program, these events were limited to two a semester, meaning that the experience event requirement to graduate could not be filled by “box events” alone.
Professor Rebecca Butler of the music department is a member of the experience event committee and commented on the transition away from box events in 2008.
“The boxed events went away mostly because of the difficulty they caused in record-keeping….There wasn’t really any way to keep accurate track of who went to more than 2 Music Department events, for example. Besides that bookkeeping nightmare, what did change in some cases was what sorts of events the committee felt really met the 1st criterion for a legitimate event, and that’s when you saw a lot of the events that were often boxed being rejected.”
Professor Butler also commented that it is all about approaching an event with a positive mind-set and appreciation for what you might gain by attending.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the program has the reputation of being boring just because some people say it is, and then that’s adopted as the gospel truth. I believe it’s all a matter of perspective – if you want to get the most out of your education (the biggest bang for your academic money), you should approach the events with an open mind, and take from them what they have to offer, which is mostly a chance to learn about or experience something new and outside of your comfort zone.”
Other faculty member, such as Dr. Brogan, also a member of experience event committee, commented that students should be thankful for the opportunity to become educate and embrace the liberal arts education
Brogan also commented comically that, “If the current students think the Experience is boring, they should have attended what it replaced - MANDATORY CHAPEL. Ask the old alumni how well that was received!”
The real question however remains, are experience events serving their purpose, or are they just a built in naptime for current students? Are they an “experience” that can enhance the mind, or a burden that merely wastes the time of an already stressed out student?
My answer to this question is that they are a little bit of both. It is clear that both students and faculty stand firm in their beliefs, but could you imagine what could happen if instead of employing the power of the curriculum and the power of the student rumor mill that we employed the powers of communication and innovations.
Albright College is known for its motto, “a different way of thinking,” so why not use that to define the college “experience”. If students and faculty could get together and combined their desires to expand their arsenal of knowledge academically, culturally, and politically as well as to recognize the leadership potential and contribution of students, the program could be revolutionized.
All it would take is a conversation. A conversation to understand each other and to work together to take a flawed system and revitalize it. Because on a campus like Albright, there is always the potential for change, all you have to do is be willing to initiate it.
No comments:
Post a Comment