The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Last fall University planners were patting each other on their backs after 1785 freshman -- about 77 percent of the incoming class -- attended the pilot Penn Reading Project. But those same officials are now stuggling to understand and reverse the sudden 25 percent drop in attendance this year. Only 1172 freshman -- about half the class -- attended their assigned discussion sessions centering around The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. According to Kent Peterman, executive assistant to the associate dean of the College, the text itself drove people away. Peterman said this year's selected text prompted freshman to believe wrongly that the program was a continutation of the University's diversity education programs which were held earlier in the week. "Last year [the freshmen read] a Greek text, so there was no confusion," Peterman added. Incoming freshmen last year were asked to read The Bacchae, a Greek tragedy by Euripides. Peterman said that many freshmen this year did not understand that the Penn Reading Project was an academic experience, and "not the University trying to tell us how to behave in a politically correct manner." A letter sent last summer to all incoming freshmen conveyed the impression that the program was designed to "challenge [them] to struggle against forces of ignorance" and the "dehumanizing forces of racism and bondage." "People read political correctness into the reading project," Peterman said. "But [the purpose] was simply to read a good book." College freshman Seema Dasani said that although she enjoyed the book, "as an international student, I felt a little intimidated" because the text dealt with an issue in American history. However, Peter Conn, first-year houses senior faculty residents chairperson, said he disagrees with Peterman, saying he has heard a "very large and miscellaneous collection of reasons with no theme really emerging." Conn, an English professor, said the excuses for not attending the discussion sessions included being too busy, not reading the book, doing laundry and going home. The reading project "didn't seem important enough for people to give a commitment to it," Conn added. Conn and his committee of senior faculty residents have been commissioned by the College to select a new text for the 1993 program and to reorganize the project to attract more students. Of the total 158 discussion groups, only three were filled to capacity, while half of them were missing 50 percent or more of their assigned students, according to a recent College-sponsored survey of discussion leaders. Peterman speculated that the low student tunout also resulted from rumors that reading the book was not mandatory. These rumors were bolstered by a poorly-written and hard-to-read form letter which "invited" the freshmen to participate in "informal" sessions, Peterman said. "Last year [the freshmen] didn't know whether it was required, and they were confused, so they read it," Peterman said. "But this year's [class] knew it was optional." Many, like College freshman Ralph Darmo, said they heard from upperclassmen, while visiting the University last year, that the book was not required. "[The project] was lost in the large variety of activities in new student week" and needs to be isolated and "given more serious and consistent emphasis," Conn said. But Conn said he hopes to see a revived summer reading program next year because many of the people who attended "were very pleased with their sessions" and certainly learned from them. Peterman said the program was beneficial because it allowed freshmen to become familiar with some of the faculty before classes began. "Except for the faculty residents, the freshmen have no contact with the faculty [during the first week of school]," Peterman said. And he said the program served to better acquaint faculty members with each other. "The program provides a rare opportunity for the faculty to get together and talk about something intellectual, which they ordinarily might not do except within their own departments," Peterman said. Yet relatively few faculty members -- only about 10 percent of the College faculty -- showed considerable interest in participating in the project. Conn said one of his committee's prime concerns will be how to draw more professors into leading discussion sessions. "We plan to do a lot of consulting with students and faculty across the University," Conn said. Conn said he and his committee will begin planning for next year's program later this month. He also said that because faculty residents of freshmen houses are primarily College and Engineering faculty, Wharton and Nursing faculty will be asked to join his committee.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.