The Bucknellian

By Brent Walkoff

Contributing Writer

For most students, that magical time known as summer is generally a time of relaxation, a time to hang out with friends, and, of course, a time to not do homework. So when the summer of 2010 came rolling around, the future first-years of the University may have been more than surprised to learn that there was a mandatory reading assignment.

This summer, incoming first-years were assigned to read “Five Minds for the Future” by Howard Gardner.  The book looks at how our world is developing. According to Gardner, in order for today’s generations to be successful in the next few years, they must learn to cultivate different aspects of their personas, these aspects being called different “minds.” The disciplined mind, the synthesizing mind, the creating mind, the respectful mind and the ethical mind are all different facets of our personal character which cannot only be improved but taken to a very deep level. Gardner, a renowned professor and author, has written other highly-regarded books such as “Changing Minds” and “Good Work.”

Provost Mick Smyer not only chose Gardner’s “Minds” as the book that was to be read for the summer assignment, but was also a voice behind the decision to reignite the summer reading program. The incoming class of 2014 is the first class in several years to have such a reading assignment.

According to Smyer, the logic behind the assignment consisted of two key points. “The first reason,” Smyers said, “is to introduce our first-year students to an expectation that you’re going to be doing serious reading in college.”

The second reason lies more within the content of the book. Smyer said, “I thought it was a very good reading for people who are at the outset of their college careers. It makes them ask, ‘What are the capacities I need to be developing, and if I’m thinking about those capacities how do I get the most out of Bucknell?’ ” Clearly, the book deals with consciously thinking about how we as people can look to actively better ourselves for the future. College students of all years are experiencing a key moment in their lives that will effectively determine the path they take for the next 10 years.

Not everyone necessarily agreed with Gardner’s comments or the book selection itself. According to Tracy Mischell ’14, “I think they had good intentions with choosing this book. But I think students who just graduated high school and who are about to enter college, who are about to start this new phase in their life, don’t really want to be reading this particular book.”

Gardner’s book and the assignment itself was not given to students to make them believe in what Gardner was describing but to make the first-year  class think, to initiate metacognition and to bring about questions about the actual text.

Whether or not the class of 2014 agreed with Gardner’s book, it is clear that his ideas have hit certain undertones which are explicitly fitting for today’s world. As college students beginning a critical stage in their lives, the student body has not only been given a tool for future success but a basis for which they can make future decisions, both personal and professional.

By Jessica Rafalko

Contributing Writer

Masha Zhdanova ’13 believes she has finally solved a problem that has plagued most students since elementary school: where to sit in the cafeteria. Will you seem desperate and sad if you sit at a corner table by yourself, or is solitude preferable to sitting down beside happy, smiling people you have never met before? For many, this mealtime dilemma can be as stress-inducing as a Latin midterm or a calculus final.

To solve this dilemma, Zhdanova devised the new Buddy Tents program for Bostwick Dining Hall. You may have noticed those tall laminated cubicles, designed by John Cummins, general manager of Resident Dining. Those orange- and blue-paneled structures are emblazoned with a happy bison and this tempting offer: “Please Feel Free to Join Us!” They sit on some of the tables in the cafeteria, usually overturned on their sides, just waiting to be set up by students who are, as Zhdanova said, “welcoming people they don’t know well to join them for lunch or dinner.”

Zhdanova, an international student, became inspired after she spoke with fellow international students. She learned that the overwhelming feeling of isolation and awkwardness that tends to strike first-year students is universal. “They were hesitant to eat alone and didn’t feel comfortable when they were coming into the caf and couldn’t find any friends around,” she said.

Choosing to implement the Buddy Tents during New Student Orientation, Zhdanova enlisted the help of assistant dean of students Paula Myers and associate dean of students Amy Badal. She also spread the word to the orientation assistants.

John Cummins, general manager of Resident Dining, is largely responsible for the look of the tents. If you walk into Bostwick at any point during the day, you are bound to see them scattered across the tables. It may be easier for some students to approach any table, tray in hand and ask to sit down—but for those who are a bit more shy, the Buddy Tents might serve as an icebreaker.

Zhdanova envisioned Buddy Tents to be used primarily by first-years, usually the most uneasy students on campus, unaccustomed to the college environment and liable to be intimidated by the untamed jungle of food and trays, tables and students that is Bostwick Dining Hall.

As Myers put it, “Sometimes the most simple, thoughtful action, like inviting people to join you for a meal, can make the most difference in the social transition to college.” So think of the Buddy Tents as a throat-clearing of sorts, the opening line to hundreds of potential friendships that you can make over the next four years and set up camp in Bostwick Dining Hall.