Common Reading Program
By: Bethany Furkin, PACE

Incoming freshmen are united by many things: homesickness, the fear of not making friends and uncertainty about college classes. The Common Reading Project directed by the Department of Residence Life is designed to ensure that these students will also share in the positive experience of intellectual discussion.

The program, which began at Ohio University in the fall of 2002, was introduced in order to encourage students to engage in academic dialogue before classes begin, said Judith Piercy, Interim Director of Residence Life. The discussions also help, she observed, to set an academic tone for the year.

The entire freshmen class reads the same book, which is distributed during Precollege, and this common text is used in a variety of venues, such as residence hall meetings and UC and English classes.

Book discussions, according to Piercy, are primarily led by resident assistants during opening week. Staff in the Department of Residence Life suggested questions and topics for RAs to explore during the discussions, but the leaders are encouraged to welcome any additional perspectives and comments from students.

This year’s book was Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy. The book focuses on the author’s battle with a disease that requires disfiguring surgery. The book was chosen because it addresses the challenge of fitting in, which Piercy believes is a theme to which freshmen can relate.

At a reception for Read and Johnson halls,Piercy asked students their opinions of the book and heard many positive responses. While not all students were engaged in the discussions, most were eager to converse about the book and its themes.

Last year’s common text, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, seemed to have a wider appeal to faculty, Piercy said. This could be because the book, about a woman’s struggle to survive on low-paying jobs, was relevant to Appalachian Ohio.

The book was also more popular among students, said Max Putas, a senior and an RA in Johnson. "Last year’s book was really good because we could bring in the author," he said, referring to Ehrenreich’s speech at Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium last spring. He thinks the program is a good idea, but that a book that motivates more discussion should be chosen, Putas said.

Next year’s book has not yet been selected, Piercy said, and it is "too soon to say" whether any major changes are planned for the program. The First-Year Experience Committee will review the program later this year and will discuss ways to more widely utilize the common text.