What I Hope for Our New Students

In her annual Convocation address, President Peggy R. Williams (in photo at the annual "welcome to the IC community" kickoff picnic for incoming students) reminded members of the incoming class of the responsibilities that come with the privileges of being part of a residential college community. Excerpts from her remarks:

We are delighted you have chosen to study with us, and we look forward to contributing to your experience. We also look forward to the contributions you will make-individually and collectively-to Ithaca College. This is your time for intellectual and personal development and discovery.

During your time with us, I hope you will come to value the privilege and opportunity of knowing and understanding others. I hope, too, that you will learn about yourselves along the way. You will discover a wealth of differences in opinion, ideas, and values. I encourage you to explore them:

• to listen to opinions that differ from your own;
• to stretch yourselves to try to understand them;
• to respect them; and
• to develop the capacity to live in a community-and a world-of different views and experiences.

These are important and wonderful dimensions of living and learning in a residential educational community. They will enrich the quality of your academic experience and personal development.

You have numerous opportunities. With them come responsibilities to the College community, to the greater society, and to yourselves. As much as I want to encourage each of you to cherish your time and involvement here on campus, I also want to remind you not to forget the larger community. I urge you to keep informed about issues facing our society by reading a daily newspaper or, at the very least, logging on to CNN headlines as you surf the Net or e-mail. With the upcoming presidential election-the first time for most of you to participate in one-you have a responsibility to be informed and to cast your votes. Statistics from a national study indicate that the traditional college-age voting population has a growing apathy toward the political process that reached an all-time high last year. You have the opportunity and the responsibility to change these statistics.

Apathy is not the case in another realm of student life: community service. The same study shows a steady increase in student engagement in service. Just this past week, more than 100 of you arrived at IC a few days early to take part in our Community Plunge program. I congratulate you for the positive impact you have already made on the local community.

I challenge you to reconcile the apparent disinterest in the political process with this increased interest in service. Many of your service interests involve programs that are influenced by municipal, state, and federal policies. If you are truly committed, then in addition to performing acts of community service, you must direct the actions of policymakers. You can make a difference-in service activities and in the voting booth.

Your time here will go very fast; just ask any senior. So I strongly urge you to take full advantage of every moment. In high school you attended classes all day, five days a week. As a college student you will actually be in the classroom for only 15 to 18 hours a week. What you do with the hours beyond that is up to you and will ultimately be a part of your education here.

So what does this actually mean for you on the individual level? It means you should

• go to class prepared and ready to be an active participant in the learning process;
• join a club or two that you not only enjoy but that will expand your horizons;
• keep informed and involved about issues beyond the campus at the local, national, and international level; and
• not waste one moment in getting to know and learn from other members of our community.

Life's realities will present you with a wealth of options. It is okay-actually advisable-to pause once in a while and take stock of your progress and your interests. The educational process works as long as you engage yourselves in it. Don't forget to ask for directions or help once in a while. That is why we are all here.