Collegiate Life: Letters to Editor
In the previous issue, we invited readers to respond to the question "Is Collegiate Life Dying at Pitt?" Here are the responses we received, followed by a statement made by Ed Neal at UNC.
Collegiate life is not dying at Pitt, it is simply changing. As our undergraduate students become a more diverse group we should expect the ways they relate to each other and to us to change. We should also expect glitches in communication and in forming common goals. Instead of signing the death notice for collegiate life we should speak aloud about
the struggles we encounter as we move honestly and respectfully toward a different type of collegiate life.
Penny Crary, Interim Director, University Counseling Center
Generally speaking, I don't want to believe what Levine and Cureton have reported. What they describe certainly hasn't been my experience before coming to Pitt, but I was at smaller institutions that have a strong sense of tradition and family. Nearly all of my previous experiences mirror the sentiments expressed in the first paragraph of the article.
My experience at Pitt as a student has been dramatically different. In particular, I have not had the time here to invest myself in campus life as I have elsewhere. If I had, I would be much better equipped to reflect on the provocative title of the article.
What I do experience at Pitt, however, is a rather weak sense of community. Is it because it's an urban campus, largely non-residential? That would be my first guess. I am aware too that many students need to work while in college and that certainly seems to be one of the pressures for my own students here. I am also aware that some have family responsibilities... something I have not seen much of elsewhere.
I certainly think campus life and one's affection for a Pitt undergraduate education would be enhanced if more emphasis was given to a sense of community--particularly among students, but also among faculty, staff and students (as Carol Baker ). Is there any way we could begin to talk about the Pitt Family, or are we too far away from that to have it make sense to people? I don't know... but I certainly think it's something that we need to begin to start thinking about.
In the end, I am struck that the conclusions Levine and Cureton come to with regard to how colleges should respond to today's students are responses that have been, and should always be, appropriate to our college students. These are not revelations, just good refreshers, I think, for so many colleges who have long sought to serve well their students and community.
Bill Lies, Graduate Student, Political Science
The Change Magazine article was not a lamentation for a return to the "good old days," as the title infers. Its message was aimed at institutions of higher learning. To maximize the value of the collegiate experience in the education and personal development of today's college students, institutions must adapt and change to meet their needs.
Terrence E. Milani
Associate Director for Student Activities
Working primarily with nontraditional students, I feel these students are less interested in "collegiate life" centered around a sense of community and more interested in access to programs with flexible delivery modes and majors which prepare them for quick entry into the marketplace. Students demand more efficiency and express dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy of our student services. Since many traditional students work part-time jobs, they fulfill affiliation and mentoring needs outside of the campus.
Andrea Abt, Coordinator of Student and Faculty Support Services, UESP
In a recent issue of the National Teaching and Learning Forum (vol. 8, no. 1, p. 10, 1998) Ed Neal (Director of Faculty Development, UNC-Chapel Hill) says that "I don't believe that virtual universities will replace colleges and universities for the traditional undergraduate population or for most graduate programs, although professional schools may feel more of a bite. First, the experience of 'going away to college' is an important rite of passage for most undergraduates, and their college acquaintances often become lifelong friends. I don't think many students are going to be willing to give up that experience."