OUR VIEWS Consensus Opinion

Summer reading

It certainly would not hurt incoming students to read a current best seller and converse about it in class and around campus-in fact, Tech students could really use more reading (non-textbook reading that is) and conversing in their lives-but required summer reading is not the way to achieve this aim. Required summer reading could discourage students from enrolling in GT1000. It is also quite unlikely that students just out of high school will comply with summer reading assignments. The book should remain a mandatory component of GT1000, but to be finished by mid-semester instead of over the summer.

The chosen book, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, is a worthwhile read, especially for students going into technical fields. Narrating the development of history from a scientific perspective, the book will help students understand the effect of scientific and technical developments on the advancement of society-the perfect book to bridge the gap between science and technology students and the students of Ivan Allen College.

The planned author visit will be a wonderful capstone to the experience and hopefully motivate students to give more serious consideration to the topics of the book. It will have the added benefit of bringing yet another notable speaker to campus.

Overall, the reading program will have a positive effect on campus, but the implementation could be tweaked.

Dean search

Tech has a tradition of having dedicated and well-loved Deans of Students who stay around for a long time and become influential members of the community. We hope that the next Dean of Students will continue this rich legacy of being an advocate and friend of the students.

Tech is also a unique school with a unique student body and culture. We have our own brand of student leadership and our own brand of humor. It is common knowledge that all new administrators go through an adjustment period when starting their new positions. We hope the next Dean will take time to become acquainted with Tech’s traditions and ways before implementing any sweeping changes. While change can bring much-needed progress, an inevitable result of change is the disruption of normal operations.

Tech needs an administrator who brings new ideas to the school, but who is also willing to understand the needs of the community before going forth with implementing new policies. We hope that the committee considers this as they make their decision and the new Dean remembers this once on campus.

Consensus editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.