Freshmen discuss Douglass' narrative

Freshmen joined together for the second annual Freshman Reading Program on Tuesday, discussing The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave with faculty from all areas of the University. Through the program, which was part of this year's freshman orientation, all incoming freshmen received a copy of Douglass' autbiography to read over the summer and then discussed it in a small group on Tuesday. Associate College Dean Norman Adler said the purpose of the program is two-fold. First, the program is designed to unite the incoming freshman class with a classroom experience. "[It takes] students from a variety of backgrounds and introduces them to the life of the mind," Adler said. In addition, the program unites faculty from all twelve schools of the University in a common educational effort, Adler said. In last year's initiation of the Penn Reading Program, freshmen read The Bacchae by Euripides. Last year's program was followed by a variety of related programming, such as the University production of the play. This year, Adler said he hopes to get speakers and scholars on the Douglass papers to address the University at large. Adler said the University made some changes to the program. He said that students complained "they needed more explanation on why they were being asked to do this," so this year, a letter was sent to the freshman class explicitly explaining the purpose of the project. Over 150 faculty members, ranging from Law School Dean Colin Diver to Statistics Chairperson Paul Shaman, led the sessions. To help them prepare for their sessions, faculty members who specialize in this period of American Literature and history led three preparatory sessions. Among the faculty session leaders were English Professor Houston Baker, President Sheldon Hackney and Assistant English Professor Herman Beavers. According to Adler, the faculty sessions were very well-attended and provided some of the most interesting discussion about the novel itself and the Penn Reading Program in general. Beavers said the purpose of reading Douglass' autobiography is complex, Beavers said. "It's a book that allows students to think about the process of what it means to come to voice," he said. However, Beavers said that to the freshman class as a whole, the topic of slavery is incidental and that the main point to them is what it means to have a dilemma of a raised consciousness. Adler said the student sessions themselves were largely successful, adding that an estimated 80 percent of the students read the novel and participated in the discussions. Students in Baker's session found common ground in discussing Douglass' journey from slavery to relative freedom and the delicate issues of what freedom means. They talked about the displacement of blacks, killing on southern plantations and the struggle for freedom in a white powered society. Relating their own experiences as freshmen away from home, students from places as different as France, Oklahoma, and New York realized similarities in their concerns about their first year at the University. One professor in a faculty discussion session pointed out that this discussion was not meant to belittle the issue of slavery by relating it to the freshmen's experience, but rather to use it as a yardstick for discussing the "pathological extreme of the condition we all suffer." Many students were enthusiastic about the program. "[It was] good to discuss a topic that would bring us all together . . . and be intellectually stimulating," said College freshman William Stoesser. (CUT LINE) Please see READING, page 3 READING, from page 1

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