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Page 8 text:
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“WELCOME” 4
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Page 7 text:
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FOREWORD At the end of four undergraduate years, the urge to eval¬ uate, to take stock of what, exactly, has happened, is strong. For those of us who spent the years 1969-1973 in col¬ lege, the question of what it all adds up to is important, not only because there were so many newly legitimated alterna¬ tives—dropping out, going to work, becoming “political”— but also because of expectations we brought with us as fresh¬ man. College, or, more specifically. Tufts itself, was for many a bright new challenge, a new environment which promised change, enlightenment, opportunities, and status. For many, the decision to go to college was not a con¬ scious one. Rather it was a course of action expected by par¬ ents, educators, and peers. What emerges from conversa¬ tions with fellow seniors is a lack of consensus over the purpose of an undergraduate education. Few of us talk about the general worth of a liberal education in the tradi¬ tional sense: that it makes one a more rounded, sensitive, cultured individual. The concern seems to be instead with the “experience” of college as a totality. There is a feeling that such things as meeting new poeple, living in coed dorms, and going into Boston are just as important and valid as scholarly pursuits, in terms of the learning opportunities Tufts has to offer. A marked resurgence of interest in the arts and in athletics parallels this trend. Some seniors comment that Tufts has allowed them to lead the life styles they are most comfortable with. On the other hand, a criticism develops to the effect that students today spend their time drifting instead of developing. For some, this is borne out in a lack of an intellectual atmo¬ sphere. For others, it means a loss of a sense of community. Tufts may well be an ivory tower, but there seems to be no agreement on whether college as a haven is desirable. At any rate, there emerges a nostalgia for the activism, outwardness, and political excitement of the late sixties, which has been replaced by a disillusioned, introspective, and passive ambience. Various factors account for this change in priorities, not the least of which is the rising cost of going to college. Students are now being forced to ask, “Is it worth $5000 a year?” Moreover, the tightening of the job market has destroyed the notion that a bachelor’s degree is carte blanche for an interesting, well-paying job. The result is that many of us have become unable to justify four years at Tufts as an end in itself. Undergraduates placed in the po¬ sition of making a future for themselves are less inclined to be activist while in college. People want to see A’s in return for their investment. More students are graduating from Tufts in three or three and one-half years than ever before. The disappearance of large-scale political activity has not, in fact, meant the disapperance of individual com¬ mitment, as many of us seem to feel. There is a good deal of old-fashioned searching and involvement in the university which is not visible at a fleeting glance. Artistic endeavor and intellectual curiosity are indeed alive, but the last sev¬ eral years have witnessed a split between those who have found an individual goal worth pursuing and those for whom relevance could only exist in a politicised, collective context. A further theme, also a carryover from past years, is that Tufts is essentially an elitist institution. We feel guilty be¬ cause we sense that we are too privileged, that college has allowed us, upper-middle class students, to avoid the so¬ bering responpilities of the “real world.” The search for “relevance,” through extra-school experiences like intern¬ ships and field work, is still going on. Some years ago, out of a different kind of guilt, the uni¬ versities began recruiting lower income and minority stu¬ dents. The high expectations for integration have recently left many white seniors at Tufts feeling intimidated and frustrated by the desire of black students to keep to them¬ selves. There is a sense of regret that the promise of in¬ tegration has not been fulfilled. Blacks, on their part, tend to feel that a certain degree of separateness is an essential way to maintain a meaningful identity in the university. If one theme recurs more often than any other, it is that Tufts is exactly what you make it. There is a widespread conviction that to have a positive and worthwhile under¬ graduate career one needs to take an active role The essen¬ tial attribute of Tufts for many seniors is that is has a pro¬ gram flexible enough to allow individuals to pursue their own learning styles. For many of us this realization probably came hard, for we were a generation accustomed to being passive in education and entertained via the media. Never¬ theless a good many of us claim that the turning point came when we began to use the educational structure for our own needs. In sum we can say only that no self-characterization is possible. As a group, we express such a variety of opinions on these past four years that no trend emerges as dominant. Almost every viewpoint, whether it be on academics, stu¬ dent life, or educational philosophy, seems to be balanced by an opposing one. Clearly, this is a time of changing val¬ ues in education. It is also a time of uncertainty as to what the role of the university should be. Until a sense of common purpose returns, the college experience will continue to be as individualistic as the quotes on the following pages. 3
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