Freshman experience; breaking the ice

bopambo
Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:10:24 +0000

It’s fascinating to find out what all these institutions do. I failed to mention Whitman’s year long required class for all freshman, called Encounters. Freshman are divided into small classes of about 15 students and cover the same material over 2 semesters. They delve into the major historical religions and philosophies that have created today’s worldwide ideologies. All the freshman read and discuss “The Bhagavad Gita, “The Qur’an,” Gandhi’s “Selected Political Writings” as well as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights. The Bible (both testaments) and the Greeks are also represented, as well as western existentialism, Darwinism and other isms. All first years share the same intellectual exploration, which has to create some sort of bond.