The University Record, September 7, 1999 By Jane R. Elgass
At the start of one of the most important transitions in their lives—from childhood to adulthood—members of the Class of 2003 were encouraged last week not only to find a place for themselves, but also to explore beyond their comfort zones, “to grab the opportunity to become someone new” during their years at the U-M.
Finding a place while simultaneously exploring is very hard, “and if you are nervous tonight, you are right to be,” Provost Nancy Cantor told her audience at New Student Convocation Sept. 1.
Among the intellectual avenues Cantor suggested the students explore were taking a course “about which you have no idea, find an approachable TA you could imagine being like, take a faculty member to lunch, get to be an expert in your discipline and then push yourself outside your school or college.”
She also encouraged the capacity audience at Hill Auditorium to do the same thing socially and in their extracurricular lives. “Take advantage of the diversity of life experiences” the U-M has to offer, she said. “Get close to people and learn as much from each other as you do from us [faculty].”
Others who addressed the new students also provided advice and shared tips for success. They included President Lee C. Bollinger; Sherrie A. Kossoudji, chair of the University Senate and professor of social work and of economics, representing the faculty; Bram Elias, LS&A student and president of the Michigan Student Assembly; and E. Royster Harper, interim vice president for student affairs.
Envision the future
As they begin their U-M careers, the students were reminded by Kossoudji that they are on both a personal and historical threshold, as they will greet a new century and new millennium this year.
While here, Kossoudji told the students, they will prepare for a future that few can envision today.
“This year, you will leave your childhood behind you and embark on a journey of unforeseeable intellectual and personal development. Where will you be in 25 years? Who will you be in 25 years? How will you change the world in 25 years?
“While you cannot predict, you can prepare. Your task at the University of Michigan is to envision the future and work to create it. In this we [the faculty] are your partners.
“Along with the faculty,” Kossoudji said, “you will have the opportunity to meet thousands of other students at this institution. The friendships you form here will be driven by the stimulation of intellectual need, common interests, attraction and serendipity. Perhaps more than the formal institution, you will find that these friendships will create your world in 25 years.”
Take time to . . .
Bollinger reminded students of familial links, citing, from experience, “the unspeakable pride and pleasure your parents feel in you,” a feeling that is impossible to express verbally, but expressed in other ways, such as hanging a favorite poster in students’ new lodging. “It is important for your parents and your family to have you here.”
The president noted that with the departure from home, most students will experience a “degree of freedom, of liberty that is going to be quite astonishing to you. In general, that’s terrific, but one must develop a second voice.” Uncontrolled freedom can be harmful, he said, and while the sense of liberation may be heady, safety also should be considered.
Bollinger advised the students that to have the best possible educational experience while here they must give themselves time:
