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READY TO BEGIN IN JANUARY |
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Research Bulletin Highlights University's Commitment to Intellectual Inquiry |
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Beacon Think Tank for Students Ready to Begin in January |
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Mergers and Takeovers Topic of Recent Forum for 21st Century |
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In a world where there is constant change and growth, the classroom cannot possibly realize each student dream and idea. Too often at UMass Boston, as at other universities, social trends and the diversity of the student body are given scant emphasis in the classroom unless they are immediately relevant to the lesson at hand. In this context, it would be possible for thoughts, ideas, and even dreams to disappear forever. Providing a place for discussion of such issues is the idea behind the implementation of a "think tank" for students, first conceived by Assistant Dean of Students Adrian K. Haugabrook during his own student days. Soon, that idea will take form on this campus as the Beacon Think Tank.
Even though he was a scholar and popular athlete while studying criminal law at the State University of Georgia, Haugabrook says, he often "felt a void and felt [he] didn't have a venue to discuss certain issues intelligently and learn from other people's perspectives." According to Haugabrook, the idea to create the Beacon Think Tank stemmed from those feelings and from a need for "civic engagement ... that provides a haven for students to find their own position among such important issues as civil rights, gender equity and issues of war" among others.
Haugabrook's idea has been made real at UMass Boston. The Beacon Think Tank, which will be co-sponsored by the New England Center for Higher Education, the Graduate Assembly and the Student Senate, will have its first meeting in January 2000. The pilot group, already selected, consists of volunteers from different backgrounds and levels of education, initially two small groups of students and two instructors. These and future think tank members will go through an orientation process, meet at a regular place and time, and produce a "Thinking Report" as a result of their experience. Members will choose the setting and meet with a facilitator to help select topics and focus the discussion.
The exact outcome is of course uncertain, but if nothing else, ideas that are not fully developed in the classroom may flourish and seed before a college career ends. And the project may give rise to new proposals, opportunities, or mindsets. At the very least, we can expect to encounter some invigorating dialogue as a result of the proposed Thinking Reports. For more information on the Beacon Think Tank, contact Adrian Haugabrook at 7-5800.