In the very first class I taught at Tufts, a student asked me what they should call me. I answered "Professor Morse or O Captain My Captain." This sadly prompted me to lend my copy of Dead Poet's Society to the 85% of the class that hadn't seen the movie yet. [If you haven't, I suggest you run and see the best Ethan Hawke film, predating Uma and his attempted literary career.] That movie has two basic themes that I want to expand upon in terms of your impending adoption into the Tufts Community. The first is the need "to suck the marrow out of life" or the carpe diem philosophy; the other is that the faculty are here at Tufts to help you open and expand your minds into new realms. No matter what other people tell you, I firmly believe that your college years are your formative years.
As you're reading this, you will already be inundated by questions and decisions. Should we bunk the beds? Do I want to take Italian or Japanese? Did I remember to pack my thermal underwear? Is Lance going to make it into space? No matter what the answers to these questions are, you need to go out and explore where your niche will be at Tufts. Now it is my job to start planting seeds of all the things you can and should try while you're here. Just remember to "have fun storming the castle."
Tufts has more dance troupes than there are States that begin with the letter "A." You cannot even count all the a cappella groups with the fingers on one hand. Add to this the musical and drama programs, and the artistic outlets are nearly infinite. Heck, they even let me perform in West Side Story. Also, there's a strong Greek system here (somewhere between Revenge of the Nerds and The Skulls) and athletics ranging from the intensity of early morning crew practices to the mid-afternoon mellowness of ultimate Frisbee.
I also would love to see all of you try to make Tufts and the rest of the world a better place; I don't mean that you have to be on the short list for the Nobel Peace Prize by the end of your senior year, but become involved. Consider the letters "S," "L," and "C." As LCS they make up the Leonard Carmichael Society, the umbrella service organization at Tufts. Rearrange them and you get the CSL, the Committee on Student Life. This, along with the Senate and the Judiciary are the three elected governing bodies on campus. Eight of you will get to assume seats on the Senate this month, and you can make the will of the Class of 2006 known.
While you don't have to become a politico, you can join a culture group, become a campus tutor, write for one of the many campus publications, or set the groundwork to become an RA next year. Keep your eyes open for things that may catch your fancy; just don't look back and regret how little you did four years from now. Taking a phrase from the Pet Shop, Boys, there are lots of opportunities; if there aren't, you can make them. Last year, two freshman joined up to create the "No Homer's Club for those people who were interested in the Simpsons. Maybe in the future, you'll create a group too. (I have been looking for some students who love trivial knowledge to start up a College Bowl team; we are the only Boston area university without one.)
Now that I have offered suggestions to fill about 167 hours out of your week, we need to talk about the balance that college is. I'm going to pass along some advice that my parents gave to me, and I still tell everyone: college is part academic and part social, and you are cheating yourself out of a complete education if you skimp on either half. Don't bury yourself in academics so that you have your own cot inside the library; don't join the square root club (those are people who have a GPA that is higher if you take its square root). Look at college as an opportunity to explore new areas you've never thought of. You don't need to know what your major is, you don't have to start applying to graduate school, and you should not know what classes you are taking second semester senior year. This is why you are in college. Take classes in things you might be interested in or in subjects you never even knew existed. Repeat after me "I don't know what I want to do with my life; I don't know what classes I want to take." Admitting you are in college to learn about yourself and everything around you is the first step (and there are a lot more than eleven steps after that).
Remember a handful of things: you cannot screw up (everything you do is part of your experiences, and you learn from them), college is what you make of it (you can go to a school like Harvard [shudder] and after four years be less intelligent than when you entered, if you let it happen), and wear sunscreen (that ozone layer is still precarious). Maybe if you follow these rambling words, you'll be a well-rounded and well-adjusted graduate 4 years from now. If not, don't sue me because I'm just a poor academic.
So, even though many of you will never dare take one of my classes (I'm in the chemistry department.), I hope you get to know as many of the faculty as you can. We are your advisers, counselors, teachers, friends, and confidants. We are the crew on this schooner you are sailing into the future, so don't try to single-handedly circumnavigate the Earth. Ok, I couldn't resist having one prosaic statement at the end of this. Just promise me you won't show this viewpoint to your English 1 instructor.
Chris Morse is a Lecturer in the Chemistry Department
