The future of the Naked Quad Run, the need for community-building at Tufts, and the proposed ban on smoking in dormitories were among the sensitive issues discussed by about 90 students and faculty members at the Experimental College's 13th annual "Opening Up the Classroom" event Wednesday night.
This year's theme, "Is the Light on the Hill Bright Enough? Seeking Community at Tufts," aimed to address the issues brought up by the Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience's recently-released interim reports.
The event drew a diverse student population, including undergraduates and graduates, and focused on ways to unify the Tufts community. Tufts' strong academic community coexists alongside a weak social community at Tufts, according to senior David Reinhard of the ExCollege Board.
Several students at the forum cited the Naked Quad Run as an important Tufts tradition and the sole event that draws nearly everyone on campus. Still, many participants were supportive of President Larry Bacow's response to this year's run and pointed out the problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption.
Some students worried that Tufts could put too much of an emphasis on building community, however. The desire to foster a completely unified community on campus can conflict with the desire to increase diversity, another of Tufts' objectives, sophomore Eitan Hersh said.
Most forum-goers agreed on the need for enhanced common space on campus, though. Suggestions included the construction of a large all-purpose room with removable seating and additional offices for campus groups. Other attendees mentioned a computer center and a centralized mail system, elements included in the as-yet-unrealized Phase III of the Mayer Campus Center, in order to draw greater crowds to the nexus of upper and lower campus.
Students and faculty also debated the pros and cons of establishing a college system at Tufts, another of the Task Force's recommendations. Students expressed an appreciation as long as they were not bound to the living spaces encompassed by their college.
Mixed feelings prevailed about the creation of other all-freshmen dorms like the current Tilton Hall, however. Some called the environment at all-freshmen dorms "toxic," though others fondly remembered freshmen bonding. It is likely that as a compromise, the University will expand first-year living situations similar to Tilton, though they will never become obligatory, according to Dean of Students Bruce Reitman.
Forum-goers also addressed the issues of extra-curricular life, the depth of on-campus faculty involvement, and the comparison of Tufts' sense of community to that at other universities. Facilitators passed out general questions related to life at Tufts, permitting attendees to explore the definitions of community at a relaxed pace.
Discussion is a valuable way to enhance the continued transformation and changing experiences that are vital to individual students' growth, according to Dean of Admissions David Cuttino.
Wednesday night's discussion and suggestions put forward by faculty and students will likely be influential when the Task Force makes its presentation to Bacow in mid-May.
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