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ALUMNI & CAMPUS NEWS
> STUDENT LIFE
Students connect in communities
FRESHMEN HAVE NEW OPTIONS WITH RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
Aside from the obvious joys and perils of being a first-year
student, more than 30 years of research shows that the most
critical step for success in college is learning to become part
of the college community.
“Being a first-year student brings difficult transitions,” explains Professor
Fraser MacHaffie, executive assistant to the president and provost. “This
program helps them become part of our intellectual community.”
The First-Year Learning Community program, now in its second year, aims
to support first-year students by grouping them in six learning communities
that are connected by a theme or problem. The College had two learning
communities last year, but has expanded the offerings for the 2006-07 school
year. Sixteen courses for freshmen are being offered through this program.
For example, this year one group of students is studying communication
and community. A required seminar for that group is “Discovering the Real
Appalachia: More than Moonshine,” taught by Dr. Michael Tager. It explores
the culture, history, economy and people of Southern Ohio. Students take
two additional courses: “College Life and Leadership Laboratory,” instructed
by Bruce Peterson, director of residential life, and “Foundations of Oral
Communication,” taught by Dr. Dawn Carusi.
MacHaffie and Dr. Suzanne Walker, assistant dean for First-Year Programs,
are excited about the potential growth opportunities that the First-Year
BILLY HOWARD
Learning Community provides.
Nearly one-third of the entering
class is part of the 2006-07 program.
Participants have chosen it to “try
something different,” MacHaffie says.
The First-Year Learning
Community involves 130 students
who share the first floor residence
of Russell Hall. They attend classes
that range from Appalachian cultural
history to psychology to English composition
to geology. The advantage of
the Learning Community, MacHaffie
points out, is that the same group of
students form a community through
scholarship, friendship and residence.
Benefits of being involved in a
Learning Community include increased
satisfaction with the college
experience, increased persistence to
learn, grow and prosper, and increased
retention of first-year students, which,
MacHaffie says, is always a concern at
small colleges.
“We have the advantage of smaller
classes, but sometimes we’re too small
socially or lack the programs a bigger
school can offer,” he says. “Our
primary motivation is to improve
pedagogy and move students to a new
level of intellectual development that
keeps them here at Marietta College.”
EVELYN FROLKING
> ACTIVITIES & ORGANIZATIONS
Still a winning team
FORENSICS WINS MAJOR TOURNAMENT AWARDS
In a world in which technology allows everyone to talk to
anyone around the world, all the time, one MC professor and
her students believe the quality of the verbal message still matters,
as does its delivery. Marietta’s Forensics Team sustains an
oral tradition rooted in the founding of the College focused on
the global skills of public argument and public advocacy.
Last year, the MC Forensics Team garnered three major
tournament trophies for overall performance and 80 awards for
individual events. Tournaments are held at colleges across the
region. “Our long tradition in the forensics arts and our consistent
performances give us a national respect that is amazing
for a college of this size,” says Dr. Mabry O’Donnell, professor
of communications and Forensics Team director.
“We might have 40 students in a year who participate in oncampus
and traveling events,” adds O’Donnell. The team is one
of 16 members of the Ohio Forensics Association and hosts
its own tournament, the Ruth A. Wilcox Forensics Invitational
Tournament, named for a former teacher and forensics coach.
MC’s chapter of Pi Kappa Delta, established in 1926 and promoted
by Wilcox, is one of the oldest in the country.
The city of Marietta has had a long-standing concern
with literary and debate dating to 1790. That, apparently,
influenced the College’s early interest in oratory during its
founding in 1835. At early graduations, every student gave
an oration, leading to a tradition that today honors two
seniors from among those who choose to compete for the
Jewett Award, named in honor of Milo P. Jewett. A member
of the original faculty who taught rhetoric and oratory,
Jewett went on to become the first president of Vassar
College and left funds in his will for continuation of the oral
tradition at MC.
Then, as now, forensics is encouraged. “Everyone is
welcome on our team and this makes our program unique,”
says O’Donnell. Students in diverse majors choose forensics
for a variety of reasons. Some love the art of debate. Others
enjoy training for individual events, such as extemporaneous,
impromptu and interpretative speaking; while still others have
had personal speaking challenges and seek to improve
their skills.
In her long tenure with the team, O’Donnell recognizes its
value to individual students. “I get letters and calls from former
students who believe the forensics experience gave them the
confidence and ability to get where they are,” she says.
EVELYN FROLKING
TODD ROETH
> IMPROVING SKILLS
Dr. Mabry O’Donnell speaks to students
who are on Marietta College’s
award-winning Forensics Team.
FORENSICS
For more information, visit
www.marietta.edu/~comm/
forensics
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