Student Writers Explore Just Community Essays as Part of College Course

The Just Community Readings, a collection of essays and short stories meant to inspire discussion about UC's Just Community on campus, is building a campus community of writers through a spring quarter course developed by an assistant professor of English at University College. Ann Hinkle was getting acquainted with the university community when she joined the language arts department in University College last year. Through the English 102 course that was first offered last spring, Hinkle and three sections of University College students shared a powerful experience.

"I was interested in the idea of community, because that was a theme I was trying to develop even before I saw the readings. Secondly, while the readings are for the entire university community, the primary audience is the students. As a writing teacher, I have to focus on three key aspects: the text, the writer and the audience, and as I approached the course, I was really intrigued by the aspect of the audience."

The reflective stories, poems and passages include writings from Martin Luther King, Jr., Carol Weinberg, and even a Doonesbury comic strip by Garry Trudeau. The Just Community Readings selection committee represents students, faculty and administrators across UC colleges and campuses. Editor Jonathan Alexander, assistant professor of English, University College, says the committee looks for provocative writings aimed at stimulating discussion about diversity, as well as addressing the student's transition from high school to college.

Alexander adds the readings are not the campus rulebook. Committee members don't always hold the same views as the writers, and students aren't expected to either. "We are not espousing the views in the readings, but we're saying the readings are pedagogically useful in stimulating discussion. Professor Hinkle had a very impressive take on this."

The editorial board became the audience for Hinkle's students, as they not only read and discussed the readings, but also presented a review of the magazine to the board. For their second assignment, students were asked to assume they were going to be a student editor on the board the next year, and they needed to research and select a new piece for the readings and present a valid argument for their suggestion.

"We were all impressed by the presentations," said Alexander. "I think this course serves as a model for how the readings could be used."

Also, reflecting on the Statement for a Just Community formally unveiled last Valentine's Day, students were assigned to write a letter to UC President Joseph A. Steger, exploring how their personal experiences on campus related to the statement.

Throughout the course, the classrooms were divided into groups, another aspect of community Hinkle wanted to create. For their final assignment, they wrote a private essay, evaluating whether their individual groups were an example of a Just Community.

Hinkle says the city unrest last spring was frequently a topic of discussion along with the readings, and because of the shock and grief of what was happening in the city, the students became a close-knit family. They came from diverse ethnic and situational backgrounds. "I had a student who was a junior police cadet, a student whose father was a Cincinnati police captain, a student who lived in Over-the-Rhine, and a student who began attending city council meetings during the quarter," said Hinkle.

The discussions were not always comfortable, nor were they meant to be. "I would say the majority of the students liked the magazine, but there were some who felt it was unbalanced in how it represented communities. Overall I'd say it was favorable.

"Clearly the students really liked reading about college-age students," Hinkle continued. "They preferred the pieces showing diversity working well."