| New One-Book program to be launched this fall |
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| Written by Josh Owens | |
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For the first time this summer, incoming freshmen will be assigned a reading assignment consisting of one book. The ‘One Book’ program is a summer reading program required for all incoming freshmen, but also encouraged for the upper classmen. It is believed that the program will provide the new students with a common “intellectual experience.” According to Dr. Kate Drowne of the English Department, the goal of the program is to promote the “value and importance of reading beyond the classroom, offer multiple opportunities for stimulating discussions and critical thinking on a topic of social relevance, and foster a sense of community and connectedness among students, faculty and staff.”  She also believes that it will facilitate connections between the campus and the Rolla community, “since local libraries, civic organizations, and schools are also engaging in the program by encouraging people to read They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky.” They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is the title of this summer’s reading assignment. Written by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, and Benjamin Ajak, and published by Public AffairsBooks in 2005, the book is a memoir of the authors personal experiences during the civil war in Sudan in the late 1980s. The authors were boys at the time when they lost their families and homes to government-backed militias that destroyed their villages. Left on their own, nine-year-old Benson, seven-year-old Alephonsion, and five-year-old Benjamin walked across Sudan with thousands of other children. No food. No shoes. No parents. No grownups. The survivors who made it to the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia came to be known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” The authors now live in San Diego where they strive to enlighten the world to the current situation in the Sudan. The Office of Undergraduate Studies selected an advisory board made up of faculty, staff and students to choose the One Book title. Drowne stated that “The board chose this book because it is an inspirational story, and because it will raise the awareness of our campus community about an international crisis.” The board considered some other non-fiction titles but decided upon “a story that was more gripping and widely appealing.” One that is “compelling, powerful…an extremely ‘good read.’” The One Book Program starts with reading the book and there will be events related to the book scheduled throughout the fall semester, starting with a book discussion during Opening Week. Dr. Jim Bogan’s Tuesday night film series and the SUB film series will both screen a film about the Lost Boys. Dr. Tseggai Isaac, an associate professor of political science at Missouri S&T will give a public lecture related to the themes of the book. Another lecture will be given by a refugee resettlement agent working in Missouri. There will be open discussions and programs put on by residence hall staff, maybe a musical and the possibility of an on-campus concert featuring one of the co-authors and his band made up of other Lost Boys. They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky will be taught in English 20, the Global Village Residential College course and Hit the Ground Running. The authors will visit campus on October 22 where they will give a public reading followed by question answering, book signing and awards presentations to the winners of an essay contest based on their book. Reading programs are not new to American universities. Many schools have assigned reading to incoming freshmen and sponsored book discussion and related programs during orientation week. At Missouri S&T, Dr. Harvest Collier, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, has been planning the program for several years and has come to the decision that the time has come to start the One Book program. |
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