We celebrated the “80thbirthdays of us all” with a Zoom Social, Oct.1.
The 32 registrants could choose between breakout rooms with the flowing themes:
1. Best things about being this age (80 or almost!)
2. Good ways to celebrate – how did you celebrate?
3. Exercise with purpose and panache
4. Travel with ease
5. New passions and pursuits
6. Challenges we encounter
7. Open
A number of classmates put on their fancy hats (some hand-decorated!)
Our toast:
To all of us, a group quite grand
A very smart, curious band
Leading lives both kind and weighty
Now lift we a glass to eighty
May long our friendships ever thrive
Here's to our mighty '65!
Several had made a mug cake from the recipes sent out.
And all --with occasional aid from Bev B Harrison or Sallie W Abbas-- found their way into the groups discussing the topics of their choice.
It was an enthusiastic social gathering from geographically-scattered places.
Our November 11th mini-reunion featured a conversation on this timely topic, between Lynn Pasquerella (MHC President from 2010 to 2016), and Mary Graham Davis, Board of Trustees Chair during her tenure.
Lynn C Pasquerella, a 1980 graduate of Mount Holyoke, is currently president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Her most recent book is WHAT WE VALUE: Public Health, Social Justice, and Educating for Democracy.
Mary Graham Davis opened the discussion by noting that “the way Lynn thinks about education is about its role in democracy and its role in helping people through their lives (by) giving them decision-making and critical thinking capabilities.”
Lynn noted that recent surveys show declining confidence in higher education. According to a Wall Street Journal poll, those who already have a college degree are the most skeptical of its value.
Nonetheless, Lynn insists that liberal education is more important than ever! “It teaches us to speak across differences, to be mindful of the dangers of ideological filtering, to imaginine what it’s like to be someone different from oneself, to propose, construct, evaluate arguments, and think with precision, coherence, and clarity. These are the skills at the heart of a liberal education which enable individuals to entertain the possibility that some of their most fundamentally held beliefs might actually be mistaken.”
Lynn continued, “The most significant challenge we are facing right now is Legislative over-reach into the Academy. This happened in the Civil War and World War One and in the Civil Rights movement and the “Red” scare. But what’s different now is the nature and scope of the intrusion, thanks to the internet and, in the state college systems, to the power of governors to appoint boards of trustees.” Noting the current situation in Florida, she observed that “the more we politicize education… the more we erode the fundamental standards that are central to the democratic purposes of higher education.”
Mary: “Can you talk to us about the parallel stream of programs in place that allow our students to explore career-oriented options?”
Lynn: “This is something that we’re watching closely. Higher education is viewed as too expensive, too difficult to access, and ..[fails to teach].. students 21st century skills…There are those who believe that colleges are bastions of liberal progressivism and [are] brainwashing the next generation... But when we look at the bipartisan concern about higher education, it comes down to: Are we preparing students for the workforce of the future in ways that enable them to thrive upon entry and then to advance in the workforce?”
(She went on to observe) that CEOs and managers surveyed want graduates who can think critically and communicate orally, speak across differences, work in teams…who are resilient, adaptable, and flexible in the face of change, and who can learn from failure.
Mary noted that at MHC in recent years there have been several career-oriented innovations, including a number of internship programs, the creation of “maker space” on campus, and the introduction of career planning beginning freshman year.
Lynn and Mary discussed at length the number of institutions that are cutting out their language, philosophy and other humanities courses. Data suggests that this correlates directly with rising authoritarian attitudes both in the US and globally.
Mary raised the question of how to reach that segment of our population who have not had the advantage of a liberal education.
Lynn replied with her own story. Neither of her parents had had the opportunity to graduate from high school. When she received her PhD in philosophy from Brown, her father refused to attend the commencement ceremony saying, “Don’t you think this makes you better than us because you’re not?” Lynn said, “It was clear to me the extent to which he was threatened because he thought it would separate us… that I somehow viewed him as lesser. {Fortunately,] I was able to sit down and have a table conversation with him.”
A take-away question: How can we have table conversations across the country with those who are not only skeptical but disdainful of what we do? Lynn concluded that “We need to do this… to strengthen our society at a time when it is more fractured than ever due to political polarization and partisanship.”