Three Cups deemed palatable

By Margeux Clemmons     8/28/08 7:00pm

The third time's a charm for the Rice common reading program. Students gave the nod to this year's discussion of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, agreeing that this year's format and its once-debated selection contributed to its success over the attempts of the last two years. "This year, the committee put a lot of effort into a book that would appeal to lots of different kinds of people, without being Harry Potter," Student Director of Orientation Megan Hermance said.

The memoir chronicles Mortenson's attempts to help remote, impoverished regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools and making an extra effort to educate Muslim girls.

Although Orientation Week coordinators recommended informal discussions over dinner in past years, this summer the colleges opted for slightly more formal tea-time talks over Rice Coffeehouse-provided snacks and Darjeeling tea, a native tea of Pakistan. Coordinators also arranged for tables to consist of two O-week groups to give students the opportunity to hear more ideas.

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"We learned, especially from the second year, that their [O-week coordinators' and advisors'] input in planning was really important," Advisor to the Dean of Undergraduates Matthew Taylor said.

He attributed much of the program's improvements to increased discussion with and preparation for upperclassmen involved in O-Week.

Taylor met with the O-Week coordinators and a special subcommittee of coordinators in the summer to discuss the program, and he also organized brief training sessions for advisors, led by Assistant Professor of History Cyrus Mody, to learn discussion-leading skills. In addition, Taylor said the reading material and discussion questions were distributed to advisors much sooner than they had been in previous years.

The common reading's events will continue Sept. 2 when author Mortenson gives a speech in the Rice Memorial Center's Grand Hall. Each residential college was given 70 tickets to distribute at its discretion, with most reserved for freshmen and a select number of advisors. Willy's Pub will show a live broadcast of the talk.

Later next month, the Rice Media Center will show a special screening of a film entitled, "Beyond Belief," which documents two women's efforts to help widows in Afghanistan after they lost their husbands in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Other calendar items related to the common reading's topic of international service include student panels from Rice Teach for America alumni; research presentations from students in Beyond Traditional Borders, Engineers Without Borders and the Center for Civic Engagement and lectures from Rice faculty and Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World and Former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

"These are opportunities to learn about what Rice students and faculty are doing now around the world for service projects," said Taylor of the events. "The book is really just a vehicle for larger goals."

But while some of the common reading program's goals include encouraging students to be global citizens and adding an intellectual aspect to O-week, some said this year's Three Cups of Tea surpassed its lofty intentions and simply entertained.

"I didn't even think of it as an academic component because I really enjoyed the book," Will Rice College freshman Rachel Sandman said.

She, along with Taylor and many O-Week advisors, called the book inspiring.

However, others still see challenges that the program must work through in future years.

"My only problem with the book was that it was hard to disagree on," Brown College O-Week advisor Akshay Dayal, who led one of the discussions, said. "There was a lack of debate; people didn't have to think as much as they would otherwise, although this year's success is a huge boost to the program."

Sandman and Dayal said the number of people who hadn't read the book made presenting the ideas to other freshmen more difficult.

Still, Taylor hopes such challenges may be improved upon. In future years, he hopes to incorporate faculty-led discussions and possibly expand the program to include upperclassmen beyond those involved in O-Week.

Hermance, a Baker College senior, said the future success of the common reading depends on encouraging the incoming freshmen and even upperclassmen to believe in the program.

"One of the things [to ensure the success of the common reading program] is getting freshmen and a lot of advisors to buy into it," Hermance said. "The more they buy into it, the more successful it will be, and I think it's only going to get better.

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