Re: song & dance

[Stephen Newmann <newmann@msmary.edu>]

Eric, I think you are exactly right on this.  It carries over also (we 
are a predominently residential college) to the students social life.  
They seem to expect the college to provide entertainment for them.  They 
say over and over "there's nothing to do".  I usually reply that they 
should take the intitative--that they should create something to do 
(other than sex and booze anthough those can be fun).  If a few of our 
students asked they'd receive a bus and driver to take them to and return 
them from the city of D.C. or Baltimore for a day long excursion.  They 
could arrange to have first run movies here on campus.  They could have 
"interesting" lecturers and performers on campus.  They could form groups 
who have similar interests to meet for activities they would all enjoy.  
But they just sit back and complain and wait for someone else to take the 
responsibility to do something.  I talk to my students, too, about the 
difference between "being entertained" (or made interested) and 
"entertaining oneself".  They often think that when they say "this stuff 
is boring" what is really the case is that "I am bored".  They are 
actually reflecting more on themselves--their own condition--than on 
whatever external thing they think they are refering to.  --stephen

On Fri, 2 Feb 1996, Eric Crump wrote:

> I'd agree that many students seem to want to be entertained. I don't 
> blame them. But I don't think that desire indicates some kind of mental 
> sloth or anything. I think what they are really saying is they want to be 
> interested in what they are doing. They don't want to be bored. If we 
> can't create the conditions in which their enthusiasm and imaginations 
> can thrive, they'll settle for standup comedy from the lecturn. 
> 
> --Eric Crump
>