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AYA Contact: Information on the AYA and its programs is available by sending e-mail to aya@yale.edu, or you can write to Rose Alumni House, Box 209010, New Haven, CT 06520-9010 or phone (203) 432-2586. This space is made available to the Association of Yale Alumni by the Yale Alumni Magazine. |
News From the Alumni House December
2000 Returning to Yale as an AYA delegate has reminded me how the institution creates and transmits new ideas, and teaches how to comprehend our nation's social, political, and economic condition. I have observed once again how students and professors are committed to debate new ideas while challenging values held sacred over time. The contest between the status quo and change is played out in the context of our most cherished notions of human rationality, optimism, progress, and knowledge. While I represented the Graduate School for three years, the AYA gave me the opportunity to revisit this vast array of ideas and values and re-integrate some of them into my own life. Alumni who return in the context of an AYA assembly have the opportunity to examine broad themes while they take part in thought- and discussion- provoking activities throughout the weekend. Events scheduled from breakfast until long after dinner develop the particular theme of the weekend. For example, as a delegate to the Assembly on the Yale faculty in the spring of 1999, I was invited for tea with department chairs and senior faculty. We discussed the tension between teaching and research, while the following day at Linsly-Chittenden Hall faculty discussed their current research and how it serves and informs their undergraduate teaching. The Spring 2000 Assembly, entitled "Yale and the Global Environment," addressed the issue of past and current environmental practices and their impact on future generations. Yale officials, having dedicated a fortune to "cleaning up our own house" by means of massive renovations over the past few years, could legitimately expound on environmental themes. The campus renovation might be seen as a metaphor for the challenge of conserving the old while adopting the new. I still recognized the buildings by their names, but I soon realized that they now embody state-of-the-art design and house the latest technology, all to best equip current and future students. Although at times this meant that Yale had chosen expensive and time-consuming options, we came to understand that this represented the best way to pass on a gift. This holds true not only for Yale's physical environment, as represented by buildings, but also our world's environment, which is a gift we must similarly preserve to pass on to future generations. AYA assemblies also address many themes relating to the social environment, as I found when I attended the Assembly in the spring of 1998, entitled "The Sense of Community at Yale." On arriving at Yale after many years away, I had the sense of largeness and complexity similar to what we encountered when we first arrived on campus. A walk around the campus shows an unparalleled diversity of students and professors. Courses and seminars are being taught which were not dreamed of in my time. Within a day or two, Yale as a community emerged. The 184 student organizations, 6 journals, 20 student publications, and 4 calendars are just some of the features that nourish this community. In addition to a seemingly endless description of the number and variety of extracurricular activities, the Assembly discussed controversial issues, including affirmative action, the status of graduate teaching assistants, and problems associated with undergraduate residence requirements raised by some Orthodox Jewish students. Alumni attending the Assembly had the opportunity to discuss these topics directly with those who determine and articulate the University's position on critical issues. I have
had the good fortune to view the Egyptian pyramids several times.
While every visit to these monuments is equally awe-inspiring, my
own life experiences have helped make each encounter distinct. How
much more meaningful it is to revisit a great living institution
that has directly influenced my life and contemplate how I have
selectively acquired and abandoned ideas and behaviors. What takes
place at the University level parallels on a greater level what
I do personally on a daily basis: not just settle for, but struggle
to select from an array of ideas and values placed before me. The
experience induces a smile much like one brought on by an old, familiar
refrain. The melody may be the same, but somehow both Yale and I
have changed. |
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Yale
Alumni Magazine, PO Box 1905, New Haven, CT 06509-1905. USA.
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