University president says students should ‘venture outside comfort zones’ at SUSO

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Samantha Thorpe said most of the classes she took as an undergraduate student were not engaging.

“I can count on one hand the number of classes that have been engaging, and I’m a grad student,” said the Milford graduate student and Speak Up, Speak Out panelist.

University President George Ross joined a panel of students on Tuesday night in the Bovee University Center Auditorium to address student concerns about the college experience. About 130 people attended the SUSO forum titled “College Life: The Good, the Bad and the Solutions.” Merlyn Mowrey, chairwoman of the SUSO organizing committee, facilitated the forum.

Thorpe said she did not learn a lot in classes where she only had to read a textbook, sit through a lecture and “spew out knowledge” on a test. She said she made her education meaningful by getting involved outside of class.

Newaygo senior and panelist Kasey Stevens agreed with Thorpe and said professors make classes engaging when the material has meaning that transcends the class.

Jason Bentley, director of First Year Experience, said national data shows critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills are decreasing. He said 35 percent of juniors say they hold the same beliefs they had before college.

“Retention is not an indication of learning,” he said. “It’s not about doing things, it’s about understanding the process and what it means to learn.”

The level of academic challenge and student-faculty interaction is below average at Central Michigan University, Bentley said.

“The areas for greatest improvement have to do with academic culture,” he said.

Bentley said students are willing to do more work if professors require it and make it meaningful.

“Learning is not always fun,” he said. “But if you understand the reason why you’re being challenged, it’s worth it in the end.”

Bentley said CMU is above average in student sense of belonging and student integration. He said being a first-generation college student is like being in a big city without a GPS system and students can feel alone even when they are surrounded by people.

“The sense of belonging is critical,” he said. “We are beyond what we should be expected to do.”

Ross said students should develop social relationships and interact with people from different backgrounds. He said diversity involves more than just race.

“This is the most protected environment you’ll be in,” he said. “(When you) go into the real world, you deal with people from different backgrounds.”

Ross encouraged students to “venture outside comfort zones.”

The SUSO Writing Prize winners were Nigeria graduate student Cajetan Iheka, Bay City senior Nicolas Persons, Ohio graduate student Kelli Rex and Ceresco sophomore Sara Wiseman.

Persons, who is double majoring in political science and religion, said he was pleased to learn that he won for his essay about critical thinking skills.

“You need to have critical thinking skills to analyze theorists and determine for yourself the veracity of each,” he said.

He said SUSO forums help students develop critical thinking skills.

“It’s encouraging to see students come out and grapple with the issues of our time,” he said. “If they’re not tackling these issues, no one is.”