The start of the semester always brings new energy and optimism to campus—and it is something I greatly appreciate as this new academic year also starts with greater uncertainty and anxiety within higher education. I’ve been particularly impressed with the excitement of new students I’ve met in these first few days of the semester.
I attended the Boltwood Project’s interview night, where student leaders meet and interview new students interested in participating in our program that provides recreation and socialization for adults and children of intellectual or physical diverse ability. I also rode the bus to Homework House in Holyoke with our group of students from our “Learning through Community Engagement” course, our introductory service-learning course, as well as some students from our “IMPACT” service-learning RAP (Residential Academic Program). Our Big Brothers Big Sister course started with enthusiastic reflections on the students’ own cultural identities as they build their skills to become effective mentors to local youth. And our Community Scholars Program welcomed their 27th cohort as it starts to organize for their work in mutual aid, reproductive justice, abolition, land back and climate justice.
At all the events, classes, and site visits I attended, the excitement in the respective rooms was palatable. My interactions with students helped me see what may be a challenging year in perspective as they both asked questions and recognized the impact of the community-based work they will be engaged in this semester. The students were eager to “do something” and engage with each other and with the communities we live and learn within. Through my engagement with our students, I realized that at a time when the values at the core of CESL’s vision and mission—equity and justice, reciprocity and a culture of care—are being challenged nationally, our work is even more important, given today's climate of rising authoritarianism and intense polarization of politics and culture.
Last year we observed CESL’s 25th anniversary and held several events to look back—and to look forward—in celebration of the students, faculty, staff and community partners that have been a part of community-engaged teaching and learning here at UMass Amherst. At our anniversary dinner celebration, I noted it was a night to be present with each other, and present in this very complex moment as well. And I think that is good advice for all of us as we start this new academic year—committed to our values, and recognizing our work in community engagement as small acts of resistance to a challenging political context. As I continue to engage with our students this year, I know that I’ll find insights and direction in their questions, their reflections and their desire to “do something” as they actively work towards a more just future for themselves and for all of us.
Best wishes for the new academic year,
Joseph