Incoming students at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University said Monday they are pondering the shape and meaning of the college education they will receive as they start a new phase of their lives in a world gone askew.
Youthful ebullience was a little subdued and the usual round of placement tests and adviser sessions seemed unreal to some as new student week proceeded at the schools, which are on the quarter system and don’t start classes until next week.
“I’ve been watching TV constantly, which is rare for me,” said U. of C. freshman Peter Kuras, 18, of Traverse City, Mich. “Walking around to meetings and taking placement tests seems like shunning being informed.”
Dozens of new students had yet to arrive at the schools Monday, most having called to say their flying plans had been disrupted–particularly those who lived in New York, Washington and California. School officials said they would create individualized schedules for delayed students.
NU reported that up to 400 of some 2,050 new students were still out as of Monday morning, about twice as many as usual, though arrivals continued throughout the day. At U. of C., about 75 of the 1,200 new students hadn’t arrived by Monday.
Some students said last week’s terrorist attacks had raised their interest in international relations and government.
“Now I’ll take courses like that, which I definitely wouldn’t have considered before,” said U. of C. freshman Sara Doerr, 18, of Louisville, who wants to study biology and statistics.
“This makes [the Middle East and Afghanistan] so much closer.”
At NU, Allison Quinn, 18, said she was contemplating a change in her academic plans. “I’m a declared English major, but because of what happened, I’m thinking of law or political science,” she said. “When you watch [television], it motivates you to do something about it.”
Hoping to capitalize on student interest, several departments at NU used an academic fair to advertise special symposiums on current events.
“People have remarked that international affairs is really important,” said Wesley Skogan, a political science professor whose department was promoting a Wednesday panel titled “Superpower in a Dangerous World: Perspectives on U.S. Foreign Policy after Sept. 11.”
“They realize that it’s not boring stuff, it’s real life,” Skogan said.
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But George Laws, 18, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, a U. of C. freshman, saw some dangers for education, saying he feared that a war psychology in the country could lead to an atmosphere of intellectual repression. “There won’t be as much freedom to think and express yourself freely,” he said.
Laws said he was interested in studying political science and public policy, and he expects that the issues in those fields will be influenced by an emphasis on defense rather than on domestic matters.
New limitations were also on the mind of Alexander Thurston, 18, a potential religion major at NU from Oxford, Ohio. He said the trouble in the Middle East might prevent him from studying there as he had intended and could turn him away from language classes.
“I was planning on taking Arabic when I came here,” Thurston said.
“I don’t know if I will do that anymore. Now I don’t know if that is a good idea.”
Alan Cubbage, vice president of university relations at NU, said nine of the 320 students slated to study abroad this fall had declared their intention not to go, adding that he didn’t know what countries they had been headed for. Most students study in Europe and South America, he said.