The 2008 Krost Symposium takes its theme, “Between Two Worlds,” from the book The Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the Rio Grande by Keith Bowden, a true story of a college professor who canoes the Rio Grande – 1,260 miles, the length of the Texas-Mexico border. In the book’s prologue titled “Between Two Worlds,” Bowden describes his first experience crossing the border as a teenager:
I stood looking down at the dark water on a warm March night, my feet straddling the international border, one foot in Mexico, one in the U.S…. In the short walk across the bridge, one moves from the First World to the Third, from North America to Latin America, from English to Spanish. Cross that river and you’re in a world that more closely resembles the one at the bottom of South America, five thousand miles distant, than the one on the other side of the bridge.
Bowden describes that moment as the beginning of his 30-year love affair with Latin America. The story of his adventure on the river and his encounters with nature, people, and reality on both banks of the Rio Grande - how he bridges the differences and difficulties - sets the stage for TLU’s 27th Krost Symposium.
Martha Rinn, chair of the Krost Symposium committee, explains that the book lends itself to many perspectives – political issues of the Texas-Mexico border, coyotes and drug trafficking, the cultural and economic differences between the two countries, the environment and ecological realities – and provides a starting place toward acceptance.
“We have asked Keith Bowden to present the Giesber Lecture to begin a dialogue on cultural issues that we hope will lead to increased understanding,” Rinn said. She said that everyone in the TLU community has been encouraged to read the book. The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in Jackson Auditorium.
Cultural understanding
TLU is located less than 200 miles from Mexico – an ideal location to spur student interest in cultural diversity. With an active Mexican American Student Association, TLU students participate in activities such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Cinco de Mayo, mariachi masses, Day of the Dead, and baile folklórico.
Dr. Ana María González said that she has seen an increasing number of Hispanic cultural activities on campus since coming to TLU. Some, such as Diez y Seis de Septiembre, were already celebrated in the Seguin community and now are also on the TLU campus.
“It’s very good that TLU is open to new programs like the Advanced Placement Summer Institute we held in Taxco this past summer,” González said. Two weeks of the institute were held on the Taxco campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the oldest university on the American continents.
On campus, Spanish is being used every week in chapel services with González assisting Campus Pastor Greg Ronning. The bilingual education program began in 2005, and TLU has graduated its first bilingual education teachers.
González is pleased that most of the students are very positive about the increasing cultural diversity on campus. “The reaction from 90 percent of the students is very positive, but some just don’t know how to react,” she said. “In general it is just a new experience for them – they don’t know why they should open their minds.”
One way for students to become more open is through study abroad. Several TLU professors have led short-term trips to nearby Mexico and Latin America during the summer for the past few years. For the first time this fall, a four-day trip to Monterrey, Mexico is being offered as an optional extension of 12 different on-campus classes.
On the “Experience Monterrey” trip, faculty members are taking 51 students to learn more about ecology, cultural geography, history, psychology, culture and language in Mexico.
“We are able to take advantage of how close we are to Monterrey,” said González, one of the trip’s organizers. “That was the main thing. Monterrey is closer than going to New Orleans or Oklahoma. It is so close.”
A panel of students who have studied abroad, along with TLU’s international students, will share their fears, dreams, and challenges during the second day of the Krost Symposium.
Beginning with the Giesber Lecture on Oct. 15, a photography exhibit by Dr. Preston Reeves, professor emeritus of chemistry, will be on display during the Krost Symposium. His photographs, taken at various times over the past nearly 40 years, will be on display in the lobby of Jackson Auditorium on Wednesday evening, and then moved to Tschoepe Hall where other lectures and panel discussions will take place on Thursday. The Torch thanks Dr. Reeves for the use of several of his photographs in this issue.
The Freshman Experience
As the Class of 2012 arrived on the campus of TLU to begin their college experience, one might say they, too, were between two worlds – leaving behind the structure and familiar surroundings of home and and entering a new world of independence and new ideas.
“There is such a huge transition between high school and college. Students have these expectations of what their role as a college student is supposed to be, and they are completely different once they get into college,” said Dr. Mike Czuchry, assistant professor of psychology and an instructor for FE 134: Exploring the Arts and Sciences, a required class for all first-year students.
“One of the roles of FE 134 is to prepare students to be successful in all of their classes,” Czuchry said. “That means developing appropriate modes of inquiry, respecting diverse points of view, being diligent about how they approach their reading, and not expecting to just be handed answers but to be part of the learning process.”
For the class this fall, all of the freshmen students are required to read, among other titles,
The Tecate Journals. “Having a common experience reading the book strengthens the first year experience,” Czuchry said.
Each of the 18 FE134 instructors are approaching the book a little differently. Because the book has many facets, it offers many opportunities for student discussions and differing viewpoints.
“Many of the first-year students haven’t had their thoughts challenged in a way that will open their minds, so I ask them questions to ruffle their feathers a little,” Czuchry said.
“They aren’t used to discussing and respecting others’ opinions – hopefully that is something that they will get out of the class.”
He explained it is during the transitional years of college that students are most likely to challenge their parents’ religious, philosophical or political viewpoints. Although it is an unsettling feeling, it is important to ask questions and have an open mind. At TLU students are not alone in the process.
“This is a comfortable place where students can explore these thoughts, and they don’t have to feel like an outcast for challenging their own beliefs – there are many people around them going through the same things – questioning. They can approach faculty. They can approach peer mentors. They can approach anyone on the campus and talk about it. That might be different than at some places where you are just lost in the crowd.”
To help make the transition between the two worlds, TLU has added “peer mentors,” upperclassmen who attend an FE 134 class, then meet with the first-year students after class to answer any concerns and problems, and share knowledge of the college process. Peer mentors point the first-year students to the university’s resources and help them cope with new found independence and the stresses of college life.
Click here to view a full schedule for the 2008 Krost Symposium
