Alumni celebrate RC's 30th birthday

When RC graduate Danny Thompson entered East Quad yesterday for the first time in nearly 10 years, it seemed to him that little had changed.

"The place smells the same," Thompson said, as he hugged former classmates. "It's some strange combination of carpet and cafeteria."

Dozens of alumni returned to Ann Arbor yesterday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Residential College - the University's first living-learning community, which is a part of LSA and housed in the East Quad residence hall.

Prof. Janet Hegman Shier, the anniversary's coordinator for special events, said the weekend-long festivities will be more than a celebration.

"We're hoping that some initiatives may grow out of it," Shier said, adding that she has spent the year uniting current students with RC alumni to plan the weekend.

LOUIS BROWN/Daily RC sophomore Jessica Bodzin (left) and RC junior Colin Zyskowski (right) discuss Madame Bovary in their class on Arts and Ideas of the 19th century.

RC philosophy Prof. Carl Cohen, one of the college's founding fathers, said the idea for the college grew from a feeling among a small group of professors that the rapid growth of the University was threatening the camaraderie between students and faculty.

"(Other professors) and I were concerned that we were going to lose some of the closeness we prized," Cohen said, adding that a small living-learning college would help preserve notions of decency and humanity in the University. "By and large, I think it's fair to say that we've succeeded."

Economics Prof. and RC Director Thomas Weisskopf said that while a number of universities started similar living-learning programs during the 1960s, the RC is one of few that have survived.

"A lot of schools are very much interested in, and somewhat jealous of, what we have here at Michigan," Weisskopf said.

Cohen attributes the college's success to the close relationship the RC has maintained with LSA.

"We did this with the financial and intellectual support of LSA," Cohen said, adding that other programs cut themselves off from the universities that supported them.

Expanding from 100 students in 1967 to nearly 1,000 students today, the RC has undergone numerous changes but retained its original identity, Cohen said.

Since it was a new program, the RC first attracted liberal students who were interested in an exciting and different experience, Weisskopf said.

"They tended to be quite outspoken, quite political," he said.

With much of the RC student body opposed to former President Richard Nixon's re-election in 1972, RC students held a mock inaugural ball for Nixon after his inauguration.

"It was all very sardonic and terribly bitter," Cohen said.

RC students sent a letter to the former president inviting him to the festivities, but Nixon sent the students a telegram declining the invitation. Students read the telegram and poked fun at Nixon during the ceremony, Cohen said.

Cohen said the biggest change in the RC "To be quite honest ... the focus of student interest has become more privatized and less communitarian," Cohen said, noting that this hasn't had an impact on the feeling of harmony and civility within the RC. "My students walk by my office on the way to their classes and stop by on their way to the john. It makes for a very friendly atmosphere."

In addition to living in the same building as their professors' offices, student are able to grow close to their professors through the small classes the RC offers.

RC first-year student Breanne Petersen said she values the personal attention she receives as a member of the RC.

"I have a couple professors who are really scatterbrained, but they're fun," Petersen said. "It's really good because they make learning fun, which gets people motivated."

The flexibility within the RC allowed senior Charlie Walker to get a community initiatives grant through the RC to fund two Alternative Spring Break sites and start a two-credit mini course.

"The fact that I can bring this idea to the RC ... and have them discuss it and talk about my idea as a student, that's what's really been great for me," Walker said.

While many students prize the attention they receive in the RC, nearly one-third of students drop out of the program.

Weisskopf said most students drop out because they don't want to take the 16 credits of intensive language.

Weisskopf said the purpose of the RC is to create the environment of a small liberal arts college, while at the same time provide access to the advantages of a big university.

"We're not supposed to duplicate what's done in LSA, because most of our students take classes in LSA," Weisskopf said.

Weisskopf said the demographics of the RC's student body mirror those of LSA, except that nearly 60 percent of the students and faculty in the RC are women.

Instead of grades, students in RC classes receive written evaluations at the end of the term.

While some students see the lack of grades as a way to slack off, Weisskopf said the purpose of the evaluations is to give a more personal account of the students' performance and to take away the unhealthy competition for grades.

"They can talk about how far a student has come, not just the end result," Weisskopf said.

Walker said the evaluations have given him a lot of positive feedback.

"When you actually have words and stuff to improve on, it's really beneficial," Walker said.

In order to be able to afford the smaller classes, RC instructors have lower salaries, on average.

"We have faculty who enjoy teaching and are willing to sacrifice somewhat to be part of the RC," Weisskopf said.

10-24-97