Common book program gets mixed reviews

Two years since its inception, the UW Common Book project is receiving mixed reviews.

This year's common book is titled Field Notes From a Catastrophe, by Elizabeth Kolbert.

Similar to last year, each freshman was given a copy during their orientation sessions to read before the start of term. The idea behind the book is to unite students and inform them about a prominent issue relevant to their lives.

According to the UW Common Book Web site, the project is "for new undergraduates to make discovery, innovation, scholarship and community enga-gement an integral part of their UW experience."

"We want this to be a catalyst for more impor-tant issues," said Ed Taylor, dean and vice provost of Undergraduate Academic Affairs (UAA). "It's a way to connect the community year by year."

UAA initiated the program and selects the committee that chooses the book each year.

Many Freshman Interest Groups, or FIGs, use the common book as a teaching tool.

Jessica Lanz, senior FIG leader, said most students in her group liked this year's book.

"It's been mostly positive," she said. "People generally thought they had to read it. Most at least flipped through it."

The student reaction was less enthusiastic, but not entirely negative.

Although freshman Cory Foglesong initially described the book with the words 'apathy and boredom,' there were aspects he found interesting.

"There was a chapter that I really liked: the history of other civilizations that were also affected by climate change," he said.

Freshman Caitlin Lopez didn't find the book to be helpful.

"I think everyone thought it was a waste of time to read," she said.

Others think the project could be approached differently.

"I think the idea is good, but could be better if it was done in a different way," said Daniel Frentz, who read last year's common book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

"Pretty much everyone in my FIG didn't read it. It wasn't really that interesting," he said.

In addition to working with the book in FIG classes, there was also a question-and-answer session about climate change and it's impact on the next generation, moderated by Kolbert, county executive Ron Sims, and UW atmospheric sciences professor David Battisti.

Many FIG classes attended the event as an academic excursion, part of the FIG class work.

Lanz said she felt the book had a solid basis.

"I think it has been effective [HTML_REMOVED] still working out a few kinks [HTML_REMOVED] but it's a good idea," she said.

The book got flak from students for concentrating solely on climate change, something many already feel informed about.

"It is a bit hard coming off of the media exposure," Lanz said.

However, Taylor said choosing such a popular topic was intentional.

"We want to connect around important issues of our time," Taylor said. "[The book is] quite intentionally about something everyone knows about."

The common book program is only in its second year and, by all respects, still in its infancy. Some think change is in order to get more students to read the book and follow through on discussion.

"Fiction would have been better," Frentz said. "You still can write for a cause, but a story grabs an audience much better."

The program is still developing and attempting to meet the needs of everyone involved, Taylor said.

"There are multiple audiences for the common book," he said. "It's a challenge to assess effectiveness. This isn't a one-time thing."

[Reach reporter Lyle DeBell at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]