Community Conversations

Date: 

Tuesday, September 1, 2015, 9:30am to 11:00am

Location: 

Freshman Yard

Program Overview

For many years, the Freshman Dean’s Office has assigned readings to incoming first-year students and organized conversations with faculty and administrators during Opening Days to address important questions raised in the texts. 

The goals of Community Conversations are to:

  1. Consider what’s important to you about your identity and your community as you transition from home to Harvard;
  2. Examine your assumptions and learn about your peers’ diverse identities and perspectives;
  3. Begin to develop a sense of shared responsibility for upholding a compassionate and respectful community; and,
  4. Engage in conversations that may be challenging or unfamiliar.

How the Program Works:

Students do the following to prepare for Community Conversations:

  • Read the assigned book, My Beloved World by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, making personal meaning of the memoir.
  • Attend the conversation on Tuesday, September 1, 9:30-11:00am, to share personal views, recalling the relevance of the readings to joining an exceptionally diverse class at Harvard.