A Course Is A Course, Of Course Of Course

“If we’re not your animals, if these are adult things, accept the risk. There is risk, Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.”

As my second semester at SUNY Geneseo both physically and remotely comes to a close, I have been asked to “tell the story of your semester’s consideration of the risks and rewards of academic partnership” in relation to the courses’ epigraph above. My initial understanding of the quote above was that there is risk in trusting someone enough to strike a partnership. This concept served as the through line in INTD 105’s entire course. 

In my own opinion the beginning weeks of the course were meant to establish a basis for dialogue and discussion. This included learning each other’s names, and learning how to have insightful and respectful discussion. This foundation, although in some ways tedious, was entirely necessary if we were to engage in an effective dialogue. Once many of the semantics were out of the way, my peers and I began reading Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bloodchild I would direct you to my essay So It Goes, Where Its Going No One Knows (linked below).This story served as a sort of fable that taught an important lesson about the risks of engaging in partnership, as well as provide the course epigraph above. This story would be the through line and foundation to the rest of the course.

 Following these initial weeks we began discussing the various mission statements many Colleges and Universities state on their respective websites. When analyzing these sites we began cultivating the background needed to begin the next step in understanding academic partnership. This next step was learning what Geneseo provides in an academic partnership, and what it seeks to accomplish with its students. According to the Geneseo Learning Outcomes for Baccalaureate Education (GLOBE) “The entire college community works together to develop socially responsible citizens with skills and values important to the pursuit of an enriched life and success in the world”. Initially I didn’t think anything of this, but now I realize that this hints at the lesson I would eventually take away from this course.

After reading through public statements from Geneseo and various other schools, our class shifted its attention examining the facility staff’s role in making sure Geneseo is able to provide students the education promised in the GLOBE we had examined. It was here that I gained a very real insight into the hard work that everyone at Geneseo does just to keep the school running. This allowed me to open my mind to something other than the usual faces I see, teachers and students, and begin to appreciate the people who often are overlooked yet play such an integral role in my education.  Geneseo Locksmith Rick Canarvis said it best when he stated, “I also like the satisfaction that when I come to work, I have a part in the safety and security of the students that work here”. Canarvis is a perfect example of what Geneseo offers in its education: dedication, commitment, and care.

After our class had the opportunity to see what Geneseo offers to further its students’ education in terms of basic necessities, we then were able to have conversations with staff such as Chief Diversity Officer robbie routenberg. From what robbie described in their discussion with us, it seemed that a good part of their time is spent mediating conflicts that risk the well being of a student. Consent plays a huge role in this according to robbie. In their eyes if someone is forced into resolution, it will be ineffective. Both parties must consent to resolve the situation. To learn that consent is of robbie’s utmost importance was actually quite refreshing. I came from a background where if there was a conflict, my school would force you to resolve it, which only led to more bad blood. 

Our class then had a discussion Dr. Joe Cope, Interim Associate Provost for Student Success; Professor of History. Joe noted that the syllabus allows a student to decide whether or not they wish to stay in the class. Joe called a syllabus a form of contract, which tied directly into our class’ discussion of social contracts. Joe argued that in order to have a student’s consent in a classroom environment a teacher must simply provide them with a clear and detailed syllabus. Through noting the existence of the “Add-drop” period Joe showed that no student is bound to a particular course.

A few days later our class talked with Dr. Sasha Eloi-Evans, Director of Multicultural Programs and Services at Geneseo. While talking with Sasha, she discussed where a social contract ends. The social contract in Sasha’s opinion bends only to the life of another. If someone needs food but can afford it, Sasha will put the contract aside and make sure that person is given aid in some form or another. Again, Sasha’s response shows Geneso isn’t simply an institution but a community of people, and although there are contractual restraints, they will do what they can to service the student’s needs.

After all of this enlightening information on the true nature of Geneseo’s staff my view of the course epigraph began to change. My understanding shifted from simply recognizing it as a warning of the risks of academic partnership, to realising the rewards of it. I am not sure if this was Geneseo’s intention in establishing this course, but Geneseo proved to me that although there are great risks in becoming a partner in social contract, there are also many rewards. These rewards are well maintained facilities, understanding mediators, advisors, and engaging teachers. These rewards come from the work of people like Rick Canarvis, robbie routenberg, Joe Cope, Sasha Eloi-Evans, and my professor Beth McCoy. By examining many of the services that Geneseo provides, I was able to see that Geneseo does its best to live up to its mission from the GLOBE. “The entire college community works together to develop socially responsible citizens with skills and values important to the pursuit of an enriched life and success in the world”. Through the tireless work of Geneseo staff, Geneseo is able to live up to the goal it sets forth in GLOBE.

In the “so what?” of my first essay in INTD 105 I stated: “I must decide for myself whether or not an academic partnership is worth the risk it may cause… for myself, the answer to this question can only be obtained through experience and time, but hopefully this course can help me come closer to the answer to this question. Is the risk worth the reward?” This course allowed me a small insight into the many things Geneseo does to make the risk of academic partnership worth the reward. After learning about so much that the school does to not simply be an institution but a community, I have determined that for myself the risk is worth the reward. I can recognize Geneseo as a community, an ecosystem working in harmony. Initially I did not understand why this course was necessary. Now, however, I can see that this course gave me a greater understanding of the nature of my own academic partnership.

A Steep Price To Pay?

According to the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AACU) integrative learning is “an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus”. In simpler terms, it is making connections between different curriculums. One can look at it as a through line between different academic fields. This type of learning accomplishes many things. At first glance it simply connects different academic fields, but if one looks deeper it can reveal through lines between seemingly unrelated topics. For example: the through line between Octavia Butler’s story Bloodchild and SUNY Geneseo’s facility staff. Although the story of Bloodchild and facility staff are literally worlds away there are important connections that Integrative learning reveals. There is a through between the lessons of academic partnership learned from Bloodchild and the Tlic, and how it can be applied to real world partnerships, such as the facility staff. This through line is in the vital services both the Tlic, and the facility staff provide, and the price their services cost.

Geneseo’s Facilities Services webpage features a video that illustrates the services that Geneseo custodians, locksmiths, and others provide and illuminates their experiences at Geneseo. It is here that locksmith Rick Canarvis says, “I also like the satisfaction that when I come to work, I have a part in the safety and security of the students that work here”. Here one can see the community mindset, and care that the facility service community has for Geneseo. Canarvis continues: “Even when I was a custodian, I knew that just my little part that I was doing helped”. The care and dedication which the facility services provide is vital to the success of the student body. If doors were left with faulty locks, rooms were not clean, grounds left unkempt, the success of Geneseo students would be at great risk. Students would be forced into an academic community that cannot foster academic success purely because the facilities are falling apart. The care that the facility staff conducts while performing their job is a perfect example of how if one gear is busted the whole machine will not work. That is to say that Geneseo could not function if the facility staff was conducting their services without the care and attention to detail that they possess now. Canarvis himself recognizes the importance that his role plays in the success of  the entire school community when he says, “I have a part in the safety and security of the students that work here”. That “part” that Canarvis plays exemplifies the community mindset that is required when performing the not-so-glamorous jobs that custodial, construction, and other jobs entail. Although some of these jobs may not be glamorous, they are a vital lifeline to the success of the students at Geneseo.

Geneseo’s Heating Plant is also a vital part of the success of Geneseo’s students. According to Geneseo’s website, the Geneseo Heating Plant is responsible for “for the management and operation of the Central Heating Plant, Campus Satellite Boiler System, campus-wide energy consumption and conservation, and the operation and maintenance of utility distribution systems throughout the College Campus”. In simpler terms the Geneseo Heating Plant provides all of the energy (heated water, electricity, etc) that a student may require while living on campus. This lengthy list of critical responsibilities requires competent and dedicated staff. This is something that Geneseo’s site itself acknowledges. According to Geneseo the Heating Pant staff is composed of highly trained engineers who are on site “twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week”. This kind of dedication is crucial in the pursuit and maintenance of the type of academic partnership that Geneseo attempts to offer. If academic scholarly work was attempted to be conducted in an unheated, unlit room, then the scholarly pursuit would be compromised. Some of this is speculation, but if students were told that they would not have working electricity, many of them would find themselves lacking in the motivation required for academic success. One can see this is the response to the news that Geneseo’s library was closing. Heated and powered facilities are a necessity to make a successful academic partnership, because without such things the balance of commitment would be skewed. Students would be expected to commit themselves to a school many times living there, put in hours of scholarly work and then never being provided warm water, power, and heated buildings. Without the heating plant and those who dedicate their lives working as a part of it, a successful academic partnership would be nearly unobtainable.

 The services that the Geneseo facilities provide are related to Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild. In Butler’s story, the Terrans (humans) have long ago moved to a planet inhabited by a native species called Tlics. There is a partnership that unfolds between the Humans and the Tlic; in exchange for working power, land, and protection the Tlic asks that Humans become hosts for their children. The Tlic can no longer have children themselves so they must use other creatures to harbor their child as it develops. In exchange for this service the humans are allowed to remain on the Tlic planet and live their lives. One Tlic named T’Gatoi strikes up one of these deals with the narrator, Gan. “ Only she and her political faction stood between us and the hordes who did not understand why there was a Preserve – why any Terran could not be courted, paid, drafted, in some way made available to them”. It is clear that T’Gatoi offers a great service but at a price, Gan’s body. This partnership, though unconventional, has a parallel to the facility staff here at Geneseo. The men and women who work in the heating plant, and the other general facility duties, provide a great service to the student body at Geneseo. Without these workers Geneseo, and its student body would not be able to function. In a similar fashion, without the work and protection of T’Gatoi, the Terrans and Gan wouldn’t be allowed to live their independent lives. However, there is a cost to these services, for Gan he must become a host for a child, for the students of Geneseo it is the price of tuition. One might ask: is this steep price to pay?

By asking this question one risks going down a much more complex discussion on whether collegiate education in the U.S is worth the bill one must pay. However, if one looks at this education within the context of Bloodchild it is a small price to pay. Gan had to pay for his family’s safety by giving his body to T’Gatoi, that is a much worse price than paying in cash. We have the privilege to have an excellent education for a reasonable price here at Geneseo. Although this education is still expensive to the average person, the fees are necessary in order to pay people like Rick Canarvis, and the other facility staff to perform excellent, and dedicated work. It is clear that the lesson learned from Bloodchild is a lesson that can act as a through line to public education. Every service comes at a price.

So It Goes, Where Its Going No One Knows

“Bloodchild” Essay Re-Write

Under SUNY Geneseo’s page on privacy information, there is a specific section relating to CIT and their access to the personal information of students. It is here that Geneseo states that any information the school retains (such as name, email, phone number, and academic standing) can only be accessed by school officials and only for the purposes of administering “our relationship with you”. Although this information is fairly routine on a college campus, it also states that while on Geneseo’s wifi connection the school can monitor a student’s interests by tracking where and for how much time they spend on the Geneseo campus website. “SUNY Geneseo may also use Google AdWords to advertise across the Internet. AdWords remarketing will display relevant ads based on what parts of the Geneseo website you have viewed, by placing a cookie on your machine”. Geneseo’s CIT not only has personal information of every student, but is also tracking the habits of their students in order to further market ads to the students. When I first decided to go to Geneseo, I did not realize that they would be farming my data in order to advertise products which they would profit from. Although I was somewhat outraged at this information, I cannot say that the school is entirely in the wrong. They took the time to make this information publicly available and accessible to all. In some sense shouldn’t I have read this before engaging in an academic partnership? Many questions are raised by this privacy policy Geneseo has stated. One of these being: When engaged in academic partnership, what must a student do to make sure they have balanced the risks and rewards of academic partnership? The answer to this question can be found in the story of Bloodchild. Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild demonstrates that the dissemination of information is the key to a fair academic partnership.

According to Butler, Bloodchild is “a coming-of-age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life”. The story itself follows a young human- whose race is referred to in the text as “Terrans”- named Gan as he and his family live on an alien planet in a reservation. A native of the planet, and a guardian of Gan and his family named T’Gatoi is a respected and important political figure on the planet which they reside. T’Gatoi offers Gan and his family protection and residency, in exchange for one thing. She only requires that Gan be the host for her eggs, so she can maintain the population of her species (known as the Tlic). This is actually something somewhat commonplace on the planet, Tlics engage in agreements with Terrans that entail that a man becomes “pregnant” (or more accurately a host) for the Tlic’s young. 

Gan is initially content to be a part of this social contract, to which he was born into. Although his sister wanted to be selected for the “honor” of being the host of a Tlic child, it was Gan who was selected. Gan notes that whenever he is asked whether or not he is scared of T’Gatoi and the idea of being a host by Terrans he responds in the same way: “I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”(Butler 8). Gan explains that he is not afraid of T’Gatoi and the nature of his social contract because he was indoctrinated at such an early age. Further, Gan notes that if his brother had been immersed in the life of a Terran host at a young age as well, he would be more comfortable with the nature of the agreement. “Even my brother who had somehow grown up to fear and distrust the Tlic could probably have gone smoothly into one of their families if he had been adopted early enough.” (9). 

This content feeling quickly changes when Gan witnesses the “birth” of a Tlic from a host named Bram Lomas. It is on this occasion that Gan sees the full scope of what his social contract entails. “I felt as though I were helping her torture him, helping her consume him. I knew I would vomit soon, I didn’t know why I hadn’t already.”(15 ). When faced with the scope and severity of what he would go through, Gan is forced to reconsider the contract he was so blindly indoctrinated into. The new found information that labor entails adds an unseen clause to Gan’s future. Gan must make careful consideration of his options: go through this terrible ordeal to make sure his family is guaranteed safety by T’Gatoi from the other Tlic, or run from the pain of the ordeal but risk the safety and security of his family. The lack of initial transparency leads Gan to a hard crossroads. Although Gan inevitably chooses to become T’Gatoi’s host, there is an important lesson which can be learned from either choice he should make. 

The lesson in the story of Bloodchild is that when engaged in social contract it is essential to make sure you know every facet of what you are agreeing to. If the contract is agreed upon prior to an understanding of the contract itself, the person agreeing is put at severe risk of being taken advantage of. For example, if Gan had known the realities of the gruesome nature of his future when he was younger, perhaps he would have taken different measures in his life and had his position replaced. Of course this is purely speculation, but Gan himself notes the significance of timing when it comes to the release of information when he explains why he wasn’t afraid of T’Gatoi. Through the experiences Gan faces in the story, it can be seen that the dissemination of information is essential when engaging in a contract. This idea answers the question raised by Geneseo’s data farming. As a reminder the question was: When engaged in academic partnership, or even simply considering academic partnership, what must a student do to make sure they have balanced the risks and rewards of academic partnership? The answer to this question is the lesson derived from Gan’s experience in Bloodchild. In the case of Geneseo, although I take issue with their use of data farming, the burden was and is on myself to make sure that I know exactly what I am getting into. In the case of Gan, he couldn’t know what he was getting into because he was sheltered from it. In my case however, Geneseo spells out their policies right on their website. It is my obligation to read the information I am provided, and use it to inform any decision I should make regarding my own academic career, and the social contract I have struck with Geneseo. In simpler terms, do my research, read before I sign.

And So It Goes, But Where Its Going No One Knows

“Bloodchild” Essay

While researching Geneseo’s Student Code of Conduct (SCC), a document that has ample regarding what a college student at Geneseo is expected to do and how they are asked to behave, I found a link to the school’s policies and procedures. Under the school’s Privacy information, there is a specific section relating to CIT and their access to the personal information of students. It is here that Geneseo states that any information the school retains (such as name, email, phone number, and academic standing) can only be accessed by school officials and only for the purposes of administering “our relationship with you”. This information is fairly routine and expected on a college campus, however, it also states that while on Geneseo’s wifi connection, the school can monitor a student’s interests, by tracking where and for how much time they spend on the Geneseo campus website. “SUNY Geneseo may also use Google AdWords to advertise across the Internet. AdWords remarketing will display relevant ads based on what parts of the Geneseo website you have viewed, by placing a cookie on your machine”. Geneseo’s CIT not only has personal information of every student (which is to be expected in an institution that is being held accountable for the well being of thousands of people), but is also tracking the habits of their students while on their website in order to further market ads to the students. When I first decided to go to Geneseo, I did not realize that they would be farming my data, in order to advertise products which they would profit from. My gut reaction to this fact was one of disgruntled annoyance, and a sense of betrayal. Many questions are raised by this privacy policy Geneseo has stated. One of these being: When engaged in academic partnership, or even simply considering academic partnership, what must a student do to make sure they have balanced the risks and rewards of academic partnership? 

In the quest of answering a question such as this, and in the quest furthering my own thinkING, I turned to a text my INTD 105 class read earlier in the semester. This text is Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild, which Butler describes as “a coming-of-age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life”. The story itself follows a young human- whose race is referred to in the text as “Terrans”- named Gan as he and his family live on a planet alien to Terrans in a reservation. One of the natives of the planet, and in many ways a guardian of Gan and his family is named T’Gatoi. T’Gatoi is a respected, and important political figure on the planet which they reside, and offers Gan and his family protection and residency, in exchange for one thing. T’Gatoi only requires that Gan be the host for her eggs, so she can maintain the population of her species, known as the Tlic. This is actually something somewhat commonplace on the planet, Tlics engage in agreements with Terrans that entail that a man becomes “pregnant” (or more accurately a host) for the Tlic’s young. 

At the beginning of the story, Gan is actually content to be a part of this social contract, to which he was born into. Although his sister wanted to be selected for the “honor” of being the host of a Tlic child, it was Gan who was selected. Gan notes that whenever he is asked whether or not he is scared of T’Gatoi and the idea of being a host by Terrans he responds in the same way: “I’m told I was first caged within T’Gatoi’s many limbs only three minutes after my birth. A few days later, I was given my first taste of egg.”(Butler 8). Gan explains that he is not afraid of T’Gatoi and the nature of his social contract because he was indoctrinated at such an early age. Further, Gan notes that if his brother had been immersed in the life of a Terran host at a young age as well, he would be more comfortable with the nature of the social agreement. “Even my brother who had somehow grown up to fear and distrust the Tlic could probably have gone smoothly into one of their families if he had been adopted early enough.” (9). 

This content opinion quickly changes when Gan witnesses the “birth” of a Tlic from a host named Bram Lomas. It is on this occasion that Gan sees the full scope of what his social contract entails. “I felt as though I were helping her torture him, helping her consume him. I knew I would vomit soon, I didn’t know why I hadn’t already.”(15 ). When faced with the scope and severity of what he would go through, Gan is forced to reconsider the contract he was so blindly indoctrinated in. The new found information that Bram’s labor entails adds an unseen clause to Gan’s future. Gan must make careful consideration of his options: go through this terrible ordeal to make sure his family is guaranteed safety by T’Gatoi from the other Tlic, or run from the pain of the ordeal but risk the safety and security of his family. Although Gan inevitably chooses to become T’Gatoi’s host, there is an important lesson which can be learned from either choice he should make. 

The lesson in the story of Bloodchild is that when engaged in social contract it is essential to make sure you know every facet of what you are agreeing to. If the contract is agreed upon prior to an understanding of the contract itself, the person agreeing is put at severe risk of being taken advantage of. For example, if Gan had known the realities of the gruesome nature of his born future when he was younger, perhaps he would have taken different measures in his life and had his position replaced. Of course this is purely speculation, but Gan himself notes the significance of timing when it comes to the release of information when he explains why he wasn’t afraid of T’Gatoi, and his own social contract. Consider this as the “So what?” of this essay. Through the experiences Gan faces in the story, it can be seen that the dissemination of information is essential when engaging in a contract. This idea answers the question raised by Geneseo’s data farming. As a reminder the question was: When engaged in academic partnership, or even simply considering academic partnership, what must a student do to make sure they have balanced the risks and rewards of academic partnership? The answer to this question is the lesson derived from Gan’s experience in Bloodchild. In the case of Geneseo, although I take issue with their use of data farming, the burden was and is on myself to make sure that I know exactly what I am getting into. In the case of Gan, he couldn’t know what he was getting into because he was sheltered from it. In my case however, Geneseo spells out their policies right on their website. It is my obligation to read the information I am provided, and use it to inform any decision I should make regarding my own academic career, and the social contract I have struck with Geneseo. In simpler terms, do my research, read before I sign.

The Risks of Academic Partnership

Goal Setting Essay

“If we’re not your animals, if these are adult things, accept the risk. There is risk, Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.”

The quote above is the course epigraph for INTD 105, section 3. This quote is from Octavia Butler’s story, “Bloodchild”. Upon reading this quote I began thinkING about the current state in which many of my peers and mainly myself find ourselves as college students. “Bloodchild” alludes many times to themes that I find tie into my own experiences as a college student.

Butler notes in the afterword of “Bloodchild” one of the themes that the story exemplifies. “It’s a coming-of-age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life” (Butler). “Bloodchild” tracks a story of a young man’s struggle in deciding his future, not dissimilar to the decisions I face as a college student. This decision the bay must make is not described in this quote, but what is important to note is the fact that this unknown decision will “affect the rest of his life”. I personally find myself generally content with the academic partnership I have with Geneseo. However, I can, to the best of my ability, describe my brother’s college experience, which was one of discomfort.

My brother was not the best student in high school. Although a social savant who could make everyone his friend or follower, he did not take to studying or doing school work. He saw more value in making personal connections and making allies with those around him. This is not to say my brother is unintelligent by any means, no, my brother is vastly smarter than me in the social arena. My brother had a formidable mastery of social dynamics, and social chemistry.

Despite his social genius, he did not know what he wanted to do for a living. My brother decided to take a risk and spend money to go to college, not sure footed in what he wanted to study. A year or so later, my brother was failing classes, flexing his social-muscles at parties, and on his way to leaving without a degree. My brother dropped out and started working in the restaurant industry, where he climbed his way to the top of a series of fine dining restaurants in the city of Rochester. My brother is debt free, managing two successful restaurants, and making much more than many of his college educated peers. My brother knew people, so an education in statistics, or any number of other courses, were not valuable to his skill set. My brother took the risk of going to college and starting an academic partnership, but it was not worth it for him.

Some time after seeing my brother’s tumultuous path, it was my time to make a decision about my future. I knew that if I wanted to go to college I needed to know what I wanted to get out of my education first. I spent some time thinking and determined that I would like to go into English teaching. My thought process was that I would have summers off to pursue music, I would have a job out of college based on connections I have, and by going to a great SUNY school like Geneseo, I wouldn’t incur a great deal of debt. These reasons combined with my love of language and literature led me to my decision, which so far seems to be a good one. I had the benefit of being able to see what my older siblings went through, and learn from their successes and mistakes. For many college students, they are the first people in their family to go to college, or at least the first of their siblings. Many students are encountering a world they may not be totally prepared for. 

The word “risk” is one I noted in the course epigraph. It prompted me to begin thinking about the risks I face as a college student myself. I find myself in the unique position of being tied to college contracts, and financial agreements the second I enter “adulthood”. Despite being fresh out of the nest, I am expected to take that risky leap of faith, trusting that college is best for me, without any evidence to look to. For the majority of my life I have never signed a contract that has such drastic consequences financially should something go poorly. 

On the syllabus for this course Professor McCoy provides the Mission Statement, and the Community Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Most importantly, however the values that Geneseo advertises are provided. 

“The Geneseo campus community is guided by our beliefs in and commitments to the following values:

  • ◦ Learning: embracing high expectations for intellectual inquiry, scholarly achievement, and personal growth;
  • ◦ Creativity: affirming a spirit of innovation that inspires intellectual curiosity and problem solving;
  • ◦ Inclusivity: fostering a diverse campus community marked by mutual respect for the unique talents and contributions of each individual;
  • ◦ Civic responsibility: promoting ethical local and global citizenship;
  • ◦ Sustainability — advancing just principles of ecological, social, and economic stewardship.”

These resources, although valuable for a student when searching for the goals of a university, fail to provide a broad picture of many of the things I am signing my name to. To commit to a binding oath such as a collegic agreement must be a commitment rooted in understanding. By reading these values there are many grey areas of interpretation. Some of these are as simple as: what is the school’s standards of what respect is? When Geneseo states: “Inclusivity: fostering a diverse campus community marked by mutual respect for the unique talents and contributions of each individual”, what does that mean? What does the school consider respect? If a student throws a bible or a koran in a toilet, is that student at risk of punishment or suspension? Many of these questions I have for the school are based on the fact that I wish to know exactly what the school means by their broad statements. It is one thing to say a school values such and such, it is another to actually do those things.

An example of one of the many risks of academic partnership that has come to pass in recent days, is the closing of Geneseo’s Milne Library. For those who do not know, Geneseo’s library was recently closed due to an asbestos problem. I personally have no problem with the library being closed to take care of a health and safety issue. It is another thing to do what Geneseo has decided, which is to close the school for my entire college career, to expand and cosmetically tweak the library. When I signed up to go to Geneseo, this contract was signed based on many contingencies. One of these contingencies, is that I as a student would be provided a facility to help me thrive academically. This facility was the library. However, this aspect of the partnership has been broken, as now I do not have a facility that was promised to me. Even if Geneseo has their reasons for closing the library, this is inarguably a break of trust between the administration and the student body. I must now go my college career without a library, something which is a basic resource for many colleges. 

Many of the ideas “Bloodchild” raises discussing coming of age and risk, in conjunction with my own personal experiences of academic partnership made me think of the allegory of the cave. For those of you who do not know, the allegory of the cave, is an allegorical theory by Plato that discusses the “effect of education and the lack of it on our nature”. In summary the allegory is as follows: prisoners are chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they can see, from where they are chained, is the wall of the cave in front of them. There is a fire behind the prisoners that casts shadows on the wall they are facing. Between the fire and the prisoners there is a walkway, along which people can walk behind the prisoners, casting shadows on the wall. The prisoners are unable to see these people, in reality, only seeing what the shadow depicts. Because the prisoners can only see the shadows, they only understand this to be their reality, when in fact it is just what they can see. Plato notes that if somehow, a prisoner can free themselves and walk out of the cave they can either become blinded by the light of true reality and return to the cave, or their eyes will adjust and they can accept the sunlight. The analogy here is that the cave is ignorance, lack of knowledge, and education is the process of freeing oneself from the chains of ignorance. The sunlight is knowledge of reality, which we can accept and live in the light of day, or reject and return to the cave.

Please excuse that long tirade of explanation, but it is a mistake to assume everyone’s knowledge of Plato’s allegory. You may be asking, “who cares?”. I will try to answer that for you to the best of my ability, giving it the “old college try”, as it is said. Right now I am at the edge of the cave. I must decide for myself whether or not an academic partnership is worth the risk it may cause, whether I should step out of the cave into the light that is academic partnership. For myself, the answer to this question can only be obtained through experience and time, but hopefully this course can help me come closer to the answer to this question. Is the risk worth the reward? I hopefully will find out soon enough. My goal in this course, is to determine if my future must rely on the academic partnership I have signed myself to with Geneseo.

Risk and Reward; Is Academic Partnership for Me?

Goal-Setting Essay

“If we’re not your animals, if these are adult things, accept the risk. There is risk, Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.”

The quote above is the course epigraph for INTD 105 section 3 from Octavia Butler’s story, “Bloodchild”. Upon reading this quote I began thinkING about the current state in which many of my peers and I find ourselves as college students. “Bloodchild” alludes many times to themes that I found tied to the experiences of my peers, and myself. 

Butler notes in the afterword of “Bloodchild” one of the themes that the story exemplifies. “It’s a coming-of-age story in which a boy must absorb disturbing information and use it to make a decision that will affect the rest of his life” (Butler). “Bloodchild” tracks a story of a young man’s struggle in deciding his future. This decision is not described in this quote but what is important to note is the fact that this unknown decision will “affect the rest of his life”. This decision, in that sense, is not that unlike the decision may of my peers have to face. I personally find myself content with the academic partnership I have with Geneseo. However, I can, to the best of my ability, describe my brother’s college experience.

My brother was not the best student in high school. Although a social savant who could make everyone his friend or follower, he did not take to studying or doing school work. He saw more value in making personal connections and making allies with those around him. This is not to say my brother is unintelligent by any means, no, my brother is vastly smarter than me in the social arena. My brother was a Machiavellian figure, in terms of his understanding of how people work. 

Despite his social genius, he did not know what he wanted to do for a living. My brother decided to take a risk and spend money to go to college, not sure footed in what he wanted to study. A year or so later, my brother was failing classes, flexing his social-muscles at parties, and on his way to leaving without a degree. Much of this was to the chagrin of my mother, who did not care if my brother went to college, but was concerned that he was wasting precious time and money floundering in something that just wasn’t for him. My brother dropped out and started working in the restaurant industry, where he climbed his way to the top of a series of fine dining restaurants in the city of Rochester. My brother is debt free, managing two successful restaurants, and making much more than many of his college educated peers. My brother knew people, so an education in statistics, or any number of other courses were not valuable to his skill set. My brother took the risk of going to college and starting an academic partnership but it was not worth it for him.

Some time after seeing my brother’s tumultuous path, it was my time to make a decision about my future. I knew that if I wanted to go to college I needed to know what I wanted to get out of my education first. I spent some time thinking and determined that I would like to go into English teaching. My thought process was that I would have summers off to pursue music, I would have a job out of college based on connections I have, and by going to a great SUNY school like Geneseo, I wouldn’t incur a great deal of debt. These reasons combined with my love of language and literature led me to my decision, which so far seems to be a good one. 

However, I had the benefit of being able to see what my older siblings went through, and learn from their successes and mistakes. For many college students, they are the first people in their family to go to college, or at least the first of their siblings. Many students are encountering a world they may not be totally prepared for. 

The word “risk” is one I noted in the course epigraph. It prompted me to begin thinking about the risks us college students find ourselves in. Many of us students find ourselves in the unique position of being tied into college contracts, and financial agreements the second we enter “adulthood”. Despite being fresh out of the nest, we are expected to take that risky leap of faith, trusting that college is best for us, without any evidence to look to. The majority of students have never had to sign life changing contracts, many of us were never taught how to defend ourselves from those who may take advantage of us financially.

Many of the ideas “Bloodchild” raises discussing coming of age, and risk, in conjunction with my own personal experiences of academic partnership made me think of the allegory of the cave. For those of you who do not know, the allegory of the cave, is an allegorical theory by Plato that discusses the “effect of education and the lack of it on our nature”. In summary the allegory is as follows: prisoners are chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they can see, from where they are chained, is the wall of the cave in front of them. There is a fire behind the prisoners that casts shadows on the wall they are facing. Between the fire and the prisoners there is a walkway, along which people can walk behind the prisoners, casting shadows on the wall. The prisoners are unable to see these people, in reality, only seeing what the shadow depicts. Because the prisoners can only see the shadows, they only understand this to be their reality, when in fact it is just what they can see. Plato notes that if somehow, a prisoner can free themselves and walk out of the cave they can either become blinded by the light of true reality and return to the cave, or their eyes will adjust and they can accept the sunlight. The analogy here is that the cave is ignorance, lack of knowledge, and education is the process of freeing oneself from the chains of ignorance. The sunlight is knowledge of reality, which we can accept and live in the light of day, or reject and return to the cave.

Please excuse that long tirade of explanation, but it is a mistake to assume everyone’s knowledge of Plato’s allegory. You may be asking, “who cares?”. I will try to answer that for you to the best of my ability, giving it the “old college try”, as it is said. Right now my fellow students and I are at the edge of the cave. We must decide for ourselves whether or not an academic partnership is worth the risk it may cause, whether we should step out of the cave into the light that is academic partnership. For myself and many of my peers the answer to this question can only be obtained through experience and time, but hopefully this course can help my peers and myself come closer to our answer.