The Freshman Connections Coordinating Council has selected a book for the 2005 Freshman Common Reader: "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell. No students, however, submitted comments in helping to choose the book, said Paul Ranieri, Ball State's Freshman Connections director.
Ranieri said he did not receive any e-mails from students after inviting them in late January to send him their reactions regarding the council's three final books. Developments to the BSU Discussion Board prevented students from posting their opinions online.
"The selection process takes place at a time when students are very busy and involved," Ranieri said. "Also, students realize it's for freshmen, so given all the busy things going on in their lives, students think that this deals with the next class, 'not with my class.'"
A small Freshman Connections Web site should be set up within the next month, with the site and discussion board being fully up and running before freshman orientation begins in June, Ranieri said. During the book selection process, the committee had to resort to using the ALLBSU message program for suggesting titles, which Ranieri said he did not initially realize was open only to Ball State faculty and staff.
"I would have preferred a better substitute, but it's what was available," Ranieri said.
Ball State faculty and staff who served on the book selection committee of 16, however, agreed that "The Tipping Point" would be the most interesting reader for next year's freshmen, he said.
Gladwell's book examines why and how major changes in society occur suddenly and unexpectedly, including fashion trends, smoking, direct mail and other social epidemics.
"That was a little bit of a tip in how incoming students are interested in exploring historical events, and how does change happen," Ranieri said.
He said professors also like how the book involves a variety of subject areas, such as biology in describing the flu epidemic, history in explaining social movements and business in describing how marketers turn products into fads.
Jennifer Warrner, the only graduate student on the book selection committee, said the book's ability to be applied in various academic disciplines makes it valuable to all incoming students.
"I believe that each freshman should be able to relate to at least one aspect of 'The Tipping Point,'" Warrner said. "The author provides multiple examples to illustrate his ideas, which makes the book easy to read and to understand."
Ball State's Freshman Connections Program was one of 13 institutional programs honored in a book released last week, entitled "Achieving and Sustaining Institutional Excellence for The First Year of College." The book highlights a project sponsored in 2002 by the Policy Center on the First Year of College, which praises Ball State and other institutions for placing a high priority on students' first-year experiences.
Ranieri said he hopes more students see the value of the Freshman Connections Program and become involved in next year's book selection process, which strongly values student input.
"It provides that kind of initial shared experience that people can talk about, agree over and make friends over," Ranieri said. "It's good to have those shared experiences as early as possible in the semester."
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