Ball State University incoming freshmen will be able to identify with the characters in next year's Freshman Connections book "The Color of Water" by James McBride, Melinda Messineo, chair of the book selection committee, said.
She said the book has two interesting characters that students will be able to relate to because they are also trying to figure out who they are.
"The book is about both of [the characters] resolving that to some degree, trying to make sense of all that and I think, [student experiences] won't be as dramatic as being impoverished in New York City in the forties or facing discrimination, but I think students are going to be able to connect," Messineo said.
Chosen out of approximately 130 books, the Freshman Reader was announced Wednesday after an almost four-month-long selection process. McBride, the author, is also a jazz musician and dynamic speaker who came highly recommended from other schools, Messineo said. It is important for students to meet the author because most have never had the opportunity, she said.
"The Color of Water," which is subtitled "A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother," is the narration of the author's experience growing up as the son of a black man and a white, Jewish woman. The book also focuses on his mother's challenges raising her children in a predominantly black neighborhood, Messineo said.
"The struggle is compelling," she said. "You're interested in seeing how it is resolved. You want to understand how someone in this situation can find the strength to succeed. We find ourselves in those situations, too."
Despite some negative times in the characters' lives, Messineo said the story is probably one of the most hopeful books Freshman Connections has used in some time.
Adrienne Bliss, book committee member and assistant professor of English, said her favorite scene in "The Color of Water" was about how embarrassed the author was by his mother's actions.
"I think all of us have that moment with either our mother or our father where we just go 'Oh God, I can't believe you're doing that' and, at the same time, we're thrilled," she said.
Bliss said "The Color of Water" was most appropriate for the Freshman Reader because its story has what being a freshman is all about: family, identity and independence.
Freshman Connections tries hard to make the freshman experience a little easier by including all students, Paul Ranieri, Freshman Connections director and associate professor of English, said.
"We're constantly trying to redefine and reorganize things to more carefully include as many of those 3,600 students as possible," he said.
Messineo said the program breaks the incoming freshman class up into smaller learning communities so it is easier for students to get a sense of themselves and their new home.
"We work very hard during orientation to make sure that students in the same residence halls are enrolling in the same classes and just the structural opportunity provides serendipitous academic opportunities [and] serendipitous social opportunities," she said.
Messineo said the Freshman Reader helps students to evaluate subject matter in their lives, like religion, race and a sense of self.
"We never know, the seeds that we are planting now, how they will bloom in their college years or ever later," she said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
