Day of Reflection

Armando Montano

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 will be Adams State College’s annual Day of Reflection, a day dedicated to the students and staff to take a serious look at the current school system they are in and assess how improvements can make it better. While the day has been noted by many students and faculty for weeks now, the day itself and its purpose may have been overlooked by all. The day is a break from traditional studies to allow those who are attending ASC to reflect upon the issues and concerns of their environment and make an effort to voice their opinions to further their educational experience for the better. The day is meant to allow the school to receive feedback from its students in hopes to prepare them better for the future, as well as to prepare the school for future generations.

The Day of Reflection will be a day of discussions here at school for students to participate in, focusing on six major topics in three separate sessions throughout the day.  Beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Richardson Hall Auditorium, President Svaldi and keynote speaker best-selling author Victor Villasenor will address the ASC community to help set the pace for the day and establish the focus of the discussions. Three sessions of roundtable discussions will then follow, all in Student Union Building Room 309, starting at 10:30 a.m. Session I will be focusing on the current state of ASC- predominately on the teaching and learning and expectations on campus and how students relate to both. Session II will focus on diversity and outreach. Session II will focus on technology and budget. The roundtable discussions are to be facilitated by Barbara Catbagan, M.Ed., Director of Counseling for the Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Department at Naropa University and the coordinator of multicultural courses for the undergraduate program.

While many individuals may not be interested in the traditional discussion format to air their grievances and levy new ideas and suggestions, all students are encouraged to make a good effort in attending the discussions. It is important to hear the school’s goals for the future in making sure ASC is the right school for you. Both students and faculty are valued contributors to the school as a whole, and democratically require essential input from all parties to rightly assist in the community’s goals.

ASC’s Day of Reflection schedule of events is posted online at ASC news and via portal. Included is a list of dialogue questions to help students and faculty engage each other actively at the roundtable discussions to produce necessary results. Students are encouraged to read these questions beforehand for their own reflection even if they do not intend to attend. Regardless of their intentions on the day of reflection, ASC community members are reminded to make the best use of their day of reflection and to use their time to pursue interests intelligently and safely, and most importantly to enjoy their day to themselves.