Humanities and Social Sciences Hosts Annual 'A Light on the Hill'
Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012
Members of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences participate in the 2012 'A Light on the Hill' event.
The College of Humanities and Sciences at Utah State University hosts its annual A Light on the Hill event celebrating the start of the school year at the amphitheater on Old Main Hill Aug. 27. The twilight reception is an opportunity for all members of the college — students, staff and faculty — to come together for a night of conversation and reflection about the year ahead.
“The event will provide students with a broader view of the college they are part of and provide new students an opportunity to meet others who share their passion for knowledge that is found within the liberal arts,” said Dean John C. Allen. “My hope is that students and faculty alike will join us to create and reinforce the community of scholars that we are building within the college.”
Prior to the ceremony, students will the opportunity to learn about some of the clubs in the college and the various organizations that may enhance their education and university experience. A brief candlelight ceremony will promptly follow with talks from Dean Allen, CHaSS Senator Trent Morrison, and special guest Grant Bulltail, a USU alumnus and elder of the Crow Tribe of Montana teaching folklore and Native American Studies classes this fall.
Meet the weirdos. The phrase appears on pins, posters and fliers for the A Light on the Hill event to encourage students in the college to be open to meeting new people and going outside their comfort zone. Dean Allen coined the phrase last March in his talk “Get Lost in Your Passions” during CHaSS Week after the school’s student senator asked him to give a convocation addressing how a liberal arts education can ignite one’s passions.
In the speech, he argued a background in the liberal arts teaches students to think critically, think creatively and think big — skills necessary for tackling today’s global problems. He provided nine bullet points of how students can more fully engage in their education: Meeting weirdos was one of them.
“As human beings we tend to aggregate towards people who have similar values and beliefs,” Dean Allen said. “It’s comfortable. College is the one place you don’t have do it. So don’t.”
By meeting people with different ideas, different backgrounds, we find different ways of approaching a problem and finding potential solutions,” he said. “Exploring these differences also adds texture to our lives. The college experience is about learning and appreciating the world’s many complexities, problems, cultures, histories and beauties. The college experience is part you, part everyone else.”
All members of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be served from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the grass above the amphitheater on Old Main Hill. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. For questions about the event contact Natalie Smoot, natalie.archibald@usu.edu.
Related link:
USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Contact: Natalie Smoot, (435) 797-2796, natalie.archibald@usu.edu
