Press Releases
August 27, 2008College Kicks Off New First-Year Experience Program
What: The kickoff of the Saint Mary’s College of California’s new first-year experience program, themed “Feast or Famine.” Students will explore the concepts of abundance and scarcity throughout the academic curriculum and through on-campus and regional activities. On Saturday, students will create their own community garden that will supply fresh produce to campus, participate in community service activities at Alameda Point Collaborative and visit the Slow Food Nation Marketplace in San Francisco.When: Saturday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Where: Saint Mary's College of California, 1928 St. Mary's Rd., Moraga; Alameda Point Collaborative, 677 W. Ranger Ave., Alameda; Slow Food Marketplace, Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco.
Who: Saint Mary’s College of California first-year students. This year’s class is composed of 670 freshmen and 130 transfer students.
Visuals: First-year Saint Mary’s College students breaking ground on the campus community garden, turn soil, put up fences and install the irrigation system in a lush on-campus setting. (10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 1-3:30 p.m.)
Students loading a bus in Moraga and traveling to Alameda Point Collaborative, a community of 500 formerly homeless individuals, including 250 children. Students performing various activities in service of that community, in particular assisting with the Collaborative’s community garden. (9 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Students loading a bus and traveling to the Slow Food Nation Marketplace then to partaking in the day’s Slow Food Nation activities. (9 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Background: The inaugural year of a themed first-year experience, the “Feast or Famine” theme aims to challenge students to think in new ways. As part of the College’s Lasallian heritage, the community will explore the lives of the poor and the issues of social justice that relate to food. One component of the theme-based learning is reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which students received in Orientation. They will participate in a series of events connected to the book and the theme, including an assignment in their English Composition class. The author will speak to the first-year class and broader community in October.
