News & Publications
Santa Fe Campus Begins Fall 2008 Term
Read President Peters’ Convocation Address
Santa Fe, NM – The incoming undergraduate class of 121 freshman, including students from the People’s Republic of China, Bulgaria, Nepal, and Vietnam, officially began the fall 2008 term at St. John’s College with Convocation on Thursday, August 28, at 11:15 a.m. on the Meem Library Placita.
During the ceremony each student was individually welcomed to the college by the president and the dean. President Michael Peters gave the address, and each of the new students – undergraduate freshmen and first-term graduate students – signed the St. John’s College register.
Mr. Peters’ speech focused on decisions – about how to approach one’s education, about civic duties, about character and virtue and power and politics – and used Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s life as an exemplar of many attributes valued at St. John’s College. “He certainly had his flaws, as do we all, but in his life Solzhenitsyn epitomized above all a love for ideas, a disdain for mere opinion, the search for truth, and a dedication to individual responsibility and selfless service rather than expediency or self-centeredness,” said Mr. Peters. “We at St. John’s share these same ideals.”
Whereas Solzhenitsyn was forced for many years to think in isolation, and lived under authorities who tried to control his thought and his movements, students at St. John’s can think and explore with others, said Peters. Their challenge is to take advantage of the opportunities this freedom brings, and to participate fully in this community that is openly and passionately committed to liberal education.
The Graduate Institute welcomed 49 new students, 13 in the Liberal Arts program and 36 in the Eastern Classics program. These students range in age from 22 to 70; two students hail from Canada and one is from South Korea.
Freshman Orientation events include campus tours, information sessions with administration officials for parents and students, welcome dinners and receptions, a waltz party, and an activities fair at the Student Activities Center. The St. John’s College Dean’s Lecture Series opens on Friday, August 29, at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall with Dean Victoria Mora’s lecture, “‘Con buen hambre no hay mal pan’: Why We Should Thank Cervantes for Allowing Us to Make the Acquaintance of the Famous Sancho Panza.”