Toward Building Community in the First Year
First year students at SOAR participate in a community values exercise that empowers them to define the intrinsic characteristics of their community. Known as a Community Covenant, students not only choose the priorities of personal interaction, but literally affix their signature to the resulting document at Fall Convocation. This signature is not only symbolic, but also acts as their pledge to community.
CONSTRUCTING A COMMUNITY COVENANT
When any assembly of individuals who share a common purpose converge, there emerges an obligation to safeguard the rights of each person. As a result of having a group of individuals united by purpose and proximity of interaction, the process of building a community is a challenging yet enriching experience where personal interests and goals can be identified, furthered, and strengthened. Community is not an end, but rather a means to self-fulfillment; it is a journey, not a destination.
A delicate balance exists between personal freedom and the responsibility of interaction that is characterized by and sensitive to the needs of other members of the group. At the core, community is a process shaped by mutual understanding and respect. Community begins with communication that allows each person to both speak and listen, openly and honestly, while seeking to accept and value differences in culture, talent, and experience.
PREAMBLE
In order to sustain a commitment to quality of life, first year students are called upon to act, individually and collectively, so that certain behaviors are identified as essential for the formation of community. Through the articulation of priorities for personal interaction and affixing a signature at Fall Convocation, a Covenant is forged that articulates guiding principles for fulfilling this obligation. The Covenant is carefully scripted to include both individual and commonly shared values. It is the Covenant to which first year students subscribe and agree to be held accountable. Notwithstanding the College Catalogue, Student Handbook, Student Conduct Code as the expressed resources for defining the parameters of conduct, both social and academic, the guiding principles embodied in the Covenant establish the framework for how first year students strive to build their community. While collectively and sequentially subscribed, the Covenant sets to bind all students over time. While the actual details of the Covenant shift from year to year, its core principles are cast in the shadows of all those who constitute the Western New England College Community.
CORE PRINCIPLES
Respect Integrity Tolerance Responsibility
Self Reliance Caring Self Discipline
The document known as a Community Covenant is published each fall.
