As I sat there, surrounded by strangers, I stared at my iPhone to avoid uncomfortable eye contact. Minutes later, I breathed a sigh of relief when the discussion leader called the group together. An hour later, I walked out of the room smiling and waving goodbye to the new people I had met. It only took one hour, short introductions, and a conversation to turn a room of strangers into a small community. This transformation occurred within the College’s new initiative, “The Amherst Big Question.”
The month is almost over, and it is time to ask a new question: why not? Why not take out one hour to participate in the ABQ? I understand the counter-arguments; I have too much work to do, I don’t want to meet a bunch of strangers, I don’t think the question is very interesting. At least, all these thoughts crossed my mind. However, I found one argument won out: the ABQ is community service.
At Amherst, we often think of “community service” as something distant from our own lives on campus. When we engage with the community, it is apart from Val and Keefe and our dorms. We think we must leave campus to serve the community. This thinking is false because we must serve our immediate community, and then move out into our greater community. If we characterize traditional community service by giving time and resources to others, then participating in ABQ fits the description.
Amherst College contains an environment of rich thinkers and passionate workers, spanning across faculty, staff, and students. When we sit down together, and consider these“big questions” we serve one another in several ways. First, we meet more members of our community. Second, we pause to respect other’s opinions, values, and input, and in that process we enhance our own knowledge and understanding. Third and finally, we take a break from our busy days, and have the privilege of engaging in something unique to our college atmosphere.
We are fortunate to be in an environment where not only can we hear the ideas of others (especially our peers), but we voice our ideas. For one hour, let’s put down our iPhones, look away from our books or our laptop, and look and listen. Through this act of community service, we make our campus and ourselves a little better.