Shared Read book chosen for first-year students

For the 2015-16 academic year, students and the Rider community will again participate in the Shared Read program, this time by reading and discussing Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson's memoir focused on injustices in the court system as they relate to children and people of color.

"It is a thought-provoking memoir that takes a critical look at issues of race and justice in our country," Associate Dean of Student Affairs Ira Mayo says. "Given recent current events, this is a particularly timely topic for discussion, and this book should initiate lively discussion on campus."

As part of their summer orientation, all first-year students will receive a free copy of the book, which will be used by faculty in the Rider Classroom Experience, a component of orientation that introduces incoming first-year students to the expectations of college faculty. Additional copies of the book will be made available to the community on a first-come basis.

This is the second year that Rider has offered a Shared Read program, an initiative started by Academic Affairs and Student Affairs that aims to introduce students to Rider University’s learner-centered mission.

The book focuses on one lawyer's quest to free inmates on death row who have been falsely convicted, many of whom are African Americans and whose court cases were mishandled. He also tells the stories of young children who were prosecuted as adults and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As a person of color, Stevenson, who grew up in Delaware and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, offers some of his personal interactions with law enforcement. The main focus, however, is on the individuals who have spent years on death row for crimes they didn't commit and how Stevenson and his team fight to set them free.

A committee of faculty, staff and students helped select this book. First, nominations were solicited, and from that initial list, eight options were chosen. The other books under consideration were The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Children Act, The Boy Who Said No, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, The Short and Tragic life of Robert Peace, Earth: The Operators Manual and Half the Sky. The committee carefully read and considered the issues in each book, as well as how they could be applied to courses across the curriculum and additional programs.

"We assessed the books in light of the goals of our Shared Read: to create community through a collective reading experience, to reinforce the connections among reading, reflection and intellectual growth, to create opportunities that safely expose different points of view, and to go beyond the book with formal and informal programs," says Dr. Anne Law, special assistant to the provost.

Dr. DonnaJean Fredeen, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, who instituted this new academic endeavor last summer, sees it as an opportunity for the Rider community to engage in positive discourse on complicated issues.

"The selection of Just Mercy reflects the consensus of the readers that this book is both timely and addresses complex social issues," she says. "We look forward to the involvement of many faculty and staff in programs and activities that will engage students in discussion about the significance of this book as well as ways to create positive change in our society."

To date, these activities include a possible campus visit by the author, conversations with death row exonerees, several book discussion groups (including one with members of the Alumni Foundation and one with the Provost) and other community outreach events based on the many social issues raised in the book.

Director of Student Health Services Lynn J. Eiding found the book to be challenging in its unflinching look at bias in the legal system. "One clear message from this story is that all people — regardless of their past, their race, or their status in life— deserve to be listened to and offered respect and opportunity for honest judgment in life and in situations which involve the law."

During the first year of the Shared Read, the community focused on The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The author visited campus in the fall to give a reading and discuss the creation of her memoir. Other activities throughout the year focused on some of the issues explored in the book, such as poverty and homelessness.

For more information or to share your ideas about the Shared Read program, please contact Anne Law at [email protected] or ext. 5436.