This week, 113 freshmen applied for 25 spots in the Dickey Center for International Understanding’s Great Issues Scholars program. They will join more than 50 participants living in the Global Village, a new living-learning community that will introduce a residential component to the program.
Great Issues Scholars, founded in 2009, is a year-long program designed for first-years with an interest in global affairs. A donation allowed the program, which previously accepted 50 students, to double in size last year. More than 200 students applied for last year’s 100 spots.
Based on feedback from students and mentors participating in the program, coordinators decided to decrease the size of the program to around 75 freshmen, student programs manager Casey Aldrich said.
The large size of last year’s program meant that the group split into two sections. With fewer students, the program will not be divided, which Aldrich said will increase the sense of community among participants.
The Great Issues Scholars program will collaborate with the Global Village, a new living-learning community. Around two-thirds of this year’s Great Issue Scholars applied for the Global Village, which is housed in the McLaughlin cluster.
The community, which also contains language floors for upperclassmen, is home to around 160 students, Aldrich said.
Sharidan Russell ’18 learned about the program when filling out her housing application. She decided to apply because of her interest in the Middle East and her travels to Israel and the West Bank.
“Being a person who’s benefiting from this program and is excited about it, I think it’s fantastic,” Russell said. “It’s a great way to try to expand Dartmouth’s identity globally. By looking to students, it’s opening up so many doors for connections students may have, for new understandings, for new programs to grow out of this.”
Fellow Great Issues Scholar Peter Vo ’18 said that of the students he has met, some have had more exposure to different cultures, while others mentioned living in primarily “one-culture” neighborhoods. Whatever their backgrounds, he said, all seem to have applied to the program wanting a broader global perspective. Vo, originally from Vietnam, moved to Texas at a young age, but grew up in South Korea and has traveled extensively in East Asia.
In addition to scheduled events, funding is available for scholars to develop their own, allowing them flexibility, Vo said. One student had the idea to plan a tea, where students would learn about the cultural importance and variety of the beverage, Russell said.
Lindsay Salem ’18 said she is excited to share experiences with other participants and is interested in using the opportunity to raise money for a maternity home she has worked with in Nicaragua.
“If you only live within one mindset, your life isn’t going to be that fulfilling,” Salem said. “It’s really cool meeting people from not only different countries, but different places around the U.S. who want to get the same things out of their college experience as you do.”
The Great Issues Scholars program concentrates on one main theme each term, such as security, environment, health, gender and development. This fall, scholars will attend six to eight events focused on global health, including discussions with visiting speakers Sir Malcolm Grant, chairman of England’s National Health Service, and former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby.
“Even though we’re focusing on global health, we’ll try to get them to think about the impact that these issues have in other ways as well,” Aldrich said.
The winter will bring programming on the environment, and the spring, international security.
Eliza Hoffman ’17 participated in the program last year in order to stay connected to the world while at Dartmouth.
“It’s easy to lose track of what’s going on in the real world when you’re on campus, and this program was a really interesting way to fix that,” Hoffman said in an email.
Vo said he is planning to form an intramural football team with other students living in the Global Village, as many students from outside of the U.S. are used to soccer, not American football.
“Having a community like the Global Village is a great way to meet new people from different places, and consider how differently people think, how differently people act, and is also a great opportunity to share among them your own culture, your own customs which you love and see if you spark a common interest,” he said.
Great Issues Scholars must attend a number of events each term.
Although she regrets that the program will end after this year, students who meet the residence requirements are guaranteed Global Village housing for all four years, Salem said.
“As the world becomes more and more connected, it is our responsibility to keep up with current events and issues, and Great Issues Scholars was a fun way to do so,” Hoffman said.
Final decisions on Great Issue Scholars applications will be made by next week.
