Information for First-Year Students

Welcome to MSU!

If you haven't already finished The Color of Water , it's not too late!

As you read, consider the questions raised by the memoir. It was chosen in part because its themes deal with many issues that first-year students grapple with as they go away to college. The entire book focuses on the themes of family, education and self-identity. Think about these questions as you read the memoir.

• Consider Ruth McBride's reluctance to talk about her past and how that influenced her children's sense of themselves and their place in the world. How has your knowledge-or lack thereof- about your family background shaped your own self-image?
  
• The McBride children's struggle with their identities led each to his or her own "revolution." What mechanisms or roles do people use to 'define' themselves? How do you think college students 'define' themselves?
  
• How did Ruth McBride resolve her feelings regarding her own racial and ethnic identity? What lessons can you draw from her experiences and outlook? How did James McBride resolve his feelings regarding his racial and ethnic identity? What lessons can you draw from his experience?
  
• Ruth McBride relied on her faith to help her navigate the difficulties of her life and to provide hope and direction. Do you think that faith is something that can be passed on from one generation to the next or do you think that if faith is instilled too strongly in children it may eventually cause them to turn away from it?
  
• The author writes of being ashamed of his mother as an adolescent. Are all teens ashamed of their parent(s) at times? He grows in admiration for his mother as he matures. What did he learn that made a difference? What can we learn about becoming more tolerant of others?
  
• Ruth raised her children in black communities but sent them to predominately white schools. How does this relate to the times in which the McBride family grew up? What accounts today for differences in educational opportunity? What impact do you think this had on James's self-identity?
  
• Ruth's stern upbringing shaped the way she disciplined her children. As you reflect on your own family, what do you understand about how you were raised? Should Ruth have shared more of her background with her children? Would it have affected their respect for her and her rules?
  
• What do you believe is our society's attitude toward biracial/multiracial people? Has that changed over generations?

THE ASSIGNMENT

All first-year students before entering MSU in the fall of 2004 are expected to read The Color of Water BEFORE their arrival on campus.

Why have a required reading before the beginning of school? Welcome to college life! At MSU, students are expected to accomplish learning in their own time, independently, outside of the classroom. Students will regularly be asked to navigate texts and to interpret and apply what they have read. This is an introduction to what will become routine. The reading of The Color of Water will prepare you to take part in a variety of activities across campus and within the community where you can meet and learn with other students and with members of the community. This "One Book, One Community" assignment gives each new student something in common with every other new student.

To submit your own thought question or to make comments about the book or the project contact Kate McGormley.