Today in class we discussed Pullman's little village, and whether or not his rules as well as the villages set up fostered community. My conclusion was that they both help and hurt the community, but as Marissa said, it's a give-and-take process. Some people like some of the rules that others hate. It goes back and forth, but all in all everyone works together to make the community last.
I thought of how this relates to St. Olaf. There's the honor code, which everyone works to uphold. There's the alcohol policy; some hate it, some love it. But the community works within it. There's the final exam policy (which, rumor has it, is getting changed) that every class has to have a final exam period. This can be a burden or a gift.
Either way, each of the rules within the St. Olaf community are liked or disliked by many different people. But these are things (opportunity costs) that students and faculty give up to be at a place like this. We make compromises to help foster community within the college, and in doing so, we create a welcoming and accepting atmosphere.
"opportunity costs": yes that is concept useful in our conversation yesterday.
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