Each year the University selects a book that will provide a shared intellectual experience for faculty, staff, and all first-year students. The First Year Book provides an opportunity for community dialogue on a topic from the perspective of different disciplines, from the sciences to the humanities. Guest speakers, films, and panel discussions provide additional opportunities outside of class to generate discussion around a common theme. Our community is stronger when we are free to challenge each other and listen respectfully. The University does not shy away from challenging or controversial issues; on the contrary, free and spirited speech is at the very heart of an academic community.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is the story behind the HeLa cell line, an immortal line of cells that is responsible for some of the most important innovations in modern science, from the vaccine for polio to discoveries in cancer and AIDS. The HeLa cells were taken from an African American mother of five in Baltimore without her consent. She later died from a very aggressive cancer. Despite the importance of Ms. Lacks’ cells, her family continued to live in poverty and ill health, knowing nothing of her great contributions. Rebecca Skloot spent ten years and great personal expense investigating this story and her book raises questions about ownership of one’s cells and the ethics of medicine in the context of race, class, and education.

First Year Book 2012-2013: The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's "On the Media."

Faculty members interested in reviewing the book for inclusion in their courses may pick up a copy in 2110 Marie Mount Hall.

This year, the First Year Book committee selected journalist Brooke Gladstone’s The Influencing Machine. Gladstone, perhaps best known as the host of NPR’s "On the Media," built a career covering the media in all of its intricacies. The Influencing Machine tells a history of journalism in a graphic format that goes back 2,000 years. Gladstone argues that the “media machine is a delusion,” comparing it to a funhouse mirror that reflects, in part, ourselves. The book considers the role of “objectivity” and bias in the media, and observes that we use social media to filter and make sense of what we hear from traditional journalism sources. The role of citizen journalists has taken on new prominence, including their influence on the Arab Spring, the Tea Party, and the Occupy Movements.