Stong College Mandate
The Stong MandateNovember 12, 1988
Revised Dec. 6, 1988
Stong College is pleased to cooperate with the recent call for distinctive college mandates. It agrees with a basic conclusion of the Hare Commission and the Administration's response to that Commission's report, namely that the University will profit from a more recognizable differentiation of its seven undergraduate colleges. In fact, we at Stong believe that the colleges have already, in York's brief history, gone a long way toward establishing distinctive identities. The process of writing and promulgating a mandate has helped us to clarify our thinking about these identities and has induced us to codify significant distinctions that do already exist.
Stong College is proud of its distinctive history. That history is the product of the conscientious and effective use of many rich resources. Stong is most appreciative of its magnificent physical plant. The spacious common rooms, the beautiful Zacks Gallery, and the fine Beckett Theatre are distinctive features of the College. But far more valuable than these physical assets, splendid as they are, are the people of the College, the present generation of undergraduates, the alumni, the Fellows, and the staff. The impressive contribution of these men and women over the past two decades has shaped the identity of Stong College.
After careful consideration and much consultation and deliberation, among students and Fellows and College officers, we are now prepared to declare our Mandate. In identifying the major themes and objective which we think describe the past achievements and present aspirations of the College, we wish to emphasize that we are, like other colleges, inclusive rather than exclusive. While pursuing with conviction our particular aims, we wish to welcome into our community people with different academic, cultural, social interests, for we believe that pluralism and eclecticism are essential features of a good liberal education. At the same time we recognize that we can best serve the College, the University, and the community beyond by complying with the request for college mandates and clearly identifying those resources, interests and activities that have made Stong the distinctive College that it is today.
We identify four major themes that we believe characterize Stong: language and literature, broadly seen as the arts of discourse; sports as a social and historical institution; multiculturalism; and social commitment. We believe, moreover, that there are obvious and important connections between these four themes. We trust that a student or Fellow who affiliates with Stong will, by following those connections, broaden his or her experience at Stong and York.
It is a fact that by far the largest number of Fellows in Stong College are in the Department of English. The size of the English Department representation in Stong College is more that three times the size of the next largest Departmental representation. The Chair and Secretariat of the English Department are in Stong College. The Graduate Programme in English is housed in the College. The founding Master of Stong has always been a member of the English Department. The second Master of the college has taught in the Graduate Programme in English. The third Master was also a member of the English . An interest in language and literature has thus been the principal academic focus of all the Masters of Stong College. Conversations between the present Master and the Chair of the English Department have already taken place on their common interest in advancing English studies. The joint support by Stong College and the English Department of the recently formed English Students Association is a fine example of the kind of cooperation that will help to advance the study and enjoyment of literature in the College.
Other languages besides English are amply represented by the Fellowship of the College. French, Italian, Polish, and Ukrainian are among the languages and literatures studied and taught by several Fellows of the College. The presence of so many faculty members in the College who are professionally committed to the study and teaching of language and literature logically leads to the conclusion that Stong College should attempt to develop a mandate based on letters. Language and literature are not only linked inseparably to each other but also connected to the deepest and most significant experiences of human beings in their particular cultures. The study of language and literature inevitably involves, for instance, history, psychology, and politics.
Another area of professional interest strongly represented by the Fellowship of the College is physical education, and, in particular, sports as a historical and cultural institution. The presence of several coaches in the Fellowship lends a practical authority to this discipline. Several Stong College courses have dealt with the history of sports and with the cultural significance of the institution of sports in our society. The excellent record of Stong students in intra- and inter-college sports has complemented the professional study of sports and has been a source of pride. The interest in sports as a cultural institution ties in obviously with the next major theme of Stong College, multiculturalism.
Stong College has long been committed to multiculturalism, as an appropriate subject of study and as a social ideal. It has already been noted that several Fellows in the college teach foreign languages and literatures. Several of the College courses have a multicultural basis. Stong happily recognizes the rich cultural diversity of the York community and acknowledges that multiculturalism is one of the important elements in contemporary Canadian political life. The College is eager to discover new ways of expressing our support for the ideals of multiculturalism and interculturalism, consonant with our high academic purpose.
Finally, Stong College affirms its resolute social commitment. Our College has always taken pride in its close relations with the outside community, local, national, and international. The College was named, not for a famous Canadian leader, but for an immigrant pioneer family who, in the nineteenth century, farmed the land on which York University now stands. We are interested in the many groups who make up the Canadian mosaic, and their attempts at self- expression, whether in language and literary discourse, visual arts, music, or sports. Stong has drawn many Fellows from the surrounding community, as well as from within the university. We have housed the Chimo and summer Discovery programs for many years. The student-initiated Elia Junior High School Project has been a successful endeavor to connect with a nearby school. Our academic programs have included conferences on The Canadian Alternative and on Francophone Literatures, and several projects have been supported by the Ontario and Federal Ministries of Culture. Our aforementioned academic interest in the languages and literatures of many lands and our interest in multiculturalism obviously connect with the theme of social commitment. We at Stong invite the participation of all who are concerned with the expression of their cultural interests and values.
These then are the major themes of the Stong College Mandate. We believe that these themes as expressed in our college courses and other activities are significantly interrelated and that together they constitute an academic, cultural, and social coherence. We have identified these themes because we believe, with the Hare Commission and the Administration's response to it, that our undergraduate students will be better served by having the distinctive identities of the Colleges promulgated and nurtured.
At the same time we affirm our belief in the educational value of diversity, both within a College and within the University. We embrace the York ideal of interdisciplinary work. While we of course shall be seeking to encourage the participation of those whose interests coincide with our mandate as identified in this document, we firmly oppose any notion of exclusivity. In the long run we believe that far more important than a student or colleague's particular academic discipline or departmental affiliation is the quality of a person's contribution to the College. There is much work to be done in the colleges and much satisfaction to be derived from that work. We trust that as the new system of college mandates begins to take shape at York, Stong College will continue to be seen as a happy community of students, staff, and faculty, all working for intellectual achievement and other kinds of personal fulfillment, and working too for a broader commitment to the College, the University, and the wider world beyond, namely the general society from whom, ultimately, we derive our strength, and to whom we owe the expenditure of our energies and talents.
