Seniors:
Four Years in Retrospect
For
most students, college is a time of dizzying personal change, both confusing
and exhilarating. Seniors: Four Years in Retrospect helps prepare
undergraduates to take full advantage of these invaluable years of questioning
and growth. The filmmakers of Frosh,
the widely acclaimed chronicle of one year in a racially diverse freshman
residence hall, returned to Stanford three years later to see how college
life had changed five of these students. Combining extensive footage
shot during senior year with prophetic clips and "outakes" from Frosh,
the two directors have produced an altogether new film focusing on the
different trajectories students from diverse backgrounds take to a fulfilling
and successful college experience.
- Monique, daughter
of a crack-addicted mother, almost drops out during her first year
but is taken under the wing by two black women mentors; she graduates
with honors and plans to go on for her Ph.D.
- Cheng, an academically
driven, politically conservative Chinese American pre-law major defies
his parents by taking a job as a high-risk investment banker in Singapore.
- Sam, a white,
male, heterosexual "jock," accepts increasing campus diversity but
still seeks his own cultural enclave in the BMOC fraternity.
- Brandi comes
to Stanford as a logical consequence of her upper middle class African
American background; but she drops out for two years to discover a
reason of her own for going to college.
- Debbie "washes
out" of her pre-med program and becomes disenchanted with her sorority;
she switches to Women's Studies where she develops the self-confidence
to go on to a prestigious med school.
Together these concise
case studies constitute a unique sociological investigation of continuity
and change on today's college campuses. The film will help students, faculty
and counselors discuss such issues as:
- the importance
of student advisors and appropriate role models, especially for first-generation
college students
- the pros and
cons of taking time off during college
- the benefits
of changing majors and revising career plans
- the economic,
peer and family pressures affecting career choice
- the role of Greek
life and ethnic "theme houses" in promoting cultural diversity - or
campus Balkanization
- the development
of individual and community identity on an increasingly polarized
campus
- the reassuring
fact that most undergraduates survive Freshman year and invent their
own unique college experience

Communities
Student Life
Faculty and Staff Development
Multicultural Education |
"This video
gives us a first-hand look at the developmental changes that often occur
in the college years. The students whose lives are chronicled here are
seen exploring their values and interests, defining and redefining their
identities, and learning to think and make meaning in more informed,
more complex ways. I especially recommend it for courses that focus
on early adult development and college student development theory. I
also recommend it for faculty and parents who want to better understand
the forces of change in college; it will help them understand just how
much learning occurs outside the classroom."
--Dr. Patricia M. King, Dept. of Higher Education and Student
Affairs, Bowling Green State University
"Masterfully sensitizes
feelings and creates awareness of the full spectrum of college life."
--Clinita A. Ford, Director, National Higher Education Conference
on Black Student Retention
"From insecure,
imposter freshmen asking, "Who am I?" to more secure, searching seniors
asking, "Who do I want to be?", these five young adults share their
personal insight in this search for identity in college. I was proud
with them, cried with them, and laughed out loud at their experience."
--Susan R. Komives, Counseling and Personnel Services, University
of Maryland
"I enjoyed the
video. The students demonstrated considerable growth over the years
in their confidence in themselves, their sense of purpose and their
ability to deal with complex issues. This is a good tape and could be
part of a course of the college student. It is certainly well worth
the viewer's time."
--John Schuh, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Iowa
State University
"Just seeing
the students and listening to them can be enough prompting to engage
faculty and student affairs staff and students in useful conversation
about preparing for the job market and transition to life after college."
--George D. Kuh, School of Education, Indiana University
Producer/Directors:
Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller
56 minutes, 1997
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