Incoming freshmen at area colleges and universities are being asked to read books with heavy themes - the oppression of women, the wrongful conviction of a man for rape, the end of the world - before arriving on campus this fall.
Schools recently announced their summer reading selections. Though some assignments have proved controversial in the past, the books this year - sometimes dark - all have a message of hope, campus leaders say.
UNC-Chapel Hill freshmen will be reading "PickingCotton," a memoir co-written by a rape victim and the man she wrongly accused of the crime. Authors Jennifer Thompson-Cannino of Winston-Salem, and Ronald Cotton of Mebane have become unlikely friends over the past 12 years.
In 1984, Thompson-Cannino, then a student at Elon University, picked Cotton out of a police lineup as the man who broke into her apartment and raped her. Cotton was sentenced to life in prison and served until 1995 when DNA testing became available and he was exonerated.
"There are several themes; certainly one of them is sexual violence against women and ... what the aftermath is for these young girls," Thompson-Cannino said.
Cotton shares his point of view about being an innocent man who served a third of his life in prison. The book also discusses how they forged a friendship based on faith and forgiveness, Thompson-Cannino said.
"We're extremely proud and grateful our book was chosen," she said. "Young people do need to read it because they are the future jurors, judges, lawyers and police officers who will hopefully fix the system and make it better."
The end of the world
N.C. State University and Meredith College both chose "Half the Sky," written by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a husband-and-wife reporting team. The book explores issues faced by women around the world, and it offers ways readers can help make a difference. The book's title refers to a Chinese saying, "Women hold up half the sky."
"This is one of the hardest books I've had to read," said Roger Callanan, an assistant undergraduate dean at NCSU. "This is not pleasurable. But it's important. We're talking about real brutality and grotesque abuse. But if you persist, at the end it is hopeful, and it is challenging. Now that you know, what are you going to do?"
Duke University has selected "Everything Matters," a novel by Ron Currie Jr., about a comet destroying Earth in 2010.
"With this book, Duke makes the Class of 2014 imagine an interesting, yet scarily plausible scenario: The world is going to end," said Meredith Jewitt, a student member of the summer reading committee.
Peace College's pick is "The Blue Sweater," a nonfiction book by Jacqueline Novogratz about social entrepreneurship. Novogratz takes readers on her journey toRwanda, where she helped women set up a bank.
"It's the story of her life and how she chose her career path and her passion," said Dawn Dillon, director of Peace's "first year adventure." "I think it's an inspiring story that one person can make a difference ... and just the value of service."
N.C. Central University does not have a summer reading assignment.
Seeing hope
UNC-CH's assignment used to be required reading for incoming freshman. But after controversies in 2002 and 2003, the assignments now are recommended reading. Three freshmen and a conservative Christian organization sued the university in 2002, saying the assignment of "Approaching the Qur'an" was unconstitutional. In 2003, a group of students protested the selection of the book "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America."
Priscilla Wald, an English professor at Duke, said she thinks the themes this year reflect hope.
"We're living in a moment - partly because of the last public election - where people are not afraid to hope and believe that if they take action they can make a difference," she said. "You can only look at dark subjects when you feel you can make a difference. People are feeling both that they are responsible for the world and that they can translate that responsibility into action, no matter how small."
