Civility is a disappearing value on the contemporary campus. Everyone seems to be hyper-aware of his or her rights and needs. Too many place individual goals ahead of the common good. Judy Rookstool offers a calm and reasoned analysis of the problem, along with some tentative solutions in her short book, Fostering Civility on Campus. Through an historical analysis of what the word "civility" means, she leads us to see that it is more than tea party etiquette. Rather, it is a series of behaviours and attitudes that allow for free enquiry, academic integrity, and civilized exploration of complex and often controversial subjects. Without civility, there can be no meaningful college experience.
After defining civility and explaining why it is necessary in a community college, Rookstool offers some strategies for promoting it on campus. The chapter is under twenty pages in length, so it is in no way comprehensive. She also provides an appendix of "Examples and Models" of civilty policies from several American community colleges. There are also lists of references cited and additional resources.
Fostering Civility on Campus is an excellent consciousness raising document, but its brevity prevents it from offering detailed solutions. Unfortunately, the book is currently out of print.
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