2008 Woodie Awards
Senior couple serves as ideal example of college spirit
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Opinion
College students, on the whole, are often criticized for a general apathy that older generations seem to think has overtaken the youths of America.
To them, college students are too lazy, too freewheeling, too easy-going. They're focused only on earning a degree, not necessarily on the actual education and learning taking place in classrooms and lecture halls.
But for at least one couple on the SRU campus, these generalizations must be thrown out completely.
That's because Bill and Helen Dauberman, both 91, are too busy, too concerned and too involved to pay much attention to what the older generation thinks of college students, partly because they're a part of that generation, and partly because they're still-yes, even in their 90s-college students.
The Daubermans not only have a mentality that college students, on the whole, should strive to attain, but could also serve as the posterfolks (they can't accurately be called "children" anymore) for what the university is trying to accomplish with each student that passes through its halls.
The vigor and persistence with which the Daubermans approach their education would put many students to shame. They've earned their degrees, completed their careers, retired and gone back to college simply for the sake of learning. They've broadened their academic horizons in a variety of ways as well, taking courses in German to try to better understand their daughter, who lives in Germany. They've even repeated courses for no other reason than that they want to hear what professors have to say about something again.
Perhaps even more indicative of their effort to get involved is their commitment to staying active on campus. This includes everything a traditional student does-eating in campus dining halls, exercising at the Aebersold Recreation Center-sans the communal showering and dormitory life.
Their pursuit of knowledge also reveals a lot about those far-off ideals of "lifelong learning" and "cradle-to-grave education" that continue to be pounded into the minds of SRU students. For the Daubermans, it's more about the learning experience and less about what they can get out of it or what's next. It's the kind of focus that's rare in an on-the-go world that doesn't leave much time or acceptance for reflection or relaxation.
But that's exactly what they-a married couple doing everything and going nowhere all at once-have been able to achieve in recent years. A condominium and lazy afternoons in South Florida aren't for everybody. For the Daubermans, foreign language classes, lectures on world history and living the lives of two 20-somethings are what have been able to keep them happy.
At the end of the day, it's nice to know that some students still attend college simply for the sake of learning.
To them, college students are too lazy, too freewheeling, too easy-going. They're focused only on earning a degree, not necessarily on the actual education and learning taking place in classrooms and lecture halls.
But for at least one couple on the SRU campus, these generalizations must be thrown out completely.
That's because Bill and Helen Dauberman, both 91, are too busy, too concerned and too involved to pay much attention to what the older generation thinks of college students, partly because they're a part of that generation, and partly because they're still-yes, even in their 90s-college students.
The Daubermans not only have a mentality that college students, on the whole, should strive to attain, but could also serve as the posterfolks (they can't accurately be called "children" anymore) for what the university is trying to accomplish with each student that passes through its halls.
The vigor and persistence with which the Daubermans approach their education would put many students to shame. They've earned their degrees, completed their careers, retired and gone back to college simply for the sake of learning. They've broadened their academic horizons in a variety of ways as well, taking courses in German to try to better understand their daughter, who lives in Germany. They've even repeated courses for no other reason than that they want to hear what professors have to say about something again.
Perhaps even more indicative of their effort to get involved is their commitment to staying active on campus. This includes everything a traditional student does-eating in campus dining halls, exercising at the Aebersold Recreation Center-sans the communal showering and dormitory life.
Their pursuit of knowledge also reveals a lot about those far-off ideals of "lifelong learning" and "cradle-to-grave education" that continue to be pounded into the minds of SRU students. For the Daubermans, it's more about the learning experience and less about what they can get out of it or what's next. It's the kind of focus that's rare in an on-the-go world that doesn't leave much time or acceptance for reflection or relaxation.
But that's exactly what they-a married couple doing everything and going nowhere all at once-have been able to achieve in recent years. A condominium and lazy afternoons in South Florida aren't for everybody. For the Daubermans, foreign language classes, lectures on world history and living the lives of two 20-somethings are what have been able to keep them happy.
At the end of the day, it's nice to know that some students still attend college simply for the sake of learning.
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