Every fall, incoming students take the Human Ecology Core Course to better understand the what, how, and why of what we do here. This year, we started off the core courses by requiring all students to join one of six expeditions into Frenchman Bay on the college’s research vessel, RV Osprey.
Faculty member John Anderson, Boat Captain Toby Stephenson ’96, and First Mate Emma Flaherty ’17 lead the expeditions so students come to grips with living on an island and come to understand how the ocean shapes the various ways of life on the Maine Coast.
John Anderson noted that “If I had my way, students wouldn’t arrive on campus by car. We’d go pick them up in Stonington, ME and they’d come by boat – they’d have a very different understanding of where they’ve come to study.”
When asked what he thought of the idea, President Darron Collins said “I don’t think it’s bad idea at all. The more time students, staff, and faculty spend on the water around boats, the better.”