By Robert A. Scott,

In “Letters to Students: What it Means to Be a College Graduate,” my co-author and I explore topics such as critical thinking, the meaning of the liberal arts and sciences, how do we know what we think we know, the meaning of success, and finding and using one’s voice to speak up, among others.

Students enter college with a wide range of experiences in exercising their voice and expressing their thoughts and opinions. Some have been at a dinner table at home or with relatives where the standard was “you can speak when spoken to.” The lucky ones were encouraged to speak, even to describe what questions they had asked in school that day.

Yet while experiences for individual expression can be few and far between, two of the important goals of education are to develop students’ critical thinking and communication skills. We want students to be able to analyze and critique information, assumptions and assertions, be able express their thoughts and conclusions with clarity and coherence and be tolerant of others. We want them to know the value of questions and learn to express themselves with imagination in both written and oral communications. We also want them to take responsibility for the consequences of their speech and actions.

Voice is in many ways a window into one’s personality. Are you assertive, insecure, bold, or shy? Your voice will reveal your inclinations. Are you assertive or deferential, inquisitive or domineering? Again, your voice tells.

The topics on which to express oneself are varied, of course. A good place to start is to think about life goals. Are you interested in wealth; do you seek praise and admiration, or glory; or do you want power? Do you seek knowledge or virtue?

An important topic to consider is one’s definition of success. Most people seem to think of success in terms of status, wealth, or power. For me, success is the optimal balance of talent, time, and treasure, and how we use and understand each.

There are those who measure success through the size of bank accounts or the brand of cars, who keep score by counting currency. They may know the price of everything but the value of nothing. This is not to say that we should ignore financial rewards, or that money is not important.  No, it is to argue for balance in how we organize our lives.

The successful life is one that achieves symmetry in the attention given to the appreciation and use of talent, time and treasure in the fulfillment of life’s dreams and in service to others.

College provides opportunities for mastering critical analysis and developing skills in writing and speaking outside of class and well as within it. When living in a residence hall, students have opportunities to express ideas for the improvement of facilities and amenities. Being active in student government, a club, a team, or even a part-time job, provides still more opportunities.

Another venue for expressing ideas is the campus newspaper or online chat board. All of these and more provide opportunities to express ideas and to practice the skills and abilities in the written and spoken word.

These experiences in speaking and writing also help us develop imagination. We learn to imagine the topic and how to develop it, imagine the audience and what would be both of interest and persuasive, and decide on the tone to be taken.

Another opportunity for exercising our voice is in voting, for voting is an expression of voice and choice.

We also can express ideas in letters to the editor, speaking at school board and local Library meetings or Rotary and other service clubs, or at church, synagogue or mosque. The opportunities for exercising one’s voice on behalf of ideas and in support of others’ ideas are numerous.

A word of caution, however, about the use of social media for expressing opinions. Once the button is clicked words can take on a new life as they are distorted and promoted by others. Think twice before sending a message that might have been crafted in a moment of anger.

So, as students embark on their college career, they should think about what they care about, what they have thought about and want they want to express. When clear in their thoughts, they should speak up.

Robert A. Scott, President Emeritus, Adelphi University; Co-Author, Letters to Students: What it Means to be a College Graduate, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024

An earlier version of this article appears as Chapter 3 in Letters to Students: What it Means to Be a College Graduate, Rowman and Littlefield, 2024, co-authored with Dr. Drew Bogner, President Emeritus, Molloy University.