The project’s selected book, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges, sparked a number of classroom, lunchtime and after-class discussions, as well as off-campus chats in local bookstores that brought additional community involvement.

More events are planned for the spring and a new book will be selected for next fall.

“One Book, One Campus” encourages students, faculty and staff to read the same book and participate in discussions and campus events related to the work. The reading projects have been popular for a number of years.

Julie Elliott, coordinator of the “One Book” project, said that, because the book by the New York Times reporter examined democracy and the media, it was a natural connection to ADP. The book was incorporated into several classes and copies from the Schurz Library were widely circulated. “There was faculty and student interest. We want more involvement next year, and our goal is to involve more of the staff,” Elliott said.

This year’s project scheduled six events through the fall, and four more are planned for the spring. In October, Fred Dodd, a former embedded reporter in Iraq from the South Bend Tribune, spoke about his impressions of the book. “We had about 50 people and the questions and answers were very lively,” Elliott said.

The goal for the project is to instill a stronger sense of community within the student body through discussion, as well as reinforcing the university’s role in the community.