Like many students here, Hostetler had experience with Manchester’s college and community before he enrolled; his grandfather, great uncle, great aunt, uncle, parents and older brother all attended MC. “I didn’t have to go here, of course,” he said, “but it was a school of higher learning that was always there in my thoughts as a possibility.”
Hostetler’s involvement in the social life of MC began during his junior year of high school, while his brother was a student here; it was largely his impressions of the community here that led to his enrollment. “Had it not been for his [Aaron’s brother’s] close group of friends who saw my need for an enclave of acceptant people and who wanted to see me grow, I might not have chosen to come here,” Hostetler said. “But with their influence, I was sold on the idea of attending MC.”
Aaron is majoring in sociology, with a minor in Spanish. Nevertheless, his time here as a student has involved much more than his academic goals.
He has either acted in or directed the dramatic productions of Alpha Psi Omega during all four years, was active in Amnesty International during his freshman and sophomore years, served as the group facilitator for United Sexualities during the 2005-06 school year and during the fall semester of 2006, and was involved with the college’s theatre productions every year except for his junior year, when he spent the spring semester studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain.
He also spent a summer in Tacoma, WA, working in inner-city organic gardens and green spaces that were created to provide community shared agriculture and sustainable revenue for a Catholic Workers’ House.
Although he is glad that he attended MC, he has noticed a shift in the campus community that he finds troubling. “My perception of Manchester has changed a lot through my continuing involvement in MC’s social culture,” he said.
As an example, he recounted how during his brother’s time as a student here (c. 2003-2004), there was a campus-wide gathering on the mall of students and faculty who were making a stand against hatred of any kind. The stance was initiated by the United Sexualities group, in response to threats made against the safety of a few of MC’s students.
Not only did this represent a coming together of the MC students for a common cause; even the administration offered support. “Parker Marden [former MC president] was really effective at providing a sense of safety for students who felt threatened,” Hostetler said. “He even visited a student’s room when they felt threatened, in order to provide support and reassurance.
“What’s been troubling me recently is that I haven’t recently seen that sense of coming together as a community, even in light of recent date rapes, peeping toms’ intrusions and sexual assaults on female MC students,” he said. “Why aren’t we seeing a campus-wide response from the MC community, working to educate people regarding what’s going on and eliminating the problem?”
This lack of coming together, regardless of individual and group identities, could pose a threat to the friendly environment offered by MC. “A community is defined as a group of people working together for a common goal—anything else is just groups of people who feel they fit together because of their similar backgrounds,” Hostetler said. “Although MC is in many ways still a community, I have begun to question the efficacy of MC’s work towards attaining a common goal.”
Hostetler hopes that the split between MC students of different backgrounds will heal. “This is such a small school,” he said. “There is such a potential for a strengthening of the feeling of togetherness here.”
Although his plans following graduation are not yet solidified, he hopes that more travel abroad is in his future. “I’ve been bitten by the international bug,” he said. “I don’t think that one semester abroad was enough for me.”
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