Searching/Discovering

“Most of America’s founding fathers were born aristocrats, yet in one of the underlying ironies of the nation’s birth, they rejected the idea that privilege should be inherited. Instead, they believed it should reflect an individual’s talent and hard work.”

—Peter Jennings, In Search of America

In his new book, In Search of America, anchorman Peter Jennings examines how the principles of the Founding Fathers play out in contemporary American life. The book considers how cultures, conflicts, and communities in the United States reflect and reinterpret the seminal ideas that frame our nation. Jennings takes a side trip to Sarah Lawrence to demonstrate the changing role of education. He includes a panoramic photo of the campus, and highlights Erica Chapman ’04 and Sarah Samp ’03, whose professional ambitions, like those of many students, will depend largely on access to advanced education. “Graduate school is extremely important to my future plans,” explains Chapman. “I want to get a dual degree in law and social work so that I can start a nonprofit agency.” Jennings writes that at the nation’s inception, higher education was reserved for wealthy, Protestant, white males; but the growth of social awareness through the 20th century gradually opened doors for women, immigrants, people of color and the economically disadvantaged. As a result, he says, “never before has the country come closer to realizing its meritocratic ideals.” Samp agrees that education levels the playing field: “Once they’re accepted to college, students all have the same opportunities to learn and succeed.”

—S.W.