Summer Reading Selection

This summer, you and all new students at Goucher College will be reading and discussing The Other Wes Moore. You will receive the book during summer orientation in June.

The Other Wes Moore is the story of two kids with the same name, both liv­ing in Baltimore. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, dec­o­rated com­bat vet­eran, White House Fel­low, and busi­ness leader. The other is serv­ing a life sen­tence in prison for felony mur­der.

In Decem­ber 2000, The Bal­ti­more Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local stu­dent who had just received a Rhodes Schol­ar­ship. The same paper also ran a series of arti­cles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police offi­cer in a spec­tac­u­larly botched armed rob­bery. The police were still hunt­ing for two of the sus­pects who had gone on the lam. One was named Wes Moore.

Wes just couldn't shake off the unset­tling coin­ci­dence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same news­pa­per. After fol­low­ing the story of the rob­bery, the man­hunt, and the trial to its con­clu­sion, he wrote a let­ter to the other Wes, now a con­victed mur­derer serv­ing a life sen­tence with­out the pos­si­bil­ity of parole. His let­ter ten­ta­tively asked the ques­tions that had been haunt­ing him: Who are you? How did this happen?

That let­ter led to a cor­re­spon­dence and rela­tion­ship that has lasted for sev­eral years. Over dozens of let­ters and prison vis­its, Wes dis­cov­ered that the other Wes had a life not unlike his own: Both had grown up in sim­i­lar neigh­bor­hoods and had dif­fi­cult child­hoods, both were father­less; they'd hung out on sim­i­lar cor­ners with sim­i­lar crews, and both had run into trou­ble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across sim­i­lar moments of deci­sion, yet their choices and the peo­ple in their lives would lead them to aston­ish­ingly dif­fer­ent destinies.

Told in alter­nat­ing dra­matic nar­ra­tives, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a gen­er­a­tion of boys try­ing to find their way in a chal­leng­ing and sometimes-hos­tile world.

The Other Wes Moore will spark discussion among new students, staff, and professors during Goucher's fall orientation session. This summer, incoming students will receive a copy of the book and study guide questions to foster group conversation during a daylong discussion of the book and its themes that will be held on Sunday, August 28.

Questions to ponder as you read the book:

Wes 1 and Wes 2 started off in the same place. Both grew up in single-parent households with working-class mothers, in neighborhoods filled with crime and drugs. What do we put more influence on, nature or nurture? At what point do you think their paths diverged, leading one to success and another to a life of crime? What was that life changing moment? What were some of the key turning points for both boys throughout the book?

What do you think about the author's statement that "if people expect you to do well in school, you will do well in school. And if people expect you to graduate, then you will graduate. And if people expect you to be on the corner selling drugs, then that's what you will do as well"? The incarcerated Wes Moore says that instead of products of our environments, maybe we are "products of our expectations" and possibly those of others. What do you think he means by this? Do you agree? Why or why not? Do you think that's true? Why or why not? How much do expectations from family, friends, teachers, and community members play in shaping your life/ both Wes Moores' lives? What kinds of expectations have been set out for you by your parents, your teachers, and your peers? Do you think you will meet them?

The Other Wes Moore has been criticized for sensationalizing the crime and reopening old wounds. Others have praised it for encouraging discussion about important issues of race and equality. Many have questioned how some of the people involved in the book have responded to it. What do you think?

Does education play a key role in the path of each boy? How does the educational attainment of the boy's mother play into their success or lack of success? What role did the "absent" father play in each boy's life and how might this have impacted the path each took?

What role did Tony play in Wes 2's life? What people or factors do you think have played the biggest role in determining who you are today and who you want to become?

Both Moore's were from the city of Baltimore. For those of you from here, do you recognize any of these stories? For those of you not from Baltimore, what impressions of Baltimore does this book give you?

Optional Essay Question:

We struggle each day with societal responsibilities and personal responsibilities and often have to juggle both. The author Wes Moore encourages us to "elevate" not only ourselves, but also those around us. What do you think he means by this? Are there barriers to raising up ourselves and others? What are they and how might they be confronted? How do you see your role, both personally and socially, as you transition to college life and expectations?

Essay Submission date: Friday August 5, 2011