Discussion Groups, Discussion Questions, & Ethical Issues

In preparation for Fall 2021, all first-year students will read The Other Wes Moore:  One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore. Each incoming first-year student is expected to purchase a copy of the book during summer orientation, with the expectation that it be read before returning to campus in August. By reading the book over the summer, students will arrive on campus prepared to engage in meaningful discussions with a faculty or staff member prior to convocation. This convocation discussion event using the book will be a springboard to introduce you to critical thinking and begin your first steps toward becoming part of the community of learners on the MTSU campus. Students may purchase the book through the MTSU Phillips Bookstore, or through any other source.
 
MTSU Convocation Book Discussion Groups Saturday, August 21, 2021, 4:30pm
Join the discussion on Saturday, August 21st at 4:30pm in person on campus. Deadline to sign up is August 13th. You will receive your group discussion location confirmation at your MTSU email address by August 18th. The groups will tackle a few of the discussion topics and ethical issues listed below.
 
MTSU Convocation in Murphy Center, Saturday, August 21, 2021, 6pm
Immediately following the discussion group, students will attend Convocation featuring author Mr. Wes Moore as the speaker.
 
Discussion Questions
  • How well does Moore describe the culture of the streets, where young boys grow up believing that violence transforms them into men? Talk about the street culture—its violence, drug dealing, disdain for education. What creates that ethos and why do so many young men find it attractive?
  • In writing about the Wes Moore who is in prison, Wes Moore the author says, "The chilling truth is that his life could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." What do you make of that statement? Do you think Moore is correct?
  • Oprah Winfrey has said that "when you hear this story, it's going to turn the way you think about free will and fate upside down." So, which is it...freedom or determinism? If determinism, what kind of determinism—God, cosmic fate, environment, biology, psychology? Or if freedom, to what degree are we free to choose and create our own destiny?
  • The overriding question of this book is what critical factors in the lives of these two men, who were similar in many ways, created such a vast difference in their destinies?
  • Talk about the role of family—and especially the present or absence of fathers—in the lives of children. Consider the role of the two mothers, Joy and Mary, as well as the care of the author's grandparents in this book.
  • Why did young Wes, who ran away from military school five times, finally decide to