The Synergy committee considers the following criteria when selecting the Common Reading text each Fall:

• Potential to engage students and spark passionate discussion
• Appeal to a wide range of students
• Possibilities for classroom use among various departments, including Freshman Seminar
• Possibilities for campus programming
• Richness of themes; interdisciplinary in nature
• Relevance to student life (coming of age, diversity, relationships, family, self-exploration, identity, etc.)
• Available in paperback
• 400 pages or less