“Seniors” are 81, or 21, or 18. Ageism starts early

Abolish ageism through #enagAGEism — one campus, course, community at a time

This ‘letter to the editor’ was submitted to , but not accepted by , The New York Times for publication.

Re “At Colleges, Whatʼs Old Is New: Retirees Living on Campus” (nytimes.com Sept 10)

Anemona Hartocollis highlights “a growing trend on college campuses — to place retirement homes near the dorms.” She notes that “[t]he schools say their motive is more educational and social — encouraging intergenerational mixing…”

I give efforts chronicled a provisional B+ grade as they do not realize our full promise and potential, yet.

I was lucky to teach in and direct a university program whose subject, historic preservation, dovetails well with elder justice — both respect and protect the ageless value of that which is old.

From the starting gate, our 18-year-old students already value the legacy of past generations and the lives of older adults who share their lifelong experience today.

Our program is strengthened by having cohorts that include older students with decades of experience, some who enter our master’s program as a segue into ‘retirement’ as they start to master yet another field.

Better, our intergenerational students’ engagement extends far beyond campus through our Community Partnerships Center at Roger Williams University.

‘Seniors’ may be 81, or 21, or 18. Ageism starts early. Let’s stop ageism through #engAGEism — one campus, one course, one community at a time. The semester is young; we look forward to your assignments and achievements.

Philip C. Marshall
South Dartmouth, Ma.
The writer is professor emeritus at Roger Williams University and the grandson of the late Brooke Astor, New York City philanthropist and elder abuse victim.

Suggested tweet —

“Seniors” are 81, or 21, or 18. #Ageism starts early
Abolish ageism through #enagAGEism @myRWU and beyond— one campus, course, community at a time. #elderjustice #college #community #seniors https://t.co/ourft5EPef

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Post script —

Bernice L. Neugarten notes in her seminal, influential article, written in 1974, “…the present struggle is for age rights, and it is being joined not only by the young, but also by the old who might otherwise become its victims. Some decry the trend toward age segregation, pointing to the high school and college as age ghettoes for the young and to age-segregated residential areas…as age ghettoes for the old.”

Insight on site: engAGEism at work in communities — “The RWU Community Partnerships Center leverages faculty and student expertise for community partners on a wide-ranging array of projects, like this one where historic preservation students explored potential reuses and the rehabilitation of the former Conant Thread Factory in the Cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls.” (RWU)