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Friday night brought with it the annual Fall All-College Seminar at Thomas 91����Ƶ College, New England, the cool autumn air and falling leaves pairing nicely with Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. 

The All-College Seminar, a beloved Thomas 91����Ƶ College tradition, is an opportunity for students to meet in discussion with a mix of fellow peers from all four classes, discussing the same text, selected from outside the usual curriculum. For the freshmen and sophomores, ����’s an opportunity to learn from the wisdom and insights of the upperclassmen in a seminar setting, while the upperclassmen get to know the upcoming classes on an intellectual level.  

This year, students on the New England Campus read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, a short but striking work by Leo Tolstoy on the nature of death and how one should approach it. Faced with the opening question — “Why was Ivan Ilyich’s life most simple and commonplace … and most horrifying?” — students discussed themes such as death, social standing, the dangers of pride and vanity, the nature of moral agony, and the importance of living an introspective life.

Although the story primarily brings out the dangers of living a life centered on pleasure and propriety, students also noted that there was a distinctly hopeful note at the end. “The book shows that, the more someone accepts reality, the more at peace they are,” related Aaron Zellmer (’29). “It definitely makes you think about the kind of things you’ve done and where you’re going, but I think there’s a lot of hope as well.”  

After the seminar, students and tutors made their way to St. Frassati Student Center, where they enjoyed pizza, drinks, and continued conversations about the conclusions of their discussion.