Orientation packs in activities
Yvonne Chiu Hays
|
|
|
|
|
During "Thriving at Princeton,"
a program primarily for students of color, the
freshmen had an opportunity to meet other students
and top administrators in small groups.
|
"There was a lot of stuff to do," said freshman Varanya Chaubey. "Sometimes I had three or four things I wanted to go to that were taking place at the same time."
Orientation has expanded over the years far beyond registration, foreign language tests and Opening Exercises -- the usual markers welcoming freshmen. This year's orientation ran from Sept. 9 to 13.
Students had opportunities to tour the art museum, learn the Library of Congress shelving system, meet career counselors, hear about study abroad programs and talk with professors and deans before the demands on their schedules increased dramatically.
Many departments sponsored open houses to recruit new students into their programs. Some served punch and light snacks; others put on lectures and discussions to give interested freshmen a sampling of their faculty and courses.
In Taplin Auditorium, the mathematics department offered a technical lecture on rotation in two-dimensional space. As that lecture wrapped up, the Near Eastern studies department began a discussion in a small classroom in Jones Hall on the complexities of the Middle East.
Students also could have chosen to attend lectures like "Robotics as Depth: Designing Autonomous Deep-Sea Explorers" and a panel discussion on "The Aims of Education and the Problems of Society: Issues in Public Policy and Social Science Research."
Academic programs have been gaining greater prominence in orientation. "We felt that it was important to find a way at the very outset of students' experiences at Princeton to model for them the engagement with ideas, the interaction with faculty members and the opportunity for small-group discussions of ideas, all of which will be the hallmark of their educational experience here," said Dean of the College Nancy Weiss Malkiel.
Malkiel said one of the first steps taken to accomplish that objective came in 1988, with the institution of an evening lecture by a senior member of the faculty for the whole class. Summer reading was assigned in advance so students would come prepared for the small-group discussions that followed in the residential colleges. This year's lecture, "Fast Talk: The Question of Our Speech," was given by Maria DiBattista, professor of English and comparative literature and master of Rockefeller College.
The University also implemented programming to help students think through academic options. In addition to "The Aims of Education and the Problems of Society," there were panel discussions this year on "Women in Science and Engineering" and "Learning Foreign Languages at Princeton."
In 1997, an advising mall was created to provide students with information about courses and a chance to ask upperclassmen for advice about classes, programs and majors. The amount of time spent with freshman advisers also was increased significantly, said Carol Porter, associate dean of the college.
"There really hadn't been a concentrated period of time when students could talk with their advisers, directors of studies and peers about their courses of study before they registered for classes. Now we have an afternoon and evening set aside for this purpose," Porter said.
On the non-academic side, Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan said the University has added programs that provide students opportunities to appreciate the larger community they are joining and to think about the challenges they might face as they learn more about their classmates.
Representative of that effort are "Reflections on Diversity" (see related story below) and "Sex on a Saturday Night." These two programs are part of a much larger residential education series that runs through the academic year. In "Sex on a Saturday Night," which is organized by Sexual Harassment/Assault/Advising, Resources and Education, students perform skits addressing issues of students' health and safety.
"These programs help students question some of the assumptions they might have and encourage them to look differently at the issues," Deignan said. "We think they're a very good beginning to a student's Princeton experience."
At "Thriving at Princeton," a program primarily for students of color, freshmen participated in informal small-group discussions with top administrators and upperclassmen. They talked about what they enjoyed doing over the summer, how they felt about coming to Princeton and what things they would change if they could turn back time.
"It's a way of encouraging students to see administrators as friendly and accessible individuals instead of just a name and a face," said Director of Community House Marjorie Young, an organizer of the event. "It also provides an entrance for further conversations."
The point was not lost on attendees: "It's nice students can meet face-to-face with people in high-level positions," freshman Suhaida Adura Selamat said.
Even though orientation week is busy, social events have not been forgotten. Administrators want students to have enough opportunities to meet one another in addition to having adequate preparation for the start of classes.
"When first-year students come to campus, we want to create a social atmosphere where they can meet each other and bond as the entire freshman class," said Tom Dunne, assistant dean of undergraduate students. "The colleges obviously do a lot of community building in their residential groups, but we also want to give students opportunities to develop unity beyond the residential colleges and be more of the Class of '04."
At the same time that administrators were adding social options to orientation, they also were focusing their attention on what happens on campus late at night and on how to provide alternatives to some inappropriate social settings. "We didn't want to put students in a situation where they felt compelled by default to go to either off-campus parties or on-campus parties where alcohol is present because it was the only thing happening on a particular night," Dunne said.
Social activities this year included performances by comedians, singing groups and theater troupes. A new late-night program, called "Tiger Night," featured a wide variety of student performance groups such as Naacho, an Indian dance company, and The Triangle Club, a 110-year-old group that creates original musical comedies.
"Tiger Night" served another purpose -- whetting the appetites of freshmen eager to become involved. "In many ways what's primary on the minds of freshmen is acculturating to the campus environment," said Dunne. "So it's probably more meaningful for them to see some of our student performance groups that they can join rather than have outside entertainers come in and have an isolated one-time event."
Student groups used to pay out of their own pockets to set up these freshman events, but Dunne saw that there was a mutual benefit in working together.
Student organizations outside of the performing arts also had a chance to get the word out to freshmen. More than 100 organizations set up booths at an activity fair in Dillon Gym this year.
Administrators said they currently are happy with orientation, although it can be tightly focused and compressed at times.
They agreed that one of the most important parts of Orientation Week remains the address by the president at Opening Exercises. Since 1995, that service at the University Chapel has gained in significance and attendance because it was moved to launch the week. Orientation was shortened by two days, and now freshmen attend the address the first Sunday they arrive instead of on the day before classes start.
"The president's message as the first official event sets the tone," Malkiel said. "Having the president talk about intellectual engagement and academic achievement right off the bat helps focus students on the intellectual enterprise they are embarking upon."
Related story
Diversity program fosters
community
|
October 2, 2000 Contents • Shapiro
to step down at the top of his game • President Clinton address to keynote academic conference • Invitation
touches Berry • Orientation
packs in activities • Calendar
of events
|
