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As hordes of new students moved toward the Main Green to hear President Ruth Simmons speak Sunday afternoon, Jenna Kaye-Kauderer '11 and her family paused under an arch in Keeney Quadrangle. She put her arms on the shoulders of her siblings as the three posed and smiled, framed by the brick archway, for their mother to snap a photo.
"We took the same family picture when my sister came (to Brown)," said Andrew Kaye, Jenna's father. But, he added, "my hair was very long back then."
Orientation for new students kicked off Sunday, and College Hill was bustling with activity. Parents carted boxes and suitcases while new roommates introduced themselves. During Simmons' welcoming speech, listeners overflowed from rows of folding chairs to sit on the ground and lean against trees, and some took pictures.
Later, unit leaders carrying signs high in the air led long lines of first-years into the Sharpe Refectory for an early dinner.
"The pasta's not so good," Leonardo Moauro '11 said of his first Ratty meal. "It's missing salt."
It might be worth noting that Moauro hails from Italy - most other first-years interviewed by The Herald seemed to approve of Ratty fare. Though unimpressed by the food, Moauro said all other aspects of moving in to Perkins Hall have been going very smoothly. He had "no complaints" about his roommate, another international student from London.
Other roommate pairs were excited to find out how much they had in common. Rebecca Kaufman '11, who is from New York, and her roommate, Tarah Knaresboro '11, who is from San Jose, Calif., said they are "practically the same person." In the short time they have known each other, Kaufmann said the two found out they shared interests such as "drinking coffee, chewing gum, cracking our backs, international things, neuroscience, ethnic food and snowcones."
"And they are both messy," added Knaresboro's father.
Aside from the four flights of stairs leading up to their Keeney double, the two said their move went smoothly. Like many freshman, they said they were welcomed warmly to Brown.
Students on the Orientation Welcoming Committee walked around campus in brightly colored T-shirts, helped carry boxes and answer questions. Kristobal Sanchez '09, an OWC member, stood on the Main Green directing lost families for most of Sunday afternoon.
"The strangest question I got was, 'What is the statue in the middle of Main Green?' " Sanchez said, referring to the Henry Moore sculpture in front of the Faunce steps. "But mostly people ask where the bathrooms are."
This year's shortened Orientation schedule has changed the dynamic of the incoming students' first days on College Hill, Sanchez said. "A lot of events lead into the first week of classes, so the freshmen have to juggle (Orientation) and classes," he said.
Additionally, since much of the Orientation programming now occurs after returning students have moved in, the events are more open to the entire campus. "We're not policing events to be exclusively freshmen," Sanchez said. For example, "the ice cream social (on Saturday night) had free food, so a lot of upperclassmen came."
Sanchez said he was able to pick out the upperclassmen from among the crowds of freshman because "they just seem a lot more confident."
Upperclassmen scavenging for free food did not dim the beginning of the college experience for Jordan Apfeld '11. Apfeld, who is from Tennessee, said with resounding enthusiasm that his first day on campus was "great." A sophomore helped him move into his Wayland House room, and Apfeld was soon busy meeting his unit.
"I am stunned at how outgoing everyone was," Apfeld said. "I expected people - because it's such a good school - to be introverts, but everyone's interested in everyone."
Apfeld said he has met many people because everyone has been keeping their doors open. He said he and his friends walked through the halls saying hello to their unitmates, often finding that talking about music was the best way to start a conversation with a stranger.
The new freshman will have even more opportunities to interact with an activities fair, Orientation dance, scavenger hunt, movie showings and activities like guided runs, yoga and kickball games.
As their children were kept busy, parents of first-years were a little more reflective.
"It's hard to let go, but you've got to," said Josephine Ondrade P'11. She and her husband Joe sat on a bench outside Poland House in Keeney and watched their daughter Samantha - their first child to go to college out of state - walk away with some new friends.
Joe Ondrade said his daughter was excited, but he and his wife were "emotional wrecks." However, he added, "she's independent and mature, so we know she'll be okay."
Their photo at Keeney over, Halley and Owen Kaye-Kauderer stepped away from Jenna. When asked how they felt about their older sister moving away, the two younger siblings replied "sad" in perfect chorus.
But their father laughed and said, "They wish they were going too."
