The restructured Orientation in store for the incoming class of 2011 has received positive reviews from the students and administrators who have spent nearly three months planning for the new schedule since the changes were announced.
Orientation has been shortened to only three days before classes begin, with programming continuing through the first week of the academic year. It was previously a six-day slate of programming prior to the first day of class.
Anna Levine '08 and Stephanie Syc '08, co-coordinators of the Orientation Welcoming Committee, said they are excited for the opportunities the restructured Orientation provides the OWC. They said events will continue through what is now called First Weekend - the first weekend after classes begin - leaving nine days for activities as opposed to six in the past.
"We're very excited about it because it's a very good opportunity for Steph and I and the rest of the OWC to really take charge of this new mission and make it really great," Levine said. "Not only does it improve year-to-year, but because there are these grand changes being made in terms of length, we have a lot more flexibility, and sort of power over what we're actually planning."
OWC is planning both large and small events this year, in order to give students who thrive in different social environments more options to settle in on campus.
"Someone who might be uncomfortable going, at the dance or festival, up to someone who they don't know might be more comfortable in a smaller setting with 20 or 30 people where they're involved in a common-interest activity," Syc said.
"One thing we really need to emphasize is that we're doing everything we've always done, but doing it better, and then we're adding other things to complement those activities," Levine said.
Associate Dean of the College and Dean of First-Year Studies Steven Cornish MA'70, who is in charge of the Meiklejohn peer advising program, said the changes to Orientation will allow students a better chance to meet with their advisers and prepare for classes.
As a result of Orientation starting later, classes will begin a day later, on the Wednesday after Labor Day. The Tuesday after Labor Day will now become devoted to helping first-years prepare for the semester by meeting with faculty and Meiklejohn advisers on that day, instead of before the weekend, as has been the case in past years.
"We think that it's going to be advantageous to have more faculty advisers on campus to actually participate in the advising process," Cornish said, adding that, in the past, faculty advisers were sometimes away from campus when they were supposed to be meeting with students before classes begin.
"We think (the new schedule) will be advantageous because faculty advisers will be meeting with their advisees right from the get-go," he said.
Karen McLaurin '74, associate dean of the College and the director of the Third World Center, who was a member of the committee that proposed the revised Orientation schedule, said she thinks shortening Orientation will have a positive effect. In past years, students have not really had a chance to absorb their experiences, she said, so it is good to give them a shorter window to absorb everything.
"Also, I think there's something very festive to be inferred when they call it First Weekend," McLaurin added. "It's kind of neat."
The Third World Transition Program, which had traditionally been held over the weekend before regular Orientation, will now take place the week before Labor Day, which McLaurin said will change the dynamic of the program.
"Religious services are part of the weekend, and now we'll have to rework it, because we start on Tuesday, end on Friday," she said. "We'll see how it works, but we're going into this with an open mind. We'll try to make everything fit in a comfortable fashion."
The move does give TWTP some extra time this year, which McLaurin said will be helpful. "We've gained some additional time because Sunday morning, up 'til 10-11 a.m. are for religious services, and part of Saturday we had students who went for religious services," she said.
Other programs, including Building Understanding Across Differences and the University-Community Academic Advising Program, will also be moved to the week before Orientation.
Cornish said another advantage of the new Orientation schedule is that it makes it easier for parents to bring their children to Brown. "The committee thought it was advantageous to give parents the opportunity to come to campus on the weekend rather than during the week," he said. "Particularly for parents who would have difficulty getting away from work, or would have to sort of calculate the loss of wages against bringing their kids to campus."
Another key change to Orientation may not be as well received - the introduction of summer reading for the incoming class. Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron has chosen the book "How Proust Can Change your Life" by Alain de Botton, Cornish said. Students will attend a seminar on the book on Labor Day Monday.
