Tuesday’s New Student Arrival ran smoothly, despite persistent rain showers throughout the day. Vehicles began arriving at 8:00 a.m. and were directed to unloading stations by Public Safety officers.
“It went fairly well,” said Director of Public Safety David Meyer. “We got everybody in, everyone seemed to work well. Even in the rain, people were in good spirits.”
Anticipating mud, parking on Andrus Field was prohibited. Instead, WestCo and Nicolson residents were directed to Foss Hill Drive along with Fauver and Hewitt residents for unloading. With WesHaul student volunteers assisting newly arrived first-year students, however, the heavier traffic flow did not cause a major problem.
“The frosh got through it,” said volunteer Halim Rizk ’08. “WesHaul unloaded quickly.”
While unpacking, new families complimented Arrival Day operations.
“It’s as organized as anything like this can get,” said Deborah Charness P’10. “Everyone was helpful.”
Freshmen anticipated the year ahead.
“I’m looking forward to letting go of whatever image I had built up in high school,” said Noa Cotton ’10. “I’m looking forward to meeting a ton of awesome people.”
Aurora Margarita-Goldkamp ’10, discussed different classes and people with her Clark Hall roommate Betsy Dickerson ’10.
“It seems wonderful here,” Margarita-Goldkamp said.
“We like the rooms,” added Mia Weisberger P’10, also unpacking in a room in Clark.
Because many families arrived early to avoid heavier rain, crowding was not a problem at the Arrival Site in the Exley Science Center. At Exley, new students registered, picked up WesCards, and finalized student accounts.
First-year smiles also persisted despite a tight housing situation. The comparatively large incoming Class of 2010 has led Residential Life (ResLife) to convert 24 double rooms into temporary triples. Director of ResLife Fran Koerting expects that by January, student attrition will enable ResLife to disband the triples.
New students join international students, who arrived on Friday, Aug. 25, in a full schedule of orientation events and activities. This year, the orientation program is a blend of tradition and growth. Previous performances such as “In the Company of Others” and “Unspeakable Acts” will be presented again, as well as square dancing and the CFA picnic lunch. For the first time this year, International Student Orientation (ISO) and New Student Orientation (NSO) are combined into a single, continuous program with a single staff.
“A lot of international students, when they’re done with ISO, don’t know what to do with NSO, which are the most important events,” explained Orientation Intern Meghan Duberek ’08.
This year, smaller ISO events such as apple picking and a group trip to Target are segueing into Orientation-wide events, such as Tuesday evening’s barbecue dinner in the Freeman Athletic Center.
“International students are more involved in Arrival Day,” said ISO Orientation Intern Wunna Kyaw ’09. “Last year [during NSO], we had a lot of free time on our hands.”
Associate Dean of Student Academic Resources and Director of NSO Shelley Stephenson noted the ultimate goals of the change.
“We did this both so as to provide a more unified introduction to Wesleyan for our new students, and to expand the responsibilities for our Orientation student staff,” Stephenson said. “We think this new student staffing structure leads to a more satisfying Orientation experience for new students, as well as [for] the student staff who get to work with them.”
The size of the Orientation staff has also changed. Once comprised of 80 members, this year’s staff includes only 25 Assistants. Duberek noted the benefit of a cut-down staff.
“It’s been going smoothly,” Duberek said. “Everyone here really wants to be here.”
The Orientation staff and new students look forward to a successful transition into the University.
“It’s gonna be a great week, but it’s gonna be a long week,” Duberek said. “It’ll be nice to see the completion of a big project.”