Freshmen Uly Sorokopoud ’08, Jeff Wong ’08, Jacob Mirsky ’08, and Lea Hecht ’08 sat down on the eve of WesFest to talk about their first year at Wesleyan—the surprises, the disappointments, and the discoveries. Their conversation follows.
BC: I think we can all agree that Wesleyan has a very different feel from a lot of other schools, but is there anything specific that you find different from other universities you have visited?
LH: I just think it’s cool that it’s such a relaxed environment
JM: Compared to many larger universities, there are a lot fewer rules on campus that you need to know about.
LH: I also feel like more of an adult, and more mature, than a lot of my friends at other schools in that I’m in charge of every single aspect of my life here. I think it’s a really good thing. I think that Wesleyan really does try to let people grow into the people that they’re supposed to be without imposing anything on [them].
JW: I feel like we’re trusted a lot more to make the right decisions. When I went to visit my friends at UMass, they were always worried about the RAs coming into the room that we were partying in, and they had to hide me because they weren’t supposed to have guests that weekend. It was kind of ridiculous. I mean, they live in a dorm with like 600 people, and they can’t do anything on their own.
LH: Although we sometimes have our problems with the Administration, I think that Wesleyan has a [good] relationship between administration and students. When I came here and met people who worked in the Admissions Office I felt like everyone treated me as an adult and as a mature person and respected me.
BC: Is there anything that you didn’t know about Wesleyan until you got here?
LH: I wish I had known more about the new film facility and more about the film major. I didn’t realize how many connections Wesleyan has, not even just for film but [for all majors] once you graduate.
JM: One of the things I thought I understood but actually didn’t turn out to be the truth was [the role that] fraternities play in social life. I think it’s important not to get confused or misled by information you hear before you actually experience Wesleyan.
JW: I didn’t really know about the different student activities and how easy it is to get involved in them. For instance, I hadn’t heard much about the radio station…but now I’m fairly well involved with it.
BC: How would you compare your workload at Wesleyan to high school?
US: I find that my workload is actually less than it was in high school, but I’m less able to do it. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the activities that you want to do and still do your work, whereas when you live at home it’s easier to not be distracted. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t take five classes.
JW: Yeah, I find that the workload here is less, but a lot of the work is harder so it kind of equals out.
JM: I found that there’s a lot more you have to do in between major tests or papers that’s not just easy assignments to fill time. There’s a lot more reading, but there’s also a lot more time to accomplish the work because you’re not in school eight hours a day.
LH: I just found the workload different than high school—again, not necessarily less, not necessarily more. I’ve just found that I have bursts of stressful weeks and stressful days. There’s all this reading that you need to do, but it’s not necessarily due the next day so sometimes you’re [backed up] with reading, so one weekend you might wind up reading a whole textbook before a test. Basically I just wasn’t prepared for it (laughs).
BC: Would you have liked to know more about housing options?
LH: Well, I live in Westco and I wish I had known that I could paint my room, because that’s really cool. It was too late by the time I unpacked my stuff to start painting.
JM: I live on Foss Hill, and even though my room is one of the few that doesn’t have a balcony, the balconies are one of the perks of living in Foss Hill dorms.
JW: I don’t think that only showing Clark Hall on the tour gives the best impression of the housing, because it’s all so different.
US: I agree that they should show more of the dorms on the tour. I was going to live in the Butts but when I talked to people I found out that it wasn’t the best place for me.
BC: Do you have any advice about scheduling classes?
LH: During the summer I registered for a 9 a.m. class thinking that I could do it, so I just really think that people have no clue how hard it is to go to a 9 a.m. class. I was so used to waking up at 6 a.m. in high school.
BC: Did you hear any advice before you came to college that turned out to be true, or not true?
LH: When I came to Wesleyan I was assuming that the curriculum was really, really open—no requirements—and I guess I really didn’t know that there were distributions. Actually, I think I still don’t understand [the distributions] and I don’t know how to fulfill them, nor do I care to talk to my advisor about it because it will just stress me out. I’m not sure if other people come to Wesleyan thinking that there’s a really open curriculum, I’m not sure if that’s something they advertise, but I wish I had known [more about it].
JW: I was always told that being at a liberal arts school I should take any kind of classes that I wanted, don’t limit myself, and I took that advice and wound up taking classes that I wouldn’t have [normally]. Like, I took poetry last semester, and this semester I’m taking religion and slavery, and those actually wound up being my favorite classes. I would just say to keep an open mind about what classes you’re going to take.
JM: Before coming to Wesleyan I had heard that it was “Diversity University,” and while the student population is quite diverse, it doesn’t nearly have such a profound effect on your everyday life. It’s only as important as you make it.
BC: Does the fact that most people stay on campus rather than go out into town bother you?
JM: While Middletown doesn’t have the most exciting things to do, and while Wesleyan has so many events going on at any particular night, I think that the larger vicinity to Middletown offers a lot, especially with outdoor activities like hiking, and biking and…
LH: Kayaking.
JM: …and kayaking. With New Haven being a half hour away and Hartford being a half hour away, and both Boston and New York within two hours away, if you really wanted to make an event you pretty much have limitless opportunities to do so.
LH: It’s helpful that you can have cars your first year, because even if you don’t have a car your friends will have cars. If you absolutely have to leave campus they can drive you down to the train station. Also, I think it’s really great that Middletown is small because I feel that that builds community here and everyone just loves to stick around on campus. I don’t know, I would hate to go to a school in the city where I wouldn’t just run into people at parties and stuff like that. I just love that I see people I know almost everywhere I go and I am comfortable enough that I can introduce myself to people that I don’t know.
JW: Yeah, I mean, I know that Middletown is not the most exciting place, but I have a friend who goes to school in New York, and she has to walk, like, nine blocks to go to class, which is ridiculous. Also, my friends at city schools spend a ton of money going out clubbing and going different places to eat, and here we don’t really have to spend money on anything.
BC: I personally didn’t go to WesFest, but if you did, do you think it gave an accurate picture of Wesleyan considering your actual experience going to school here?
US: Well, my experience at WesFest is actually the reason I decided to go to Wesleyan, and I think it compares very well. Although WesFest is very full of activities and very diverse activities all at the same time, I think the general experience at Wesleyan is very similar. It’s just more spread out. You can get all of the activities at WesFest and do just as many things, it’s just that they’re not going to happen all in one weekend.
JM: I’m also at Wesleyan because of my WesFest experience. [WesFest] is important because regardless of how much you read about Wesleyan or talk to people at Wesleyan, there’s something special about being at the school and experiencing the students and the professors and the atmosphere of what life is like on campus.
LH: I had applied early, so I knew already that I was coming to school here, but I came to WesFest anyway, and I still wanted to come after Wesfest. It was really fun.
BC: Here’s your last chance to say anything about Wesleyan.
LH: I’ve talked to a lot of my friends who are in their first year in college too, and I think that compared to them I really, really love [my school]. A lot of them have a lot of problems with their schools and are just generally unhappy. I’m just really lucky that I found a school that I love.
JW: Yeah, I feel that at Wesleyan, while we do complain about some of the problems we have, there’s no place else I’d rather be, as corny as that is. I just feel that it’s the perfect school for me, even if there are some problems, like getting charged for drawing on bathroom walls, a recent issue for me that I’m still kind of pissed off about (everyone laughs).
JM: I think that one of the best things about Wesleyan is that the school doesn’t do a lot for you, you do a lot for you. The experience you have here is what you make out of it, and…Wesleyan is great because you can actually have those opportunities [to do what you want]. I think it’s remarkable that out of all the people I know at Wesleyan I don’t think I could name more than five people that aren’t at least having a good time here.
LH: I don’t think that people understand how amazing the student body is here at Wesleyan. Really, I’ve visited other schools and I was totally unimpressed with everyone that I met. Everyone here is so diverse, not only racially, but intellectually and in their interests and in all the activities that they do. I’m so impressed with everyone here, and I hope that [prefrosh] can see that at Wesfest.
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